USC Sumter

Office of Advisement and

Counseling
Administration Building, Rm.

Welcome to the staff of the

Advisement and Counseling Center
at the University of South Carolina
Sumter. Thank you for agreeing to
be a note taker. We are happy you
have chosen to work with us, and
we hope you enjoy your experience
here.
Note taker provision is a mandated
support service provided by
Advisement and Counseling to
students with documented

These disabilities include students

who are deaf or hard of hearing,
students who are blind or have low
vision, they may have a learning
disability or Attention Deficit
Disorder, or any other documented
disability.
Note takers are hired on a semester
basis. Persons providing note-taking
services must be responsible,
reliable, and prompt.

On the following pages you will

find a tutorial about things we
want our note takers to know and
you will learn and review some
key note taking skills. You may
want to consider printing this
tutorial for easy reference.

Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an important aspect of working with
students with disabilities. Students with disabilities
are protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of
1974 (sometimes referred to as FERPA or the Buckley
Amendment.)
It is your responsibility as a note taker for a student
with a disability to protect the privacy of the student,
including any former students. Any information you
obtain, see, observe, hear, or become aware of is
considered confidential. You should NOT discuss
your reason for being in the class with any other
person. The unauthorized release of information is
strictly prohibited and will lead to dismissal upon the
first offense. You will sign a confidentiality statement
when you are hired and a breach of this trust is an
extremely serious offense.
(Oberline On line, 1996)

 Do not disclose who you are taking notes for. Even if

a professor asks you for the students name, simply
tell them that you cannot disclose that information.
The professor should have received a letter from the
student explaining any accommodations they are
receiving. If they have any further questions please
refer them to our office.
The Advisement and Counseling Office is prohibited
by law from providing you with the students phone
number or e-mail address; however, the student will
be provided with your number or e-mail address
upon their request and may contact you if they wish.
If the student does not want to contact you, then the
Director of Advisement and Counseling will handle
any communication between you and the student. If
you have any concerns or questions, contact her at
803-938-3800 or in Administration Building Rm. 101.
You should NOT approach the student.

Responsibilities
Please contact us if there is a change of
address, phone number or e-mail. We must be
able to reach you if there are any problems.
Arrive on time and stay in class until it is over.
You cannot have complete notes if you are not
in class from beginning to end. Important
information such as exam dates or class
cancellations is often provided as the class
begins.
Your pay check will be mailed to you at the end
of the semester for notes that we received.
Please do not give out this office as your place
of employment on job applications or credit
card applications.

Note Taker Manual

Remember, one or more USC students are counting on
your notes to help them succeed in class. Please make
your notes as accurate, legible, and complete as possible.
Arranging for a timely delivery of your notes is also
essential. The student must have access to them as soon
as possible after the class meets. A few hours of
turnaround time is desired.
You are expected to bring your notes to Advisement and
Counseling Office, Adm. Bldg. room 101 within 24 hours
of class. If there will be a delay in the delivery of the
notes, please stop in or call 803-938-3800 as soon as
possible.
At the top of your notes please write the class
name/number
(ex. SOCY V 101) and put the date that the notes were
taken.

What if I miss class?

It is the responsibility of the note take to
make sure you obtain notes for any class that
you miss. If you know you are going to miss
class due to illness or any other reason,
please let the Advisement and Counseling
Office, 803-938-3800, know as soon as
possible.

Potential Problems
If a difficulty occurs within the working
relationship, please contact the
Advisement and Counseling Office as soon
as possible. If the student you are taking
notes for has initiated a working
relationship, then discuss the problem with
the student. This will prevent a difficulty
from mushrooming into a major problem.
If a difficulty cannot be resolved in a
relatively short time, all parties involved
should jointly seek guidance from the
Director of Advisement and Counseling.

How to be a better note

taker
Be prepared for class.
If there is an assigned reading

then it is best to have completed that reading prior to

class. It is likely that much of the class notes and
discussion will be based on the assignment. If the
professor refers to a page in the textbook write it down;
it may be helpful later on.

