NOTE TAKING/WRITING SKILLS

 Whatever learning resource you use, you will probably want to note down important
points from what you read or hear, either at the time or short afterwards

LEANING OUTCOMES:
 Take notes from lectures and similar learning resources in an efficient and effective way
 Store notes efficiently
 Exploit your notes for successful study

Different ways of recording information

 There are different ways in which information can be recorded
o Writing down every word from source, using outline (linear) notes,
underlining/highlighting text in colour, photocopying text, making notes in
margins – text, audio recording – spoken input, computer scanning – text

The purpose of note-taking/note writing

 Why do we take notes? Is it only as an aid to our memory? Are there other reasons for
taking notes? What use should we make of notes when we have taken them?
o It helps you to remember what you have learnt
o Most important: provides you with a summary in note form (acts like a guide to
your research and write up of full notes later, since lecture notes are not
sufficient)
o Note writing helps you to make use of textbooks that are hard to come by or are in
short supply
o It is an active study method - helps you to concentrate on what the speaker is
saying – to extend your attention span (to keep you focussed on the task at hand)
o Helps you to organize the ideas you are learning about- very important when
using notes to review for an examination or as a starting point in an assignment –
notes are useful for revising material and preparing for tests and exams

General tips of note taking:

1. Use shortcuts that you will understand and that will make the writing quicker (since you
also need to listen to the lecture) – write in short phrases rather than full sentences or
abbreviate common words and recurring ones

o Use symbols and abbreviations

 It is usually not necessary or even useful to try to record every word that is
said
 If you are going to take notes efficiently, you will want to save yourself as
much writing time as possible, and this is where the use of symbols and
abbreviations comes in
 Use abbreviations in notes but not in essays or formal writing
 However, remember to use symbols and abbreviations that you will be
able to remember when you come to revising your notes some time later
  Remember that note taking is an activity where everyone has his or her
own style. Aim to keep things simple.

Types of symbols and abbreviations

 Field symbols and abbreviations
o The student specialising in a certain field or subject area will learn certain
symbols and abbreviations as part of the study of that field
o Thus a student of Chemistry will know that C stands for Carbon, since it is widely
used within the field and neither ambiguous nor liable to be misunderstood
 Commonly used symbols/abbreviations
o These are common in use or widely understood.

Symbol Meaning
e.g. For example
Etc. And so on
+ And
 Leads to
/ Increase/decrease
= Is equal to, is the same as, means
 Greater than
 Less than
 Therefore
i.e. That is
? Question
// Between
Xpt Except
 Before
w/ With
w/o Without
Etc. Etcetera: and so on
Cf Compare
Viz namely
N.B. Note
C. About/approximately
≈ Approximately
@ at
& And
≠ Not equal to/the opposite of

o Personal symbols/abbreviations used by individual students

 If you find yourself having to frequently note down a certain word or
phrase, it’s sensible to find a quick way of to represent it
Abbreviation Full version
 Dept Department
Excl. Excluding
Incl. Including
Lang. language
Govt Government
Assoc. Association
Prob. Probable/probably
Imp. important
Ltd. Limited

2. It’s important to determine which information is important and which one is not
 How do you determine the important points?
 You can look for certain things:
 The title of the lecture is very important
 Listen for direct or indirect signals (discourse markers/signposts) from
the lecturer that tell you what’s important (see handout)
 Listen for repetition
 Concentrate on important words (content words) e.g. technical
words; definitions, enumerations/list of items, examples (that
illustrate abstract/complex points)
 NOTE: you can read in advance about the topic to be discussed in class,
so you are able to follow the lecture critically, ask questions, comment, or
even offer constructive criticisms
 The best way is to be critical about what you are listening to (ask
yourself if it’s important, credible, or relevant)
3. Use colour, size, underlining, etc. to draw attention to important points (e.g. different
pen colours or highlighters to write down facts, opinions etc. and different writing/font
sizes to indicate main points, or underlining to emphasise a point, etc.)
4. Ask the lecturer if a certain point is not clear to you before writing it down
5. Effective note taking depends on good listening skills

