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Note taking

Note-taking is the practice of writing down or otherwise recording key points of information and is useful exercise when doing research or gathering information. e.g trying to understand what the speaker is saying in a lecture hall.

Benefits of note taking

  •  Actively taking notes during class can help you focus and better understand main concepts and keeps your mind from wandering from the speaker.
  • crucial for reviewing and studying class material so that you better understand it and can be handy when preparing reports or acts as a guide when preparing for an examination.
  • enables you to pay closer attention to and become more familiar with the new information.

One of the reasons why we listen is to acquire information. Research has shown that we can lose up to 80% of the content is forgotten within two weeks if no effort is made to record or to remember the material. This stresses the importance of note-taking during a listening session.

  • Remember, however, not to make a copy of the speaker’s material because:
  • It is not possible – You cannot match the speaker’s speed.
  • It is not necessary – Record only what will enable you to recall everything of significance the speaker says.

Note taking helps you to remember both what you heard and what you understood. It is learning about the subject and not simply recording all that the speaker says. By taking notes you are able to pay closer attention to and become more familiar with the new information.

GUIDELINES TO NOTE-TAKING

  • Date the page
  • Record any other pertinent information you might need like ,Speaker’s name, Title of the lecture/speech, Venue, time, etc.
  • Use symbols-they help you to represent many words by a single symbol as the talking speed of the speaker is often faster than our writing speed. With symbols, you can capture a group of letters or words at onces
  • Use Abbreviations-short form of the words instead of typing the whole word. e.g info. instead of information. note the dot at end of the shorted word info. to signify that the word is a short form of another word.
  • Use acronyms -This are names formed from the first letters or syllables of other words, for example International Livestock Research Institute is written as ILRI.
  • Use the form that will help you to review your notes easily. You will need to consider the nature of the content. A note format for Mathematics will not be the same as that one for History, Biology, etc. Biology, for example may call for diagrams; Geography for maps, charts, graphs, etc.
  • Think of how the presenter has ordered the material. A good lecture or speech has three distinct parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Listen to the main points for discussion, which are usually given in the introduction. The body then develops them while the conclusion (among other functions) sums them up and points forward to the next step.
  • Use Letter and Numeral Format efficiently to arrange main points
  • Clustering/Mind Maps e.g
  • use Flow Charts especially when a process to do something is being explained.
WHEN NOT TO TAKE NOTES
  1. When the speaker tells you not to write.
  2. When the speaker hands out an outline, notes, or other material and then reads directly from the handout. In this case you can annotate the handout for any extra details.
  3. When it is very clear that what is being said is out of topic. For example, a poor presenter may bring in unrelated issues especially if there is no clear plan or organisation. At other times the speaker may notice lack of concentration among some listeners. He/she then cracks a joke to re-establish the listening mood.

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