You may want to consider writing down some main

points before the lecture to help you follow along, this
can help you keep from feeling overwhelmed when you
are being hit with so much information. (Marshall &
Rowland, 1998, pp. 152-153).

It is also important to make sure you bring

enough paper and something to write with.

 Remain objective. Keep your opinions out of the

notes.
Use only one side of the paper and skip lines. The
student may use the other side for adding his/her
own notes. If there is extra space on the page then
the notes will be easier to read and there will be
space for information you may want to add later.
The student is using your notes in combination with
his/her own.
Number, title, and date each page. This will help our
students, and you, keep track of the notes. Students often
receive notes for more than one class at a time.

Keep your notebook organized. Throw out pages

full of doodles and other things that could
potentially create a mess. Use dividers, sticky
notes, and sheet protectors to help organize your
notebook.

 Write legibly and use correct spelling .

Use key words and short phrases.
Use abbreviations for words that are used again and
again or are common. For example, rather than write out
the word government try just writing govt. Also for
long words and phrases you may want to write it out the
first time and then use a shortened version each time
thereafter. For example, rather than use the words
Einsteins Theory of Relativity just write ETR.
Dont try to write down everything the professor says.
This is not possible, and if you can do it, then it is too
much information. Try to write down the big ideas.
Listen for key words, such as facts, connections and main
ideas. It is impossible to reproduce most of the content
of a lecture exactly and very rarely do you want as much
detail as this. Instead your notes should be your
consciously selected version of the material offered, so
that you make notes rather than take them. (Marshall &
Rowland, p. 154).

Abbreviations and
Use the beginning and end of
Use beginning letters
of
Symbols
words or phrases, such as:
words, such as:

without = w/o
overdose = OD
sing on = S.O.
as soon as possible = ASAP

Use beginning syllables, such

as
anthropology = anthro
demonstration =demo
approximately=approx

Use common characters and

symbols, such as:
? = I dont understand
@ = at
= linked to or causes
* or ! = important

(Lipsky, 2004, p. 54-55).

Continued = contd
additional = addl

Remove vowels, such as:

explosion = explsn
check = chck
notebook = notebk

Use mathematical symbol,

such as:

>< represent greater than

or less than
= equal to
# number
~ approximately
+ for and

Selective Listening
Focusing on what is and is not important
and what should and should not be
written down.
Think about the following things as you
listen to the lecture:

What is the topic?

What do I need to know about the topic?
Why is this topic important?
What is an example of this topic?
How did this event or procedure come about?

(Lipsky, 2004, p. 53).

Verbal and Nonverbal

Cues

Verbal Cues These

are things the
professor says that
shows that the
information needs to be
written down. Things
such as:
Repeating
information
Pausing or slowing
down
Talking louder
(Lipsky, 2004, p. 53).

Nonverbal Cues Things

the professors does to
show that information
needs to be written
down. Things such as:
Using hand gestures
Pointing to words on
the board
Looking at students
notes to make sure
they are writing
things down correctly

Listen for Key Words

Advantages

Benefits

Causes
Characteristics
Conclusions
Disadvantages

Effects

Factors

(Wong, 2003, p. 270)

Findings
Functions
Kinds of
Methods
Parts
Principles
Purposes
Reasons

Rules
Solutions
Stages
Steps
Techniques
Types of
Uses
Ways

Listen for Terminology

X means
X is also called
X is defined as
X, also referred to as
The definition of X is
X, also known as

(Wong, 2003, p. 270)

Other things to listen

Details: dates, names,for:
facts, statistics, & definitions
Ordinals: first, second, third, next, also, another, in
addition, last, finally
Examples: Examples are used to make the
information more interesting, so include a reference
(you dont need to retell the whole story) to the
example in your notes to help trigger your memory
Leave it blank when you are unsure. Meet with the
professor or other students to fill in missing
information. It is a good idea to find a buddy in
class; should one of you be absent you can rely on
each other for any missed material or to help fill in
missing information when something is unclear.
(Wong, 2003, p. 271)

 Sit in the front of the class. This will help you

to concentrate on the professor and ignore
distractions during class.
Use underlining and *asterisks* to signify
important information such as test and
assignment dates, class announcements, or key
ideas. Highlighters are fine, but the colors do
not come out when you are making copies of
your notes.
Use mind maps, things such as Venn diagrams
and flow charts. It is also fine to draw pictures.
Make up your own type of chart. Whatever
helps you to make the material make sense.