Organising and storing your notes

 Large pieces of paper (A4), loose –leaf paper:
Advantage: lets you file pages at the relevant point and move pages around
 Notebooks: keep everything together, but leave spaces/ wide margins to add new
information, comments and make links or even references to further readings
 PCs - allow notes to be typed straight to storage devices. This saves time, especially
if you want to add information etc.
 Date your notes
 Write legibly so that you don’t spent time deciphering your handwriting
REMEMBER:
 Aim for notes which:
o Are clear, lively (easy to understand), and limited in length (brief)
o Add knowledge, and make connections to other material
o Include your own opinions and comments
o Guide or remind you what to do next (relevant to your own needs)
METHODS/TECHNIQUES OF NOTE TAKING
o There are two methods of taking notes, outlining and summarising

OUTLINING
 This is a highly structured and organized method of taking notes
 It is one way of taking down effective notes especially when your notes have a number
of headings and subheadings.
 It uses phrases and avoids complete sentences
 It organises information under main points
 Supporting facts and details are indented under main facts
 This can be done in several ways:

1. Traditional number/letter method

o Uses numbers (1,2,3), letters of the alphabet (a, b, c), and Roman numerals (i, ii,
iii or I, V, X, C) to indicate the main ideas
o Points which have equal amount of importance are written using the same letters
or numbers
o Example: I
A
1
a
b
i
B
1
C
1
a

2. Decimal method: this uses decimal numerical notation

o Example: 1.0
1.1
1.1.1
1.1.2
2.0
2.1
2.2
 3.0
3.1
3.1.1

TAKING NOTES FROM A TEXT (SUMMARY WRITING)

 Apart from taking lecture notes, you should also be able to take notes from texts
 Noting from documents is easier than from lectures, because there is time to think
about the issues, identify links to other material and write legibly the first time
 Since you cannot copy each and every word (since it wastes time and paper),
summarising is a tool which helps writers to obtain the gist of the text without copying
everything
What’s a summary?
 It’s a reduction of a large quantity of information down to the most important points (the
gist) (i.e. a brief version of an original work).
 Summarising requires you to thoroughly understand the material you are reading
 The length of a summary depends on the length of the text being summarised and your
purpose for summarising; but usually it’s no more than one-third of the text
NOTE: to write a summary, it is imperative that you read the original material

STRATEGIES OF/APPROACH TO SUMMARY WRITING

 Identify the key words in the summary question itself. These key words tell you exactly
what you are required to do
 Decide what the boundaries of the summary task are. This means deciding which part of
the passage is relevant to the question. The summary task may or may not, involve the
whole passage.
 Identify the required information from the passage and list this information in brief point
form. Always make a list of these points
 Write your summary in continuous prose, by linking up the points you have made from
the text. Never lift sentences directly from the passage. Try to use your own words as
much as possible, but you may retain the key ideas noted from the passage.
 Use the following techniques to save words:
o Generalise a sequence of events or actions on one word or phrase
o Use one word or phrase to cover similar items or a list of examples
o Link up related points in one sentence
 Check the length of your summary. If it is longer than required, shorten it by taking out
any unnecessary words but make sure you do not leave out any important points. Be
honest in stating the number of words you have used.
o In ordinary class work or homework you can first write a draft summary which
you can revise and polish up into the final version. This is to give you practice
only
o In the exam room it is improbable that you will find time to completely rewrite
your draft. You should therefore after practice, train yourself to produce a good
version which needs only minor revision and adjustment
 o If you do find time to rewrite your summary in an exam, ensure that you draw a
line through the rough draft so that the examiner does not mistake it for final
work.

