Whether it’s from our class notes, from a textbook or using digital notes, note making is one of the most important elements in preparing for an exam. Our time is limited, so reducing mass amounts of information and summarising key points helps us to better focus our time and be much more efficient. Each student can develop note taking strategies that best fits their learning style but today we want to share some key points that can help you in the process of note making.
Note Making Explained: Five Basic Steps
- Exploring the theme and sub-themes: The first step towards good note making consists of a reading of the text to get a general idea of its theme.
- Organisation of content: This step can be carried out in conjunction with the first. The aim here is to identify the various parts that make up the text. Do this to get an idea of the amount of note making that will be required.
- Notes in the margin: Before you start working on the summary itself, taking notes in the margin helps to add clarification to the content. Use it to note some main points and keywords in the text. This task will simplify things greatly when it comes to the summary process.
- Underline essential information: Utilising this option will make your second and third effort of studying the material that bit easier. Rather than filtering through heavy amounts of material, your key notes are underlined and more visually grabbing.
- Content Outline: Having identified the most important parts in the text, a diagram or Mind Map that allows us to visualise the content and their relationships can help with memorising information.
Best of Luck for Your Exams
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