Best Way to Take Notes Literature Review Science Academia

Do you lot ever copy down pages of notes while reading but still struggle to retrieve what you read? Alternatively, do you read through texts without taking notes and while only half paying attention? Perhaps you highlight or underline your texts but feel like maybe yous're not getting the most from your reading. If you autumn into i of these categories, chances are good that you're not getting the nigh out of your reading. This handout discusses the importance of taking good notes while reading and provides several different strategies and formats you can try.

The importance of good notes

Taking good notes while reading is an of import office of bookish success in college. Most courses require pregnant reading, and it can be difficult to understand and master the fabric and do well in class without solid note taking and reading skills.

Good notes from your reading can help you:

• organize your ideas and information from the text
• continue focused and stay engaged while reading
• proceed a record of what you read so you can more easily locate information technology in the future
• recollect critically most what you read while you read
• draw conclusions and identify main ideas of the text
• be prepared for grade and build a foundation for lecture
• accept solid materials to use to study for exams or ready for assignments

How to take good notes while reading

Good notes can have different forms and may vary from person to person—or fifty-fifty from text to text. 1 of the key ideas of practiced note taking is that it is not necessary to copy down loads of information from the text. Copying downwardly information does not appoint your brain and is not a strong strategy for learning and remembering content. It also takes a lot of fourth dimension and energy. In contrast, merely highlighting loads of information is simpler but does not do much to actively engage the brain. Instead of copying down tons of notes or over-highlighting, try some of the active and effective strategies and formats listed below. These will assistance you decrease the amount of fourth dimension and energy you spend on notes and increase your comprehension and retention from reading.

Different formats/strategies for notes

There is no 1 right way to take notes while reading. The important thing is that you experiment with a few effective strategies, find some that work for you, and utilize them. Y'all may find that different formats or strategies work better for dissimilar types of texts, also, and you may want to use different ones for dissimilar classes. Beneath are some examples to try:

Try taking notes from retentivity

• Students oftentimes miss the opportunity to assimilate the data from their texts because they're too busy worrying about taking practiced notes—instead of actually comprehending the content, they're thinking more than almost what they should write downwards.
• Try reading brusk sections of your reading (likely a paragraph or 2 or upwardly to a folio) and pausing to think about what you just read—then take notes from your memory of what yous just read. This will assistance you focus on the chief points instead of getting caught up in details.
• If you are taking notes digitally or online, endeavor creating a Word or Google Certificate for each commodity or textbook affiliate you accept read. Write a summary of the fundamental points from each reading without looking dorsum at the text. Then fill in the details by consulting the reading just after you first have recalled everything you lot can.
• It'south okay to not call back 100% of what y'all just read; focus on the main points, and so refer back to the text to fill in details as needed.
• This method may take slightly longer, but many students say it'south worth it due to the increase in reading comprehension.

Check out our Taking Notes While Reading video for more tips on how to brand your notes more efficient and effective.

Mark straight on the text

• If you have a print version that allows it, but use a pen or pencil. For online texts, some digital programs as well let annotating, highlighting, and commenting.
• Underline, circle, or highlight key words and phrases—this tin be helpful for students who demand to do something with their hands to aid them stay focused.
• Annotate margins with symbols, abbreviations, or summaries of the text in your own words. Come across our annotating handout for more explanation.
• If you have an online text, you can still record your thoughts, key words, and summaries in this way. Simply take hold of a plain sheet of newspaper, label it with the text and affiliate/page number, and jot them down on the newspaper instead of in the book.

Cornell style notes

• Dissever a piece of paper into 3 sections—approximately two inches bare at the lesser, and the acme portion divided into a one-third section on the left and a two-third section on the right.
• Take notes on the right two-thirds of the folio.
• List central words or questions in the left column.
• Summarize the entire folio in the space at the bottom.
• Larn more than by readinga more detailed explanation of Cornell way notes, or try out of these MS Word templates.

App-based notes (EverNote and OneNote)

• EverNote is a popular notetaking app that can sync notes on all your devices. You can organize notes into individual "notebooks" relevant to different classes or topics. Its fans find it useful for general note-taking and form notes too every bit for daily tasks and arrangement.
• OneNote is an app that comes with Microsoft Office, which is free for UNC students! If you have non downloaded it yet, y'all can download OneNote here. Much like EverNote, OneNote allows you to sync your notes and access them on any device. Y'all can comment notes, clip and save multimedia content, and record sound notes.

Create a graphic organizer or concept map

• This method is adept for texts that have a lot of higher level concepts that require explanations or texts that accept remember-level facts, dates, terms, etc.
• Organize data visually.
• Differentiate main ideas from back up in an appropriate format: concept map, table, flow chart, hierarchy, timeline, or Venn diagram.
• Expert for texts that have a lot of visuals, timelines, etc. like science or history.
• Generate Your Ain Q&A or Report Guide.
• Codify questions from headings and keywords before you begin. Then seek answers every bit you lot read
• Are y'all studying for test a that will require a lot of visual identification? Consider creating your ain Pinterest board to organize image-based notes.

Helpful tips

• Write notes in your own words instead of copying downwards data from the volume.
• Avoid over-highlighting. Highlighting doesn't do much to actively engage the brain, so information technology'due south not the most useful strategy. Too, highlighting besides much can keep you from focusing on the main ideas. For tips on highlighting more thoughtfully, see the strategies on our highlighting handout.
• Wait until the terminate of a page to take notes so that you tin can better focus on what you are reading and and then that yous tin can try to summarize in your own words rather than re-create.
• You don't demand to write pages of notes—keep them brief and focused.
• Preview the chapter before you first reading by looking at the text features to gain clues about the master ideas of the chapter.
• Focus on the main ideas and concepts.

Other resources

While taking good notes when reading is important and will go a long way, it'due south also helpful to utilize other UNC resources—not just for note taking and reading, only also for any academic surface area. Check out some of these resources to provide supplemental support:

Bookish Coaching: Make an engagement with an bookish coach to talk one-on-one near note-taking—and any other academic concern.
Role Hours: Brand an engagement with your professor or TA to talk about note-taking for his/her specific class/text.
Related Learning Center handouts: Many of our handouts go into farther particular almost reading. Check out some of these for boosted strategies:

• Annotating Texts
• Increasing Reading Comprehension
• Skimming
• Reading Textbooks

Works consulted

"Concept Mapping." Cornell Academy. Retrieved from http://lsc.cornell.edu/concept-maps/.

"The Cornell Annotation-taking Organisation." Cornell University. Retrieved from http://lsc.cornell.edu/notes.html.

"Effective Reading and Note Taking." MIT. Retrieved from http://uaap.mit.edu/tutoring-back up/written report-tips/tooling-and-studying/tooling-and-studying-constructive-reading-and-note-taking.

"Reading a Textbook for Truthful Understanding." Cornell College. Retrieved from https://world wide web.cornellcollege.edu/academic-back up-and-advising/study-tips/reading-textbooks.shtml

"Reading Note Taking Strategies." UNSW Sydney. Retrieved from https://student.unsw.edu.au/notemaking-written-text

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Source: https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/taking-notes-while-reading/

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