Note-making and note-taking are important skills that allow students to condense information from readings and lectures into concise notes. The process involves carefully reading or listening, underlining key words and phrases, and linking important points together logically. Notes can be made point-form, in an outline, as a tree diagram, or in a table. Techniques for effective notes include using abbreviations, avoiding full sentences, and standard symbols to show relationships between ideas. The layout should make it easy to understand and recall the key information.
How to take effective notes from reading and lectures
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CC English (LL)
F.Y.B.Sc. Sem I
Unit 1
Gokhale Education Society’s
S.M.R.K. B.K. A.K Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Nasik-5.
Ms. Geetanjali Gitay
Assistant Professor
Dept. of English
Note-Making and Note -Taking
2. Introduction
• Note- making is an important skill. This is used to condense the information
we are reading or listening to.
• When we make notes we note down important points or ideas.
• We make notes when we are reading and we take down notes when we are
listening to somebody.
• Notes are helpful to easily remember and recall the important ideas from what
we have listened to.
•It is a process of reviewing, connecting and synthesising ideas from your reading or listening.
• Taking or making notes helps you to: stay active and
engaged during your lectures, reading and revision.
• A student can make notes while studying or listening to
lectures, a teacher can make notes for taking lectures,
one can take down notes while attending a meeting or a
public speech.
3. • Read or listen to what you have to carefully.
• Mark the topic, key words and phrases. While reading, you can underline them or while
listening, take them down.
• Establish a logical link between the significant points.
• The process of note-making starts after you have carefully read or listened to a text. You may
read text more than once to understand the key ideas better. However, while listening one
has to be alert in writing down important points since what you listen to cannot be heard
again unless it is recorded.
• Notes can be made point wise, or in tabular form or in the form of a tree diagram.
• Making/ taking notes is an interactive process. Mentally ,one interacts with the spoken/
written matter constantly. Try to comprehend the matter as much as possible and write
down important points in such a way that you would be able to reconstruct the matter
as accurately as possible.
Note-Making and Note Taking : The Process
4. Note-Making and Note-Taking : Techniques
• Using short word for long words. e.g. plane instead of aeroplane.
• Use abbreviations or acronyms instead of a complete word. e.g. ad instead of
advertisement, WHO in place of World Health Organisation etc.
• Avoid writing complete sentences. Just write important words.
•Use reduced verb forms . e.g. write ‘elected’ instead of ‘has been elected’.
• Use standard symbols and signs to express the relationship between ideas.
e.g. = equal to > greater than < less than & and etc.
6. Example
Drug – related health disorders are many and varied. (1) Dirty needles and
solutions used for injecting drugs can easily cause abscesses in the arms and veins,
liver disease, venereal disease, and infections of the kidneys and brain. (2) Sniffing
cocaine and amphetamines can damage the tissue of the nose and (3) Marijuana
and tobacco smoking can cause lung diseases. Heavy users of (4) Alcohol, volatile
solvents , amphetamines or marijuana may find that their livers are permanently
damaged. Babies of the women addicted to (5) Opiates are likely to be born
addicted and to suffer from withdrawal symptoms (6) Cocaine and amphetamines
can cause hair loss. Recent research has indicated that (7) Marijuana can damage
cells. A drug user’s way of life makes him more susceptible to pneumonia ,
tuberculosis, malnutrition and weight loss. Finally, an overdose of any of the sensual
drugs can lead to respiratory or cardiac failure and death.
7. Notes Drug- related Health Disorders:
1. Dirty needles, solutions used for injecting drugs:
- abscesses(arms, veins)
- liver diseases
- infections of the kidney,brain
2. Cacaine and amphetamines:
- damage to the nose tissue
- hair loss
3. Marijuana and Tobacco –smoking :
- lung diseases
4. Alcohol, Volatile Solvents , Amphetamines (heavy use)
- permanent liver damage
5. Opiates (Women)
-babies born infected, suffer from withdrawal symptoms.
Drug users are Susceptible to:
- pneumonia
- tuberculosis
- malnutrition
- weight loss
- cardiac arrest
- death
Tree Diagram
Outline Format
8. Text Content Source :
1. Enriching Your Competence in English, Thorat A.S. et al,Orient Longman, India. (Seventh Edition,2008).
2. English for Practical Purposes, Patil Z.N. et al , Macmillan India Ltd. ,India .(Fourth Reprint, 2004).