Image details: Writer’s Block by photosteve101, via Flickr
Taking notes is really difficult sometimes. The trouble is, there is no right or wrong way to do it. What suits one person, might not suit another.
Here are a few ways that people take notes in lessons or lectures:
- Write down key words and short sentences in a note pad
- Draw a mindmap/spider diagram
- Take information down in shorthand
- Use a voice recorder and tape everything that is said, condensing it into written notes later, as needed
- Type notes directly onto a laptop/tablet
- Not take any notes and try to remember everything (I have never seen this method work!)
If you are writing notes by hand, and don’t know shorthand, there are lots of different techniques you can try in order to find your preferred note taking technique. I really recommend trying mind-mapping as it is a good way to sort information logically.
These websites might help you:
- Open University – How to take notes
- Mantex – How to take notes
- Wikihow – How to take lecture notes
- Mind-mapping on Wikipedia
Try googling these phrases…
- How to make notes
- Taking notes
- Taking effective notes
- Note taking
- How to do a mindmap
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