STUDY SKILLS BOOK - Assumption University

NOTE TAKINGWe learn from many different source: textbooks, lectures, papers,handouts, formal and informal discussions. Integration from allthese sources is difficult. Acquiring the skill to bring it all togetheris probably one of the most important things you can do in orderto study successfully. Taking good notes at lectures is particularlyimportant. With other information sources you can usually go backto the original material to check, but at the end of a lecture onlyyour memory and your notes remain.There is no one “Best” style of taking notes in a lecture. The bestmethod will vary with your preferences, the lecture topic, the natureof handouts or visual material presented, and with the lecture’sstyle of presentation. In general, the lecturer aims to getacross three main types of information.Facts:All lectures contain factual material to be written down or copied.Concepts:Most lectures contain an element of conceptual integration of thematerial which may in fact be the moat important part of the lecture.Many lecturers concentrate on concepts, knowing that thebare facts can be found in texts.References:Sources of further relevant material may be given.The second category, concepts, usually present the most problems.Facts can be written down as they are presented, often inthe same form, as can further references. But concepts requireyou to contribute something by actively interpreting and displayingrelationships in a way that will aid recall. It can be difficult to recordconcepts and something a diagrammatic presentation (patternednotes or a mind map) can help as it is quick And more easily alteredif later developments in the lecture prompt a better concept.STUDY SKILLS BOOK A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS 11