The document provides guidance on effective note-making strategies for academic reading and assignments. It discusses reading with purpose, developing a plan based on key themes, selecting relevant readings, using active reading techniques to take notes in your own words, and keeping notes concise and focused on your assignment goals. Critical analysis is emphasized, such as questioning an author's arguments, context, and comparing multiple sources. Maintaining a reading grid can help track your analysis. The overall message is that note-making requires active engagement with texts rather than passive copying, with the goal of understanding topics and finding evidence to support arguments.
What is reading Comprehension?
Why is reading technical material so hard?
Reading Comprehension of technical material
SURVEY-QUESTION-READ-RECITE-REVIEW(SQ3R)
When to use SQ3R technique?
Visualizing the read information
A firm grasp of scientific method and ability to write clearly and convincingly is a great assert to any professional in sciences.
Conducting research and publishing peer reviewed papers train professionals in both scientific method and writing. Moreover, having research papers in your resume is considered a huge plus in both industry and academia. However, conducting research and getting them published requires professionals to approach the problem and present their solutions form a unique angle. The talk will address research in general and writing research papers. Specifically, the talk will cover peer review process, what is a contribution?, and basic composition of
a research paper, describing potential pitfalls.
What is reading Comprehension?
Why is reading technical material so hard?
Reading Comprehension of technical material
SURVEY-QUESTION-READ-RECITE-REVIEW(SQ3R)
When to use SQ3R technique?
Visualizing the read information
A firm grasp of scientific method and ability to write clearly and convincingly is a great assert to any professional in sciences.
Conducting research and publishing peer reviewed papers train professionals in both scientific method and writing. Moreover, having research papers in your resume is considered a huge plus in both industry and academia. However, conducting research and getting them published requires professionals to approach the problem and present their solutions form a unique angle. The talk will address research in general and writing research papers. Specifically, the talk will cover peer review process, what is a contribution?, and basic composition of
a research paper, describing potential pitfalls.
A step by step guide to report writing Step 1 Choose your top.docxannetnash8266
A step by step guide to report writing
Step 1 Choose your topic
If you are given a list of topics from which to choose, select the one that interests you the most or that may have relevance to your chosen career.
If you are allowed to create your own report topic choose a subject that you want to learn more about and that interests you or is a current problem in your workplace that you wish to address.
Step 2 Read the instructions relating to your assessments as set down in your Course Guide
Always check your course guide to ensure that you are clear about what you are required to do.
• When is the report due?
• How long is it?
• What is the format?
• What is the structure?
• How does this topic relate to the course?
• How does this topic relate to the current area being studied?
Step 3 Analyse the topic
Break the topic into its component parts to understand what the main issue is that must be addressed.
Report topics can usually be divided into three sections:
• Content What is the issue or problem to be addressed?
• Instruction What have you been asked to do in relation to the topic?
• Scope How has the topic been limited – is there a focus on particular organisations/ countries /year(s)?
Underline key words and draw circles around the action/instruction words.
It is really important that you understand what the instruction words are telling you to do.
Step 4 Brain storm – what do you already know about the issue?
A brainstorm is the beginning of a mind map – these random ideas can be organised into a structured mind map that will provide you with a guide for your research and your writing.
• Using your reading, lectures and your own experiences think about what you already know about the problem/issue.
• On a blank piece of paper, write down all the ideas that you think might be related to the subject under review
• Write down where you think you need to go to get information other than from books, journals websites etc. Think about who you know in business who you might be able to interview.
Step 5 Starting your research
Although you are required to read and research widely, it is better to gain an overview of the topic by firstly reading the recommended texts – don’t go straight online unless instructed to do so by your lecturer or tutor.
The texts will give you a broad understanding of .the main ideas, writers and theories associated with the issue.
By familiarising yourself with the key concepts, the next stage of your investigation will be more targeted.
Step 6 Mind mapping
A mind map is a visual way of gathering your ideas about a particular topic.
Mind maps help you to identify the main ideas and what research needs to be conducted to provide the evidence that supports these ideas.
Your mind map is a good time management resource. It will help you focus your search for information more efficiently and to organise your ideas into a coherent and logical structure when you write your .
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
This is a presentation by Dada Robert in a Your Skill Boost masterclass organised by the Excellence Foundation for South Sudan (EFSS) on Saturday, the 25th and Sunday, the 26th of May 2024.
He discussed the concept of quality improvement, emphasizing its applicability to various aspects of life, including personal, project, and program improvements. He defined quality as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to achieve the best possible results and discussed the concept of the "gap" between what we know and what we do, and how this gap represents the areas we need to improve. He explained the scientific approach to quality improvement, which involves systematic performance analysis, testing and learning, and implementing change ideas. He also highlighted the importance of client focus and a team approach to quality improvement.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology:
Ethnobotany in herbal drug evaluation,
Impact of Ethnobotany in traditional medicine,
New development in herbals,
Bio-prospecting tools for drug discovery,
Role of Ethnopharmacology in drug evaluation,
Reverse Pharmacology.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
1. Making Notes at Level 7
• You will be able to…
• Explain the reading and
note-making process
• Apply strategies and
techniques of note-making
to academic reading
• Evaluate an article to
develop your critical reading
2. Note-Taking v Note-Making
• In small groups discuss the
difference between these
terms?
