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