FORMS OF A SUMMARY
 A summary can take two forms:
1. Condensation: such a summary presents the original material in a digested or a
rephrased form
o This means that the writer has read the original material and used his own words
to write the summary
2. Abridgement: the summary retains the essential content of the work in the original
wording

TYPES OF A SUMMARY
 The type depends on the writer’s purpose
1. Descriptive: the writer states what a text is about in a very general way. Hence, it
contains principal facts and conclusions given in the original work.
 No personal feelings or thoughts are injected in this summary since the
main points are presented objectively (not influenced by personal
feelings or opinions when presenting facts)
 It is usually found at the beginning or end of book chapters
 It is also found in articles as abstracts
 Its function is to indicate the usefulness of the original material

2. Evaluative: this contains an evaluation

o Its purpose is to analyse accuracy, completeness, usefulness, how appealing it is,
or its readability (enjoyable) etc.
o Thoughts and feelings are included, since it’s a subjective summary (based on
personal feelings or opinions)
o It emphasises assessment of the original material
o NOTE: Your opinions should be backed by the original material (i.e. it should
include specific main points and specific references from the original material)
o A book/article review is a very popular form of an evaluative summary

 Note: a summary should agree with the original material in two ways:
1. Presentation of factual material
2. Emphasis placed on the material (i.e. must agree with the original material, the
intended audience so that it’s not misleading)

TIPS ON MAKING NOTES FROM DOCUMENTS

 Do not copy whole passages as this postpones the hard work of thinking through the
material
 Keep an accurate record of all sources of your notes (write down the reference in full and
the library location so you can find the book, journal again)
  New words: every course has its specialist vocabulary- keep a record of new words and
check the spelling
 Quotations: a direct quotation can add substance and impact in writing, but must be
timely, relevant, fully integrated and always ensure quotations are fully referenced.
o A quote should be the only time when your notes exactly copy the text (e.g.
reproducing maps and diagrams is a form of quotation and again the source must
be acknowledged)
 Check and share notes with friends: everyone has different ideas about what is
important. So comparing summary notes with a mate will expand your understanding.

ABSTRACTS AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES

 Abstracts and executive summaries (ES) inform readers about the contents of documents
 While both approaches summarize longer documents, they have different formats and
serve different purposes
 Writing an abstract or an ES enhances your skills in reading, identifying key points and
issues, structuring points in a logical sequence and writing concisely
 Most journal articles include an abstract that summarises the contents
 Abstracts appear in bibliographic databases to notify researchers of an article’s contents
 Executive summaries are normally found at the start of reports and plans, particularly
with business documents. An ES aims to describe the essential points within a document,
usually in 1 – 2 pages. Depending on the context, the style may be more dynamic and
less formal than an abstract
REMEMBER: READING ABSTRACTS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR READING THE
WHOLE ARTICLE/BOOK

ACTIVITY: next time you read a journal article, read the paper first and make notes
without looking at the abstract first. Then compare your notes with the abstract. Are there
significant differences between them?

ABSTRACT
 Look at some well written abstracts before writing one
 An abstract should be a short, accurate, objective summary; there is no room for
interpretation or criticism.
 Abstracts should do the following:
o Let the reader select documents for a particular research problem; that is, it should
enable readers to identify the basic content of a document quickly and accurately,
to determine its relevance to their interests, and thus decide whether they need to
read the document in its entirety
o Substitute, in a limited way, for the original document when accessing the original
is impossible
o Access, in a limited way through translations, research papers in other languages
 An abstract is usually required with a dissertation, but if you are required to prepare an
abstract of a paper or book, it might be useful to check off these points:
 o Give the citation in full
o Lay out the principal arguments following the order in the full text (if you are
summarizing a research paper, provide a brief summary of each of the main
sections of the paper: introduction, materials, methods, results and discussion)
o Emphasize the important points; highlight new information, omit well-known
material
o Be as brief, but as complete as possible
o Avoid repetition and ambiguity. Use short sentences and relevant technical terms
o Include the author’s principal interpretations and conclusions but do not add your
own commentary. This is not a critical essay
o Aim for about 80-150 words. The first draft will probably be too long, and need
editing
o An abstract is usually typed as a single paragraph
o The abstract should be written in the past tense, because it refers to work done
o An abstract should never give any information or conclusion that is not stated in
the paper. References to the literature must not be cited in the abstract (except in
rare instances, such as modification of a previously published method)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES
 An executive summary is a very much shortened version of a document and the style is
generally less literary than an abstract.
 The format often involves bullet points or numbered sections
 The general rule on length is one side only, on the basis that really busy people will not
read more.
 An ES can be part of an organization’s promotional material, in which case an upbeat,
clear style with lots of impact is advantageous
 An Es written as part of a student exercise would normally be short, summarising a report
or essay in one side.
 Longer ESs can be found on government websites. These may have a public relations
aim, for example to acquaint the reader with government policy in an accessible manner,
rather than expecting a reader to tackle a draft Act of parliament.
 The essential element when writing an ES is to eliminate all extraneous (irrelevant)
material. Do not include examples, analogous material, witticisms (jokes), pictures,
diagrams, figures, appendices, or be repetitious.
 Chapter headings and subheadings may present a starting scheme for bullet points
 An ES will do the following:
o be brief
o be direct
o include all main issues
o indicate impacts, pros and cons
o place stress on results and conclusions
o include recommendations with costs and timescales if germane (useful)

