our future, your future 2007 distance and flexible learning handbook

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How do I use the time line method
The timeline method is especially useful for
taking notes from a chapter or article which
outlines a historical period during which a
series of events happened to a number of
different people. In particular, this method helps
you learn a sequence of dates. To develop a
timeline, you should
1. Read the passage quickly for an overview.
2. Read the passage more slowly and
highlight the dates and events.
3. Draw up the timeline, following the
example outlined below
[Source: Taking Notes, A CELT Study Sheet,
CELT, USP]
On the right is an example of this method being
used:
This is the Original Passage:
... by AD950 it is possible to use genealogical traditions to reconstruct a history of the ruling
families. By AD 1200 the whole group was apparently dominated by the Tuitonga dynasty,
which ruled from the district of Mu‘a on Tongatapu and some parts of Samoa were also
possibly controlled by Tongans at this time. By about 1500 the dominant political leadership
passed to the Tui Ha‘a Takalaua dynasty and in turn to the Tui Kanokupolu dynasty about
1600. Since the late eighteenth century the Tui Kanokupolu line has acquired an increasing
political control of Tonga which it still retains in the person of the present king. The Tui Tonga
dynasty retained a degree of ceremonial power until the death of the last Tui Tonga in 1865,
and the prerogatives of the title were then assumed by King George I Tupou, the reigning Tui
Kanokupolu.
After step 3, a timeline would look like this:
History of Ruling Families of Tonga
[Source: genealogical traditions]
AD
Dominating Dynasty
-- c 1200 Tui Tonga [Mua Tongatapu]
-- c 1500 political leadership Tui Haa Takalaua
-- c 1600 political leadership Tui Kanakupolu
-- c 1700 increasing political control Tui Kanakupolu
-- c 1800 Tui Tonga retained ceremonial power
-- c 1865 Death of last Tui Tonga
-- 1900 prerogatives George I Tupou
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How do I use the ‘Quick Diagram’
method?
In some cases, it is useful to make a brief
sketch of what is described in a chapter or
article, to give you a visual image of something
that it may be describing in words. To create a
quick diagram, you should:
1. Read the passage or description quickly
to give you an idea of what is being
described.
2. Read it again more slowly to gain an
understanding, underlining the specific
items that you will include.
3. Lightly sketch the items you underlined,
using a pencil, in their appropriate
positions.
4. Check against the passage.
5. Outline more boldly, once you have double
checked.
[Source: Taking Notes, A CELT Study Sheet,
CELT, USP]
On the right is an example of this method being
used:
This is the Original Passage:
PREHISTORIC EARTHWORK FORTIFICATION
CEREMONIAL CENTRE OF RULING DYNASTIES MU‘A TONGA
The settlement pattern in Tonga at European contact comprised scattered dwellings, some
in fenced gardens with neat gateways separated by roads and tracks. No definite villages
are known but the major ceremonial centre of the ruling dynasties at Mu‘a was obviously
quite heavily nucleated and comprised a ditched and banked enclosure covering about
400 by 500 metres which contained numerous house platforms for chiefs, their families and
retainers and priests. In the centre, was a large open space (the malae), and several of the
large terraced tombs were situated inside and outside the enclosure. ... As far as is known,
this is the only example of a prehistoric earthwork fortification in Tonga, although several
more were built during the wars of the early nineteenth century.
After steps 1, 2, 3, a quick diagram of a ceremonial centre would look like this:
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