Note–Taking Tutorial


Rationale

"Why does note taking apply to me?" you might ask. "I've already done this in every course I've ever taken, and it wasn't any fun!" Maybe you have in mind the junior high social studies classroom where the teacher put up overheads from which you were to dutifully copy, word for word, the notes that were taken directly from the textbook. Maybe you even had a binder check that was to follow this arduous task! We promise there will be no overhead projectors and mind-numbing copying: Hopefully this concept of note taking is a thing of the past.

In the distance learning context, learning how to take concise and organized notes can help you to learn the course material and become an independent learner, which is a key to success. Although you have many resources available to assist you, if you learn how to become an effective note taker, it can help you 

  • learn the material
  • organize your thoughts in a brief manner that helps you to remember further details
  • challenge you to check your understanding

If you were sitting in a regular classroom or lecture theatre, you would listen carefully to the speaker's presentation and record the information you deemed relevant. Because this course is delivered to you in a written format, you instead need to carefully read (and reread!) the information presented and then engage with the content by taking notes.

The learning process is very demanding. To truly internalize and retain information, review information once, possibly skimming for main ideas, and then purposefully read the content to fully understand the ideas.

Watch this video on Note Taking and review the University of Ottawa's website to get a more comprehensive discussion on effective note taking.

There is a popular—yet false—idea that you don't need to study for English exams. The fact is that you need to retain information about a text to be effective in a written response. Familiarity with literary terms and concepts is a prerequisite to success in multiple choice exams based on text excerpts. So, are you convinced yet? Note taking is for you!


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