Florida ged plus college Preparation Program Curriculum and Resource Guide

Note Taking

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  Assist the memory by providing a permanent record of the information
  
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  Focus the attention of the learner and aid in concentration
  
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  Increase understanding of either reading material or oral presentations
  
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  Help identify the main points or ideas
  
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  Understand what the speaker has in mind
  
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  Make the learner more aware of key terms, concepts, and principles
  
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  Assist when reviewing or preparing for a test
  
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  Recognize what is important when reviewing or studying
  

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  Prepare before going to class by reviewing material from the textbook to become familiar with the terms, images, and other material that will be covered.
  
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  Go to class and not depend on someone else’s notes. Someone else won’t have the same background knowledge or experience about a topic or might not be looking and listening for the same types of information.
  
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  Remember that the physical act of writing notes can help reinforce learning.
  
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  Listen actively and if possible think before writing anything down, but be careful to not fall behind the speaker.
  
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  Raise questions when appropriate for clarification.
  
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  Not try to write down everything. Notes are for the key points and specific details. Students who try to write down everything aren’t really listening. They are too busy writing to pay attention.
  
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  Listen for cues that the instructor uses to signal important points or move from one point to the next.
  
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  Listen for repeated information. Instructors will often repeat important information that has special significance.
  
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  Write down the major points and supporting details provided in a lecture or presentation.
  
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  Write legibly even if the notes will be rewritten later. If the writing is illegible, then the student may be unable to read his/her own writing.
  
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  Develop a personal shorthand or abbreviation system for taking notes.
  
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  Write bulleted items, not complete sentences.
  
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  Always date notes and use headings to remember when the notes were taken and the content covered.
  
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  Keep notes and other handouts in a binder or folder that is dedicated to that class.
  
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  Use a tape recorder only if it assists with learning and one’s personal learning style. Taping a lecture or presentation can be useful, but it can also create double the work.
  
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  Review notes immediately after class and add or delete information as needed.
  

Word/Phrase	Abbreviation or Symbol	Word/Phrase	Abbreviation or Symbol
With or without	w/, w/o	And	&
Definition	def	Following	ff
Question	? or Q	Introduction	intro
Most important	imp. or *	Example	ex
Less than	<	More than	>
Continued	con’t	Percent	%
Therefore		Change∆	∆
Leads to	→	To; too; two	2
Organization	org	care of	c/o
information	info	and so forth	etc.
Does not equal	≠	That is	i.e.
No good	ng	minus, negative	––
Compare	cf	Approximately	or @
Because	b/c or	Number	no. or #
Subject	subj	Increasing	↑
Decreasing	↓	As a result	←
Means, resulting in	→	Against	vs
For example	e.g.	Department	dept.
Government	govt.	Including	incl.
Language	lang.	Maximum	max.
Minimum	min.	Page, pages	p./pp.
Reference	ref.	Possible	poss.
Something	s/t	Someone	s/o

Adapted from Office Survival. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 03/24/06 at http://www.crazycolour.com/os/notetaking_07.shtml.

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  Lists and Ordered Lists – In this type of lecture, items are placed in a specific order, such as high impact to low impact, smallest group to largest group, etc. Students should keep notes in the same order as presented in the lecture to aid in memory. They should listen for key words such as: first, second, third, next, then, finally.
  

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  Chronology or Time Order – In this type of lecture, items are discussed as they occurred during a period of time. History, stories, and directions are usually presented using this pattern. Students should listen for clue words such as: first, next, soon, after that, the next day, meanwhile, previously, earlier, before, during, etc.
  

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  Cause and Effect – This pattern of organization begins with what happened (the cause) and then the result (the effect). This pattern is commonly used in science and history. Students should listen for clue words such as: causes, leads to, results in, affect, so, then, consequently, for this reason, as a result, accordingly, may be due to.
  

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  Compare and/or Contrast – In this pattern of organization, the instructor compares how things are alike or contrasts how they are different. Charts or graphic organizers are especially useful for this pattern. Students should listen for clue words such as: in comparison, in contrast, on the contrary, on the other hand, instead, likewise, similarly, like, unlike, however, similar to, the difference, nevertheless, compared with, at the same time.
  

Adapted from Note Taking Strategies: A College Success Workshop by Barbara Fowler, Longview Community College. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 03/23/06 at: http://kcmetro.edu/longview/humanities/reading/ntstrat.htm.

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  Open the book to the reading selection that has been assigned. Survey the material by skimming the pages to get an idea about the content of the passage or chapter. This idea is the subject or topic of the reading.
  
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  Next, look at the headings and subheadings. These are important clues to the main points that the author is making about the subject. Some headings will appear in larger or darker type than others. These are headings; ideas in smaller type are subheadings.
  
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  Now review the information under one of the subheadings. Read the paragraphs that explain or discuss the subheading. Each paragraph will usually give information about a separate idea in the subheading.
  
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  Develop the outline using:
  

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  The subject of the reading as the title of the outline
  
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  The headings as the Roman numerals of the outline I, II, III, IV,V . . .
  
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  The subheadings as the supporting details of the Roman numerals and are labelled as A. B. C. D . . .
  
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  The main ideas of the paragraphs as the supporting details of the subheadings and are labelled as 1. 2. 3. 4 . . .
  

I. _______________

A. ________________

1. _______________

2. _______________

B. _______________

1. _______________

2. _______________

II. _______________

 A. ________________

1. _______________

2. _______________

B. _______________

1. _______________

2. _______________

Cornell Notes

One of the most popular graphic organizers for note taking is a system developed by Cornell University. Cornell Notes provides the perfect format for following through with the 5 Rs of note taking. Students should set up their paper using the format provided below.

Record
During the lecture, the student records information in the main column including meaningful facts, main ideas, and support details.
Reduce
As soon as possible, the student should summarize these facts and ideas concisely in the Cue Column. Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces continuity, and strengthens memory.
Recite
The student should cover the Note Taking Area and use only the notes from the Cue Column to say the facts and ideas of the lecture as fully as possible, not mechanically, but in his/her own words and then verify what has been said by checking the information from the Note Taking Area.
Reflect
The student should develop opinions from the notes and use them as a starting point for personal reflection on the course and how it relates to other courses, background knowledge, or personal experiences. Reflection helps prevent ideas from being forgotten.
Review
Each student should spend at least 10 minutes every week in quick review of the notes in order to retain what has been learned.
For more in-depth information about Cornell Notes, visit the following website:

http://jmasms.nbed.nb.ca/cornell.html.