EGERTON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

E-CAMPUS

COMS 101: ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Topic 3 Handout

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Topic 3

Note Taking and Note Making

Introduction Welcome to note taking and note making! This topic will take you through understanding
the meaning of note taking and the differences that exist between the two. It will also discuss the key
things that you need to consider if you wish to take good note when listening or when you are reading.
The Topic will discuss the various strategies that you can use to enable you take notes that you can use
for a variety of uses.
Learning Outcome

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

Distinguish between note-taking and making
Isolate the conventional note taking formats
Employ various devices (tools) in note-taking and notemaking
1Meaning of Note Taking and Making

Note taking is one of the active listening skills that you will need to acquire here at Egerton University
in order to record accurately what you listen to in lectures and in your study groups. However, you will
find that this skill is relevant and necessary in other topics such as reading skills, study skills and writing
skills. It is important that you learn the difference between note making and note taking.
Note taking is a crucial skill and one that we would encourage you to develop as early as possible in
your studies. It can help you to listen actively as opposed to passively. This means making sense of
what you are listening to at that particular point in time and keeping a record for yourself, a record that
you can go back to later on, whether for revising for examinations or for making links with later parts of
the various courses you are studying. Therefore, taking notes does not imply simply taking things down
more or less word for word, of what the speaker says. Rather, it is a selection and it needs to be
organized and it will include the most important or interesting parts of the lecture that you have been
listening to.
Purpose: The purpose of note-taking is to assist concentration and to guide you in taking down what is
important from wide content. You can take notes when you listen to lecturers and other presentations
for academic purposes. You may make notes when you are studying on your own in the library or
during your private study. Making notes can also include filling up gaps and adding information to notes
taken during a listening process where certain details could have been left out. When taking notes, you
are brief and write fast. But later when you go back to look at the notes, you may add some details and
provide various examples, thus making them more detailed and clearer and also editing any errors
Despite the slight difference, you can see that

Note-taking and note-making are selective processes in which you record or write down the main
points or items heard or read in the course of learning. There are a number of reasons why you need to
take and make notes. These include:
Notes to assist retention: note-taking and note-making greatly increases the chances of recalling the
information.
Notes for revision: This is perhaps the most important function of notes. You can perform better when
you revise from your own notes.

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Notes for external storage: when you record what has been said during any presentation, this acts as a
storage mechanism of these facts and ideas.
Notes as preparation for written assignments. Notes you take may be used to expand the concepts to
be discussed or they could be incorporated in the writing process. So this means that extensive and
intensive reading and making notes will enable you to focus on the topic or subject of the assignment.
Devices or tools used in note-taking and note-making The skills required in taking notes include quick
co-ordination between listening (decoding or interpretation) and writing. It is not possible to write
down everything as uttered by the speaker or written by the author. There are devices or tools that you
can use to enable you take useful notes. These devices include: Abbreviations Acronyms Symbols
What are abbreviations? These are shortened forms of words or part of written word. Abbreviations
could either be standard or personal in form. The standard abbreviations are those forms that are
conventional and are nationally and internationally used. The personal forms of abbreviations are
devised by the writer for his/her own use later on. The personal forms may or may not be understood
by other people. Examples of standard abbreviations are: NRB or NBi -Nairobi U.K -United Kingdom or
United Kingdom NKR -Nakuru Med. -medicine F -female M -male E.g. -for example U. S. A -United
States of America A. U. -African union E.U -European Union Examples of some non-standard
abbreviations are Pple -people Wlkg -walking Dev. -develop Devping -developing Devpment -
development
What are Acronyms? These are words formed or based on the initial letters or syllables or other words.
Examples of acronyms are:- KARI -Kenya Agricultural Research Institute KEMRI -Kenya Medical
Research Institute KNEC -Kenya National Examination Council UNESCO -United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organization WHO -World Health Organization
What are symbols? These are representations which are conventional. They stand in the place of
something else. You can use any of the following symbols to represent longer words or phrases as
shown: + -addition or plus sign - -subtraction or minus sign = -equivalent or equal sign X -multiplication
sign > -greater than sign < -less than sign CO2 -carbon dioxide O2 -oxygen O3 -Ozone -approximately
equal to.
How to take notes. Methods of note-taking are a matter of personal preference and each person
should work out the style which suits them. Notes are personal and private and since they are almost
always for personal use they can be as idiosyncratic as the writer may choose However there are some
basic principles which may be applied in note-taking to produce good and useful notes. These include:
Listening with concentration to that there is an understanding of what is being said. Selecting the main
points from the lecture on presentation. Omitting many words and compressing text without losing the
essential meaning. The use of abbreviations, acronyms and symbols are appropriate.