BOOK REVIEW
  Reviewing a book does not only involve summarizing the content of a book, but also
critically assessing the quality of the ideas, arguments, or data presented
 A book review tells not only what a book is about, but also how successful it is at what
it is trying to do
 Another main purpose of a book review is to supply sufficient information to potential
readers so that they can decide whether they should get the book (that is, people read
reviews in order to find which books to read, and whether the material is written in an
accessible manner.
 Reviewers answer not only the WHAT but the SO WHAT question about a book.
Thus, in writing a review, you combine the skills of describing what is on the page,
analyzing how the book tried to achieve its purpose, and expressing your own
reactions

TWO GENERAL STYLES OF A BOOK REVIEW

1. Descriptive – an objective summary of the contents, scope, treatment and importance of
a text
 A descriptive review might include a combination of some of the following elements:
o An outline of the contents of the book
o A summary of the author’s aims for the book and the intended audience
o An evaluation of the material included and comments
o Quotations or references to new ideas to illustrate the review
o A brief summary of the author’s qualifications and reference to his/her other texts
o Cite the contribution of this book to academic/other disciplines
o A summary of any significant areas omitted
NOTE: including long quotations is not a good idea unless they really illustrate a point.
A reference list is required if you refer to other texts in the review.

2. Analytical or critical – an objective appraisal of a text’s contents, quality, limitations

and applicability. It should discuss the text’s relative merits and deficiencies and might
compare it with alternative texts. This may require allocating time to browse through
other material to place the book in context
 This gives information about, and expresses an opinion of, a book.
 It should include a statement of what the author has tried to do, evaluate how well the
author has succeeded, and present independent evidence to support the evaluation
 While reading note passages that illustrate the book’s purpose and style
 Remember to balance the strengths with the weaknesses of the book and also consider
how the author’s ideas, opinions and judgements fit with our present knowledge of the
subject
 Be sure that where you are critical, this is fair comment given the author’s stated aims
for the text – reading the preface and introduction should give you a clear idea of the
author’s objectives
 A critical review might include:
o A description of the author’s purpose for writing and qualifications
o The historical background of the work
o The main strengths and weaknesses of the book
o A description of the genre which the work belongs, its academic context
 o A commentary on the significance of the text for its intended audience
NOTE: This type of review is considerably more time consuming than a descriptive book
review

WRITING THE REVIEW

NOTE: There is no right way to write a book review but there are some general guidelines.
STEP 1: Get the feel of the book you have selected to review by using your skimming skills
 Glance at the title, table of contents, the preface or the introduction. These should give
you some idea of the coverage of the book and its method of organization, and if the
preface is useful, also the author’s reason for writing
 Skim quickly through the whole book, looking at headings, subheadings, and opening
sentences of paragraphs. You may also look at any tables, illustrations, or other graphic
material. This should confirm and extend your initial impression of the scope and focus
of the author’s work
 Read more closely the first chapter. This will usually set out the main issues to be
discussed and indicate the theoretical or conceptual framework within which the author
proposes to work
 Read the final chapter, which should cover the author’s conclusions and summarise the
main reasons why these conclusions have been reached

