Strategies for Taking Notes

This week, we are taking notes while we research ancient China and Egypt.

Note-taking is a skill that requires practice (it's a bit like dribbling, for soccer players). It's not easy to learn how to take notes, so here are some of my suggestions for taking notes while reading (taking notes while listening to a teacher is similar in some ways, but different in other ways):

1. Try not to copy the precise wording from the book/website. You are taking notes, so it's not an honor offense to copy the exact words (the honor offense would arise if you used someone else's words for an actual writing assignment, without giving the other person credit).

However, if you force yourself to put information in your own words, it causes you to think more actively about what you are reading.

Thinking more actively makes the process of reading -- and the process of taking notes -- more meaningful and more memorable.

2. You can't possibly write down everything (and doing so would not be productive), so focus on (1) major ideas and (2) the details that seem especially important -- or that are especially interesting to you.

This is the most challenging part of taking notes. Fortunately, you will get lots of practice. If you are curious about whether a certain piece of information is "note worthy", you should ask me and I will provide my input.

3.  Don't bother writing in complete sentences. Save your beautiful sentences for graded assignments, when you'll need to think more about grammar, word choice, and making things flow.

4. Use abbreviations!!

You can be creative and come up with your own. Over time, you will actually start to develop your own "abbreviation language", which can be quite fun.

5. If you're a visual learner, use sketches, symbols or other graphics in your notes (some people call this "sketchnoting").

For me, arrows (to connect ideas) and circles (to highlight the most important information) are especially helpful.

One of the greatest note-takers of all time (Leonardo da Vinci!) loved to include sketches that helped him process his ideas.