10/12/2011

Note taking is an
important part of
academic life.
Note Taking Basics To be successful at note taking, you
need to
Alfrina Hany • Improve your listening skills.
• Develop your note taking skills.
• Be able to use your notes to study.
Presented in English For Nursing, 2011

Like All Skills

•Listening and note taking improve ONLY Note taking = Dictation

with practice.
•Practice every day for 5-10 minutes. Note taking is writing complete ideas;
dictation is writing complete
sentences.

Examples
Dictation: Successful Note taking:
Head Trauma Patient bed two receives Listen for KEY WORDS
blood transfusion 2 days a week, from
10:00 am to 10:50.
Notes: First - costs
Head trauma b-2
- blood trf. 2 d/wk. 10 – 10:50 am

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Successful Note taking: Use space to show

relationships.
Use space. Move your hand.
Use vertical space. Use horizontal space.
Three keys to green
environment –
educate public,
improve techno., and
help increase demand
for recycling.

Use headings to To create headings,

organize ideas. use -
• CAPITAL LETTERS
• BOXES

• underline
• - - indent below the
heading

Note complete ideas,

Use symbols and
not just random
abbreviations.
words.
Mr = ! • Pop of UNT pop of TWU
Mrs %
• 1990 intl st < 2% of UNT st
w/ ‹
BUT now > 9+%
pop ›
& #  w/o x

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Get the BIG

PICTURE! In the university--
What’s the speaker’s
main point?
What does he want
•Develop your own style.
you to learn?

•After the lecture, rewrite

your notes ASAP (as soon as
possible).

In Clinical Setting One More Point

• Use common abbreviation
• Systematics  S O A P
Quantity is important!
• ASAP  legal documents

Change dictation into

notes:
Now let’s change Studies on worldwide literacy* rates show that almost 80
sentences to ideas . . . percent of the world’s population over the age of 15 is
now literate. This includes more women than ever before.

*Literacy = ability to read

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One way to write this Change dictation into

info notes:
Studies ww literacy rt = almost 80 % world pop over 15 UNESCO’s study shows a drop in illiteracy from twenty-
yrs now literate two and four-tenths percent of the world population in
1995 to twenty and three tenths in 2000.
+ grtr # of women than bef

One way to write this Another way to write

info it.
WW literacy rates
UNESCO’s st shows fr 22.4% ww pop in ’95 to 20.3% in
2000 - almost 80% of ww pop 15+ yrs - literate
What important information is missing? What is the decrease in?
- more women than bef
The LITERACY rate INCREASED – the drop was in the number of
people who CANNOT read – the ILLITERACY rate dropped.
- illiteracy 1995 2000
22.4% (ww pop) 20.3%

What will u note?? Remember

Use
Mrs.N, age 24, hospitalised in the GYN •Key words
clinics. CC off-white vaginal discharge and •Space
anemia. Mucous membrane pale, anemia, •Headings
CBC result : Hb 6,5 mg/dL, Hct 110 . Plan: •Abbreviations and
transfusion, IV line D/W 5%, USG symbols
•Complete ideas
•Quantity!

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Remember
•Get the big picture!

•Rewrite your notes.

•Develop your own

style and

Practice, practice, practice.