Taking notes is a time-saving skill that helps you become a better student in several ways. First, the simple way of writing something down makes it easier for you to"understand"remember. Second, your notes are excellent materials when you are studying or taking a test. Third, note-taking helps to hold your interest.
You may take notes during classroom discussions"and"while reading a textbook or doing research for a report. You may also develop your own method for taking notes. Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking involves carefully choosing what to write down. That means you must decide what is important enough to write in your notes.
The following methods may work best for you.
Listen or read the text quickly to find the main facts"and"ideas in it.
Note any questions or ideas you may have about what is said or written.
As you take notes, you may use your own shorthand, that is, only write the first one or two letters of each word. For example, US is for the United States, NY is for New York. When you do it, be sure that you"understand"what you wrote"and"that you use them all the time. Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.