Taking notes

Eight strategies for note taking

Have a system

Find a systematic way to take notes which suits you:

Summarise your notes

When you summarise, you condense the essence of your lecture or text in your own words. If you are having trouble with your summary, try the 3-2-1 method. (The 3-2-1 method is based on AVID teaching material).

  • Write 3 points the author makes in the text.
  • Write 2 pieces of evidence the author provides as support.
  • Write 1 sentence that summarises the essence of the text.

Or:

  • Write 3 things you learnt from your reading or lecture.
  • Write 2 things that you will be able to use.
  • Write 1 question you still have about what you have read.

Talk about your notes

This often reveals important information you might have missed or misunderstood. Discussing what you’ve learned in your own words pushes you to understand the facts and ideas you are trying to learn, which helps you remember information.

Write in your own words

Writing in your own words will help you understand and remember what you have read or heard. When you do copy or quote, clearly show this in your notes by highlighting, changing the font or using quotation marks.

Create a mini dictionary for each subject

In your dictionary, you can include key words, technical terms and phrases along with their definitions. You can also note any acronyms (e.g. VCAL = Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning).

Ask questions

In lectures or while researching, ask questions next to your notes in a question column. This will prompt you to make connections with what you already know and what you need to find out.

Reflect on your notes

Ask yourself:

  • Why is this important?
  • How does it relate to or increase my existing knowledge?
  • Where and how can I use this?

Design your notes to work for your assignments

  • Explain technical and key words or phrases so that you can understand and use them properly in your assignment.
  • Highlight the differences and similarities between different authors on the same topic.
  • Note down the referencing details of quotations in your notes: authors, year, article title, journal title, issue, and page numbers.
  • Identify any gaps in your notes with questions.
  • Connect your notes to each part of your assignment.