As obvious and as easy as it sounds, there are many people who are unsure how to note-take or how to organise their notes that would help them best. You may be thinking why should I take notes?

This weeks post will answer your questions and after reading and following this, you’ll be an expert at note-taking!

WHY TAKE NOTES?

It is a memory aid 

• Helps with referencing
• Helps avoid unintended plagiarism

Pattern recognition

• Helps you recognise different perspectives on a particular issue
• Helps summarise results
• Helps organise your essay

Production & Interpretation of ideas 

• By taking notes, you actively interact with the source and read critically
• Taking notes can help clarify your views, come up with ideas or help you create an argument for your essay
• The organised notes can structure your essay

Note taking is essential before writing an essay.

See my previous blog post for more about How to Write an Essay at University:

http://www.mccombstudents.com/how-to-write-an-essay-at-university/

When you have taken good notes and organised them, you’ve already started your essay and it is in a good structure.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR NOTES?

• Central views/results that are relevant to the essay question
• Quotations e.g. definitions
• Views/results that support or contradict your or other researchers views/results.

 Ensure to have the author’s name, book name and page number.

 HOW TO TAKE NOTES?

• Read through your source and highlight the relevant information
• Read the source again, focusing on the highlighted parts and take notes. (it is useful to re-read as you may have missed key information and you may not have fully understood it the first time)
• Organise your notes, ensuring everything you have written is accurate e.g. statistics or quotes for definitions
• When paraphrasing- summarise in your own words but make sure you are accurately reflecting on the content of the source.

 SUMMARISING

• Summarise the paragraph, the topic, the chapter etc.
• Summarise results, concepts, views
• Note which sources support each other e.g. Source 1 supports Source 3, 5 & 7
• Note which sources contradict each other e.g. Source 2 contradicts Source 4, 6 & 8

PARAPHRASING

• Re-write sentences using your own words
• Use synonyms to help you
• Change the order of the sentence

 

Hope this has been useful. If you have any questions, feel free to email me on r.dhodakia@outlook.com