Note Taking and Reading Techniques

How are your note taking skills?  How do you take notes?  On ground professors will often stop and emphasize main points, but continue to lecture. As a student sitting in a lecture hall, you don't get to hit the stop and repeat button on the lecture.  As an online student,  you have the opportunity to pause and re-listen to a lecture or video when needed.  Before taking notes, listen to the lecture the whole way through and then go back and take notes. The same should be applied if you are reading a textbook.  Don't stop and highlight as you read. Read thoroughly and then go back and highlight and review.  Think about the following:

• Organization - can you locate your notes for each class?
• Legible - can you read what you have written?
• Understanding - when you read your notes back do you understand them?  Could you explain them to another student?
• Style - how do you take notes?  Do you highlight, abbreviate, use your margins?

Let's practice taking notes. Please watch this video " The 6 Habits of Highly Successful Students" and make your own notes about what you have learned in the video.

After taking notes, try the following:

• Create a title for your notes or reading
• Create a summary - 2 to 3 sentences
• Create details - write down 3 main facts from what you've written

Your details should connect to the summary which in turn connects to your title. 

Bringing this all together should help to clarify what you have written and keep your notes organized and easier to work with when studying for an exam.