• Why is there a difference?
• Was does this mean in
relation to your strategies for
creating notes?
3. Reading and note-
making for
assignments
• Reading for your assignments is the first step in
achieving good marks.
• You are now part of an academic community
that values evidence-based research, which
means using that research in your work.
• To read effectively, you need to be making
effective notes.
We refer to note-making rather than
note-taking: you create a set of notes
through active reading rather than
copying down information, which is
passive note-taking.
4. Break the
process into
steps.
Remember that academic
books and articles are not
written specifically for your
assignments.
Ask yourself whether it will
help you, how much of it is
relevant and why/how.
The following steps should
help you do this.
5. Overview
• Watch this film and take notes on the key points.
Work with the person next
to you to write a list of the
steps outlined in the film.
7. Why are you
making
notes?
• When it comes to
assignments, we are generally
making notes for two broad
purposes:
• (1) to help us with a general
understanding of a topic
• (2) to record specific
information to support an
argument.
• Either way it helps to think of
some questions you want to
answer before you start
reading
8. Understanding Assignment Questions
This is a key stage in your note-
making process.
Making certain that you
understand what you have
been asked to do.
This helps you undertake
useful, focused research, and
then will impact upon
organising that research into
notes, an outline plan and your
final written piece.
Process
Discuss
Evaluate
Critically review
Describe
Explain
Dates
Locations
Aspect of a
topic
Formulate a
research plan
Areas to read
about and
analyse
9. Evaluate the question
Transgender Awareness Week is 13th -19th November,
with the Transgender Day of Remembrance on 20th.
Assess a range of perspectives about its establishment
and observance.
In groups have a go a breaking down this essay question,
and start to plan out the type of information you would
need to include in this assignment.
What will you need to research?
What will you need information on? Notes
What will you have to check when you select readings?
11. Do this before you do your reading.
The aim of this is to help you focus
your reading, and make some
decisions about how you will
structure the material – the essay
will be the end product of your
reading.
Can you now identify three or
four key themes from your
initial ideas for this week’s
question?
13. Once you have identified books and
articles, you still want to make sure
that you are reading efficiently.
• Before reading the whole article or chapter,
skim titles, content pages, opening
paragraphs, introductions and conclusions
and read abstracts.
Most academic journal articles will have an
abstract and it is invaluable in helping you
decide whether to read the whole piece of
not. It is a summary of what the article is
about: what research was undertaken, why,
how and what the conclusion was.
14. Step Four: Start
making notes
Choose a technique but leave space for extra
notes and thoughts.
Of course, find your own
way of recording your
notes – you can still use
highlighters, sticky notes
etc. It is the active reading
and note-making process
that matters.
15. Keep it active…
• To avoid passively ‘copying out’ (taking notes) and
avoid plagiarism….
• Read through a section of the text (a couple of
paragraphs) without writing down or highlighting
anything.
• Write down three - five key words that come to mind
after reading (e.g. specific terms, type of method used,
a key finding). Write your notes directly from these key
words without re-reading the passage.
• Keep asking yourself key questions before deciding
what to write: is this what I need to know? How will I
use it? Keep your purpose in mind.
• Refer back to the original. Is your summary a true
reflection of it? You may need to add a little more
detail (e.g. statistics).
This will help you note down the most
relevant and important pieces of
information in your own words, and
help you to think about what you are
reading and how it relates to your
assignment.
16. Read the first and last sections of the article by Dryden on
transgender identities in the past and write down about 5
words that reflect what you have read.
Turn these into 2-3 bullet pointed notes.
Compare with the person next to you. Why might you have
different points?
17. Adding more detail
You may need more detail from an
article or book: sub-
points/arguments, detail from
their findings, how and why they
have reached their conclusions.
• Use the same technique
throughout your reading: don’t
just highlight or copy out.
• You can always go back and
highlight or copy that key detail
you really need (e.g. statistics)
18. Active reading
and note-making
needs constant
questioning to
take you beyond
describing and
start critically
analysing:
What is the context (author, date, source-type) and
why is it important?
What is the main argument, conclusion or
recommendation?
What are the minor conclusions or key points made?
What are the measurable or observable facts
(evidence)?
Does the evidence support the argument fully or
partially?
Is there any bias or are any assumptions made?
How does this information compare with that from
other sources?
19. Remember
your purpose.
Use the
critical
questions to
focus on the
purpose.
Look back at the research
plans you made for the
assignment question.
Use this to write some
more focused notes from
the article.
