EFFECTIVE NOTE – TAKING

1. Taking Cornell Note - Taking System

1. Take notes on spiral bound notebook paper and place them in chronological
order in your loose-leaf notebook. Material can easily be put in or taken out
this way. Be sure to title, date, and number each page.
2. Draw a vertical line 2 ½ inches from the left edge of the page. You will use
the remaining 6 inches to write down your lecture notes.
3. Take notes in any format your prefer: numeral-letter, indenting, short
paragraph.
4. Concentrate on writing only main ideas and significant details during the
lecture.
5. Skip lines between main ideas and use only one side of the paper.
6. Use abbreviations when needed to save time. Avoid too many abbreviations
or ones you’ll have trouble understanding later.
7. Read through your notes after class, filling incomplete information and
rewriting illegible words.
8. While reviewing, underline all main ideas, or outline them with a box.
9. After reviewing your notes, jot down in the 2 ½ inch margin, some key
words and phrases that summarize the material in the right-hand column.
10. Cover up the 6-inch side of your notes to see if you can recall the important
details of the lecture with only the key phrases as clues.
11. Continue this procedure until you can easily recall the important parts of the
lecture.
12. Before each new lecture, take a few minutes to look over the notes from the
previous so you connect them with the lecture you are about to hear.

2. Paraphrase what the speaker is saying

Be an active listener

A. Note-taking Do’s
1. Attend all lectures.
2. Be academically aggressive.
3. Take a front seat to see and hear better.
4. Use a large, loose-leaf binder
5. Carry lined, loose-leaf (8 ½ by 11) sheet to class.
6. Write on only one side of the sheet.
7. On top of the sheet record course, lecturer ,and date.
8. Begin taking notes immediately.
9. Write in short, telegraphic sentences.
10. Make notes complete for later understanding.
11. Strive to detect main headings.
12. Capture ideas as well as facts.
13. Skip lines, leave space between main ideas.
14. Discover the organizational patterns.
15. If the lecture is too fast, capture fragments or ask for repeat.
 16. Leave blank spaces for words to fill in later.
17. Develop your own abbreviations and symbols
18. Record lecture’s example.

B. Note-taking Don’ts:

1. Don’t sit near friends that may distract you.

2. Don’t wait for something “important”.
3. Don’t look for facts only.
4. Don’t give up if lecturer is too fast.
5. Don’t stop to ponder.
6. Don’t over-indent.
7. Don’t doodle.
8. Don’t use spiral-bound notebooks.
9. Don’t consider any example too obvious—copy it.
10. Avoid using Roman numerals.
11. Avoid too many abbreviations.

3. Tips on What to include in your notes:

1. Details, facts, or explanations that expand or explain the main points that
are mentioned
2. Definitions, word for word, especially if your professor repeats them several
times
3. Enumeration or list of things that are discussed
4. Examples, You don’t need to note all of details for each example, but you do
need to know which general topic each example relates.
5. Anything that is written on the chalkboard or on a transparency ( on an
overhead projector ).
6. Anything that is repeated or spelled out, -drawings, charts, or problems that
are written on the board.
Use symbols and abbreviations

4. After Note-Taking
1. Spend 3-5 minutes at the end of class reviewing main ideas.
2. Do a major review of notes as soon as possible within twenty-four hours.
3. Compare your notes with your friends’ note.