Unit 2: Note-taking skills

STUDY SKILLS (BCGE004) SEC. 1

SEM.1 (2023-2024)
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
 Note-taking

• Note taking is a process of writing down important points, arguments,

facts or ideas from a written material.
• Taking notes involves active listening, as well as connecting and relating
information to ideas you already know.
• It also involves seeking answers to questions that arise from the material.
• Efficient note making as it would help you to study on your own and is
important in preparation for examinations.
 Note-taking
The purpose of note-taking:

1. Why do we take notes?

2. Is it only as an aid to our memory?
3. Are there other reasons for taking notes?
4. Should we take notes in different ways for different purposes?
5. What use should make of notes when we have taken them?
Note-taking
Effective Notetaking Requires:

• recognizing the main ideas,

• identifying what information is relevant to your task,

• having a system of note taking that works for you,

• reducing the information to note and diagram format,

• where possible, putting the information in your own words, and

• recording the source of the information

Different ways of recording information

P. 39

No information lost Time-consuming

Very straightforward method Some details may be lost

Focus on main ideas Some details may be lost

Easy and quick to use Can't be used on library books

Easy and quick to use Required computer efficiency

Easy and quick to use Expensive!

Easy and quick to use Can't be used on library books

No information lost Speaker permission is required

Note-taking
Efficient note-taking: using symbols and abbreviations

• Save your time and yourself by using symbols and abbreviations that

you can easily remember when you need to revise your notes.

• Don’t record every word that is said.

• It is easy to forget in taking notes under pressure of time.

Note-taking
Efficient note-taking: using symbols and abbreviations (page 39)

1. Field symbols and abbreviations.

• Learn certain symbols and abbreviations as part of your field of study.

2. Person symbols and abbreviations

• It is recommended to make your list of symbols and abbreviations that you frequently use
in your daily note-taking and based on your specializing.

Commonly used symbols and abbreviations

• Symbols and abbreviations that used widely and commonly among a lot of
individuals such as (=)means equal, (e.g.) means for example.
Note-taking Commonly used symbols and abbreviations

Abbreviations:
Note-taking Commonly used symbols and abbreviations
Symbols:
 Note-taking
Note-taking equipment
Note-taking taking notes from a text (1)
Note-taking taking notes from a text (2)
 Note-taking
Discourse markers (the signposts)

• It is important and useful to understand the input (spoken or written) structure.

• Understand the input as a map of area.

• Discourse markers are like signposts on the map.

• Discourse markers serve as signals for the meaning and structure of the lecture.

• Discourse markers show how the ideas are organized.

Note-taking Different discourse marks have different functions
 References

• Wallace, M. J. (2004). Study Skills in English Student's Book: A Course in Reading Skills for
Academic Purposes. Cambridge University Press.