20. A reading grid can help you keep track of your reading and all that critical analysis you will now be
doing:
Author, title Topic Key argument Strengths/
Weaknesses -
Analysis
How to use
Bill Johnston (2010)
The First Year at
University: Teaching
Students in
Transition: Teaching
Students in
Transition (Helping
Students Learn)
Effect of
stress on new
university students
Students need to
have differences in
study practices
made clear at the
outset: this is the
responsibility of
the university
Very small sample
but longitudinal
study –
appropriate
methods
Rich data –
qualitative but is
this too
subjective?
Compare to Jones
(2010) -
emphasises the
responsibility of
the student; uses a
larger case study
Keeping a comparison of the key
arguments, findings and approach
such as methodologies, you com
across in your reading helps you t
think about how you will use it
Making a note of your critical analysis as you
read either here or on your actual notes,
helps you to prepare for your essay.
Step Five
21. Summary
Read with your question in mind – have a clear
purpose. Think about how you will use it.
Never just write everything down. Be selective
and brief.
Choose your reading carefully so that you get a
wide range of different (academic/expert)
opinions.
Make a note of your own critical thinking as
part of your note-making.
22. Reflection…..
If you had to give another L7 student a piece of
advice about how to develop their note-making,
what would it be?
23. Next steps
Tomorrow (places are still available):
Academic Writing: essays at PG Level
Next week:
Academic Writing: using your reading
in your PG assignments
Academic Writing: reports at PG level
Editor's Notes
As a starter, get them to note down why it is so important to make notes as they do their academic reading. Ask them for some ideas – helps establish their starting point but also allows you to validate some of their ideas and explain how the session will be building upon their initial thoughts.
You could explain to them that this is going to be focused on their essays but the skills will be transferable to any piece of work. This is important to help them see that the session (or ‘skills’) are not abstract. The point about the difference between note-taking and note-making is very important to get across right from the start, although you can point out that you will develop the meaning of active reading as the class progresses.
This is a possible way of mapping out their ideas on a question to start identifying areas they need to be reading on. This example question is a just a generic one to show them how a collection of thoughts can be categorised into themes without leading them too much on the activity. This is a way of keeping the emphasis on how reading is part of the essay-writing process. Give them 3 minutes or so on the activity.
Stress that they have limited time, and so reading needs to be efficient Get them to discuss in pairs/threes within their larger group, depending on numbers in each class. Get them to feedback on why the made their choices to get them expressing their understanding of how to relate a piece of reading to their essay question. This is a point of assessment – if they have not quite understood the earlier process, this will be shown and can be addressed.
Hopefully, they will also see just how much information they can get from an abstract and so to start seeing the purpose of them and how they can help them read efficiently an quickly. So, by highlighting here the key features of an abstract – methodology, methods and findings/conclusion – they can see how they can start building up knowledge very quickly.
You could show them different types of note making here: Cornell (cue column for key terms, questions, or additions as they start to link, compare and contrast, with the summary area a useful place to highlight the key point from the whole article or chapter as a quick reference guide) and mind mapping (colour coding for different themes is useful in any format) as examples. Talk through these, the benefits of each and ask them which they like the look of, what they currently use but that you will encourage them to try something different later if they feel their current methods aren’t working. The main point is that they keep them brief and relevant – their notes should not look like an essay. The is also a good place to remind them of abbreviations – this doesn’t need to be lengthy – just the point that they can develop their own systems as only they need to be able to understand their notes. The point about leaving space to add their analysis is important to emphasise the active and thoughtful nature of their reading and links to the next part of the lesson.
This is a good place to remind them of what plagiarism is and the penalties for it – good note-making is essential in avoiding it as the notes will be in their own words and not copied out
Assure them that although this feels laborious at the start, they will feel the benefit of it and they will get much quicker
This is a good place to check whether they are keeping focus on their essay question when note-making by asking them for examples of the type of information they have noted down, and so acts as another assessment point. Is it important? Is it the most relevant? By exemplifying it for them, they could also start to recognise where they may have let their focus on the assignment drift. By comparing with one another, they can see another student may think something else is important – this doesn't necessarily meant they are wrong but it can open up a very fruitful discussion. Hopefully, they will see that they have made very brief notes, in their own words, that identify the key points from the article.
Could add in this activity if time – get them to start taking notes from either the methodology, the results or the discussion sections (tell each person in the group which of these they are reading as they will later on share their notes with the rest of the group in a later activity, which again will only be done if this one has and there is time)
It is worth spending a bit of time here going through these, asking them how they might apply these questions to reading in Sports Science and developing, confirming or correcting their contributions. Possibly go round each group, asking each a different question to help assess how they have developed their initial ideas.
It could be pointed out that keeping a document like this going throughout their reading should be encouraged. Again it may seem laborious but students who do this find their writing process is quicker and the end result is more well structured. I would recommend that you do a whole group Q and A at this point, asking them what they would put in this grid for the article they have been working on, to show them how it could be applied.
Go round and get all of their responses to these questions as a plenary.