3.2 Taking Lecture Notes

You might one time find yourself in a lecture mode of learning or a formal talk that you will need to
take some notes. Here, you will require to have an understanding of how to take useful notes. I. There
are many reasons for taking lecture notes. A. Making yourself take notes forces you to listen carefully
and test your understanding of the material. B. When you are reviewing, notes provide a gauge to what
is important in the text. C. Personal notes are usually easier to remember than the text. D. The writing
down of important points helps you to remember then even before you have studied the material

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formally. II. Instructors usually give clues to what is important to take down. Some of the more
common clues are: A. Material written on the blackboard. B. Repetition C. Emphasis 1. Emphasis can be
judged by tone of voice and gesture. 2. Emphasis can be judged by the amount of time the instructor
spends on points and the number of examples he or she uses. D. Word signals (e.g. "There are two
points of view on . . . " "The third reason is . . . " " In
conclusion . . . ") E. Summaries given at the end of class. F. Reviews given at the beginning of class. III.
Each student should develop his or her own method of taking notes, but most students find the
following suggestions helpful: A. Make your notes brief. 1. Never use a sentence where you can use a
phrase. Never use a phrase where you can use a word. 2. Use abbreviations and symbols, but be
consistent. B. Put most notes in your own words. However, the following should be noted exactly: 1.
Formulas 2. Definitions 3. Specific facts C. Use outline form and/or a numbering system. Indention
helps you distinguish major from minor points. D. If you miss a statement, write key words, skip a few
spaces, and get the information later. E. Don't try to use every space on the page. Leave room for
coordinating your notes with the text after the lecture. (You may want to list key terms in the margin or
make a summary of the contents of the page.) F. Date your notes. Perhaps number the pages.

3.3 Saving Time on Note Taking

Here are some hints regarding taking notes on classroom lectures that can save time for almost any
student. Some students say that they plan to rewrite or type their notes later. To do so is to use a
double amount of time; once to take the original notes and a second to rewrite them. The advice is
simple: DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME! Second, there are some students who attempt to take notes in
shorthand. Though shorthand is a valuable tool for a secretary, it is almost worthless for you as a
student in academic work. Here is why. Notes in shorthand cannot be studied in that form. They must
first be transcribed. The act of transcribing notes takes a great amount of time and energy but does not
significantly contribute to your mastery. It is far better to have taken the notes originally in regular
writing and then spend the time after that in direct study and recitation of the notes. Third, do not
record the lesson on a cassette tape or any other tape. The lecture on tape precludes flexibility. This
statement can be better understood when seen in the light of a person who has taken his/her notes in
regular writing. Immediately after taking the notes this person can study them in five minutes before
the next class as s/he walks toward the next building, as s/he drinks his/her coffee, or whatever.
Furthermore, this student, in looking over his/her notes, may decide that the notes contain only four
worthwhile ideas which s/he can highlight, relegating the rest of the lecture to obscurity. Whereas the
lecture on tape has to be listened to in its entirety including the worthwhile points as well as the
"garbage," handwritten notes may be studied selectively. If you take the easy way out - recording the
lecture on tape as you sit back doing nothing – you will box yourself into inflexibility.

3.4 Note Making

Learning to make notes effectively will help you to improve your study and work habits and to
remember important information. Often, students are deceived into thinking that because they
understand everything that is said in class they will therefore remember it. This is dead wrong! We
encourage you to write it down. As you make notes, you will develop skill in selecting important

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material and in discarding unimportant material. The secret to developing this skill is practice. Check
your results constantly. Strive to improve. Notes enable you to retain important facts and data and to
develop an accurate means of arranging necessary information.
Checklist for taking good Notes

1. Do not write down everything that you read or hear. Be alert and attentive to the main points.
Concentrate on the "meat" of the subject and forget the trimmings.

2. Notes should consist of key words or very short sentences. If a speaker gets sidetracked it is often
possible to go back and add further information.

3. Take accurate notes. You should usually use your own words, but try not to change the meaning. If
you quote directly from an author, quote correctly.

4. Think a minute about your material before you start making notes. Do not take notes just to be seen
taking notes! Take notes that will be of real value to you when you look over them at a later date.

5. Have a uniform system of punctuation and abbreviation that will make sense to you. Use a skeleton
outline and show importance by indenting. Leave lots of white space for later additions.

6. Omit descriptions and full explanations. Keep your notes short and to the point. Condense your
material so you can grasp it rapidly.

7. Do not worry about missing a point.

8. Do not keep notes on oddly shaped pieces of paper. Keep notes in order and in one place.

9. Shortly after making your notes, go back and rework (not redo) your notes by adding extra points
and spelling out unclear items. Remember, we forget rapidly. Budget time for this vital step, just as you
do for the class itself.

10. Review your notes regularly. This is the only way to achieve lasting memory.

Topic summary

In this topic you have seen the emphasis of taking notes using your own words and even using your
own thoughts in that process, but it is also important that you keep reflecting on how you take notes. It
is also important to develop a formula that works for you. As you keep on refining that process, you will
realize that the notes you are taking towards the end of this course, will be different from the notes
you are taking now. This Topic has taken you through various key points that you need to consider
when taking or making notes. We have done this by helping you to understand the difference and
similarity between note taking and note making. Remember that you can take and make notes in
various situations that require you to identify and keep the key points of discussion in any forum. To
help you take good notes, we have specifically encouraged you to design your own individual formats
of taking and making notes based on the subject that you are studying.

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