One of the things you can do to ensure that you are doing a good job of taking notes is to work with a checklist. Use the following checklist several times to make sure you are availing yourself of good notetaking practices. Note the date or occasion when you practiced good, active notetaking and check off the elements you completed. You may want to add some of your own hints to your list.
Did I?
- Review assignments using active reading?
- List and look up unfamiliar terms and concepts
- List questions to ask or points where clarification is needed
- Note difficult portions of the text
- Put notes in the appropriate notebook or section
- Arrange them according to type of notes
- Begin each set on a new dated and numbered page
- Abbreviate
- Put notes into my own words
- Keep the notes brief
- Use the coding scheme I developed?
- Locate missing information
- Check my texts and references to clarify a lecture
- Number items or distinguish between major/minor points
- Look/listen for word clues and other ways important concepts are highlighted
- Review lecture notes within 24 hours
- Check for errors and omissions?