 Flow Chart a flow

chart uses boxes
with text, graphics,
and symbols to
show operations,
directions,
organization, data,
and the different
stages of a
process. This is
great for science
or history classes.
(The NASA Science Files Homepage, 2004).

Venn Diagram Used to show comparisons between two

or more things. You can always add another circle to
show the similarities and difference between three
things.

(LD Online, 2005)

Types
of
Notes

Paragraph Style
Write what you
hear and
paraphrase
Use bullets
With each new
idea start a new
paragraph

Outline Style
Uses Roman
numerals, letters,
and numerals
Each indention is a
smaller
classification
Uses key words
and phrases

Cornell Style
The Cornell system for taking notes is designed
to
save time but yet be highly efficient. There is no
rewriting or retyping of your notes. It is a

"DO IT RIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE"

system.
First Step PREPARATION Use a large, loose-leaf
notebook. Use only one side of the paper. (you then
can
lay your notes out to see the direction of a lecture.)
Draw
a vertical line 2 1/2 inches from the left side of you
paper. This is the recall column. Notes will be taken to
the right of this margin. Later key words or phrases
can
be written in the recall column.
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdyhlp.html

Cornell Style Continued

Second Step - DURING THE LECTURE Record notes in
paragraph form. Capture general ideas, not illustrative ideas. Skip
lines to show end of ideas or thoughts. Using abbreviations will
save time. Write legibly.
Third Step - AFTER THE LECTURE Read through your notes
and make it more legible if necessary. Now use the column. Jot
down ideas or key words which give you the idea of the lecture.
(REDUCE) You will have to reread the lecturer's ideas and reflect
in your own words. Cover up the right-hand portion of your notes
and recite the general ideas and concepts of the lecture. Overlap
your notes showing only recall columns and you have your review.

http://lvillage.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/lv/hsmoun/hp.nsf/HomePage

The key to taking good notes is

finding what works best for
you. You should use these
hints and techniques to help
you find a note taking method
that makes sense to you and
the way you learn. It is also
important to PRACTICEPRACTICE-PRACTICE!

What if my professor puts

the notes on Blackboard?

Today, you will find many professors that put

their notes on Blackboard. That does not
mean that you should tune out and take nap!
Make sure you have printed out a copy of the
notes and bring them to class with you.
This is a great chance to focus on what is
being said and supplement the notes with
key points, examples, and main ideas.
Use the professors verbal and non-verbal
cues to help you decided what and where to
supplement the notes.
Use your system of abbreviations and
symbols to point out important material.
(Lipsky, 2004, p. 59

Sources
Bowlings English Page. Retrieved on June 8, 2005 from
http://lvillage.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/lv/hsmoun/hp.nsf/HomePages/bbowling
Lipsky, S. (2004). The essential ingredients: College study. New
Jersey: Pearson.
LD Online. (2005) Teaching strategies. Retrieved on June 6, 2005
from
http://www.ldonline.org/images/ld_indepth/memory_trategies_venn.gif
Marshall, L. & Rowland, F. (1998). A guide to learning independently
(3rd ed.).
Australia: Longman.
Oberline On line. (1996) Services for students with disabilities.
Retrieved on June 1,
2005 from
http://www.oberlin.edu/learning/Confidentialitystudents.html
The NASA Science Files Homepage. (2004). Scientific method
flowchart. Retrieved
on June 6, 2005 from
http://whyfiles.larc.nasa.gov/text/kids/Research_Rack/images/scientific
_method01.gif
Virginia Tech, Cook Counseling Center. Note taking: The cornell
system. Retrieved on June 8. 2005 from
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdyhlp.html