STEP 2: now you must go back and read the book in more detail, and decide which aspects you
wish to discuss in your review. To get a good perspective on a text, set aside time for reading
well in advance. Leave time for your brain to develop opinions. This could be the theoretical
approach or the data presented, a particular case study used, or the author’s selection and
interpretation of evidence.
 At this point you will be taking notes identifying key quotations and so gather your
own data from your source.
 Nearly always you will choose to discuss those issues the author has identified as being
important, but sometimes you may want to concentrate on a relatively minor point in
the book because you feel it is a central point to your review
 NOTE: You are beginning to shape your review by the decisions you make at this
stage

STEP 3: depending on the length of your review, you may want to read other articles or chapters
of books to find supporting evidence or different models or alternative interpretations of data to
those presented by your author.
 You may also want to glance at (but not reproduce) reviews, of the book in recent
academic journals. Apart from providing you with a model for academic book reviews,
this additional reading will give you some feel for the way the book has been received
within the discipline or by the public (please DO NOT PLAGIARISE)

STEP 4: you may start drafting your review. The structure of the review may include:
 An initial identification of the book (Imprint information) – most reviews start off
with a heading that includes all the bibliographic information about the book (author,
 title, place of publication, publisher, date of publication, number of pages) – there
is always a variation of referencing style
 Some even include the price of the book
o This will help a reader to locate the original text.
 The review usually starts with an introduction that lets the readers know what the
review will say. The first paragraph usually includes the author and title again. You
should also include a very brief overview of the contents of the book, the purpose of, or
audience for, the book
 A brief summary of the range, contents, and arguments of the book. You may need to
summarise chapter by chapter, but in a short review you usually pick out the main
themes only. Here you also point out the theoretical perspective or viewpoint from
which the book is written.

STEP 5: a critical discussion of 2 – 3 key issues raised in the book. This section is the core of
your review.
NOTE: You need to make clear/distinguish the author’s own argument and evidence before you
criticize and evaluate it to avoid confusing the reader. And you must support your criticisms with
evidence from the text or from other writings.
 You may want to indicate how well the book has achieved its goal (for instance, you
may want to comment on the style of the writing and the ease with which you think the
intended audience will understand the contents
 Gaps in the author’s treatment of a topic; but it is seldom useful to criticize writers for
not doing something they never intended or claimed to do
 How the book compares to others on the subject
 What specific points are not convincing
 What personal experiences you’ve had that you can relate to the subject of the book
 A final evaluation of the overall contribution the book has made to your understanding
of the topic (and, maybe, its importance to the development of the discipline, setting it
in the context of other writings in the field)

CHECKLIST FOR A FINAL DRAFT OF A BOOK REVIEW

 Do I understand the contents of the book/article I am reviewing?
 Have I identified the book clearly, right at the start?
 Is the author’s argument clearly and objectively summarised so that my reader can
recognize the theoretical approach and the range of the material covered?
 Have I clearly identified and discussed 2-3 key issues I wish to raise in relation to this
book?
 Have I given reasons for my criticisms and my approval of different aspects of the
book?
 Is there a final evaluation of the book’s importance based on my previous discussion?

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF A BOOK REVIEW

 The opinion must be backed by:
  A responsible analytic judgement of the book
 An explanation substantiating ‘how and why the reviewer has reached that conclusion’
 A recommendation of the book
 The clarity of the author’s style and organization

NOTE: a general rule of thumb is that the first one-half to two – thirds of the review should
summarize the author’s main ideas and at least one-third should evaluate the book
 Check with your instructor

ACTIVITY: tutorial exercises which develop critical skills. Both provide

frameworks for thinking, evaluating and synthesising material
 Activity 1: gutting a paper
o Select one paper from a reading list, any paper, any list. Make notes on
the following:
 Content: what are the main ideas?
 Evidence: what is the supporting material? Is it valid?
 Counter case: what are the counter arguments? Has the author
considered the alternatives fully?
 Summary: summarise relevant material from other sources that
the author might have included but omitted
 How well did the author meet his or her stated objectives?

ACTIVITY 2: comparing papers (this exercise will improve your comprehension of

a topic and your note taking skills)
 Take three papers that are on the same or related topics, from any module
reading list. Write a 1000-word review that compares and contrasts the
contributions of the three authors (use the guidelines from the previous
exercise). Write 250 words on where these 3 papers fit with material from the
module