Continued Education: Taking Notes

Most educated people find occasion, at some time or other, to take notes. Although this is especially true of college students, they have little success, as any college instructor will testify. Students, as a rule, do not realize that there is any skill involved in taking notes. Not until examination time arrives and they try vainly to labor through a maze of scribbling, do they realize that there must be some system in note-taking. A careful examination of note-taking shows that there are rules or principles, which, when followed, have much to do with increasing ability in study.

One criterion that should guide in the preparation of notes is the use to which they will be put. If this is kept in mind, many blunders will be saved. Notes may be used in three ways: as material for directing each day's study, for cramming, and for permanent, professional use. Thus a note-book may be a thing of far reaching value. Notes you take now as a student may be valuable years hence in professional life. Recognition of this will help you in the preparation of your notes and will determine many times how they should be prepared.

The chief situations in college which require note-taking are lectures, library reading and laboratory work.

Accordingly the subject will be considered under these three heads:

1. LECTURE NOTES - Avoid verbatim reports. Maintain attitude of mental activity. Seek outline chiefly. Use notes in preparing next lesson.
2. READING NOTES - Summarize rather than copy. Read with questions in mind. Learn how to read and how to make bibliographies.
3. LABORATORY NOTES - Respect order. Follow instructions. Write plainly in ink and take care in forming sentences.

Helpful Exercises:

• Exercise 1. List concrete problems that have newly come to you since your arrival upon the campus or university.
• Exercise 2. List in order the difficulties that confront you in preparing your daily lessons.
• Exercise 3. Prepare a work schedule and specify the subject with which you will be occupied at each period.
• Exercise 4. Try to devise some way of registering the effectiveness with which you carry out your schedule. Record disposition of materials as planned; and as spent. To divide the number of hours wasted by 24 will give a partial "index of efficiency."
• Exercise 5. Contrast the taking of notes from reading and from lectures.