Specific Note taking Strategies

This section on notetaking strategies covers what to record when taking notes, how to record the information, and what to do with the notes. The strategies deal with taking notes on oral presentations like lectures, from written sources like text books, and from reference sources for research papers. The overview of strategies section is applicable to both students and instructors, and it is particularly useful for trouble shooting.

The strategies are organized in a rough temporal sequence. After the overview section, strategies that are used before the notetaking process are outlined. These are followed by strategies used during notetaking and, finally, strategies used after taking notes.

The following notetaking strategies are covered:

• Overview of Note taking Strategies
• Attention and Listening
• Preparation
• Key Words and Key Points
• Cues and Clues
• Forms of Organization
• Cornell Method
• Two-Column Method
• REAP Strategy
• Outline Format
• FORM Strategy
• Topic and Concept Cards
• Alternate Formats
• Participation
• Abbreviations, Symbols, Shorthand, and Gleaning
• Three-Ring Binders
• Color Coding
• Tape Recording
• Reviewing Notes
• NoteSHRINK Strategy
• NoteTALK Strategy
• NoteTHINK Strategy
• Recopying and Reorganizing Notes
• See and Spell (Homophones)
• Text Note taking
• Note taking for Research Papers
• Notecard Strategy
• Clip-Strip Strategy
• Miscellaneous Tips

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