Reading and Note Taking
On this page:
- The importance of taking good notes
- Critical reading
- Example of note taking
- PEA Planning
- Take great notes
Being able to take notes when researching is a vital skill that you will need to develop while at university. Every student will have a different technique to taking notes, it is important that you find the right technique for you.
The importance of good notetaking
To get you started, read through our top tips for taking good, quality notes:
• Remember to keep a note of your sources to help with compiling your reference list.
• Don’t just take notes, take great notes! Try to summarise key themes, theories, examples and explanations in your own words and in a way that enables you to understand and explain it when it comes to writing.
• Try to organise your material as you go along, linking ideas and contrasting opinions where appropriate. This will help you to avoid repetition, be clear about your argument and create good flow within the main body of your assignment as you begin to write.
Critical reading
When reading an academic piece of work, such as a journal article or book chapter, it helps to apply a series of questions to it. This ensures that you are engaging in critical and analytical reading in your research.
| Identify what is important | • What are the key ideas, problems, arguments, observations, findings, conclusions? • What evidence is there? • Distinguish critical from other types of writing (eg descriptive); fact from opinion; bias from reasons |
| Evaluate what you find | • Explore the evidence – does it convince? • What assumptions are being made and inferences drawn? • Is there engagement with relevant, up to date research? • How appropriate are the methods of investigation? • Is there a consistent and logical line of reasoning? • Are there any flaws in the argument? • Do you agree with what’s being said? Why? • How is language being used (emotive, biased etc.)? |
| Look beyond what you are reading/hearing | • What other viewpoints, interpretations and perspectives are there? What’s the evidence for these? How do they compare? • How does your prior knowledge and understanding relate to these ideas, findings, observations etc.? • What are the implications of what you are reading/hearing? |
| Clarify your point of view | • Weigh up the relevant research in the area • Find effective reasons and evidence for your views • Reach conclusions on the basis of your reasoning • Illustrate your reasons with effective examples |
An example of good note taking
Now you are probably ready to start researching and taking notes. Good note-taking starts by considering the original text and writing your own notes (without looking at the original text!). This will ease the process of writing main body paragraphs, helping to create distance between the original and your finished work. Have a look at the example below:
| Original text | Note | Academic Assignment |
| In classrooms where teachers consistently enforced behaviour expectations, there was a notable improvement in student outcomes. Specifically, these classrooms experienced a 20% increase in overall student engagement and academic performance. |
Teachers who consistently enforced behaviour expectations saw a 20% improvement in overall student engagement and academic performance (UK Department for Education, 2020). |
Additionally, a report by the UK Department for Education (2020) indicated that teachers who consistently enforced behaviour expectations saw a 20% improvement in overall student engagement and academic performance. |
To help you to organise your notes, the PEA planning template can be a handy tool to use. Here, you can organise your notes into potential paragraph ideas in the EVIDENCE section. Take a look at the example below:
Task:
Explain the importance of setting clear behaviour management expectations in education settings
| Point | Evidence 1 | Evidence 2 | Evidence 3 | Analysis |
| Helps create a positive and productive classroom environment |
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| What is the point you are making in this paragraph? | Start to build your evidence | Add to your evidence | Offer a different or alternative view | So what? Why is this point important? |
Take great notes!
Be present
While it is always important to take notes, it is easy to lose focus during a lecture if concentrating too hard on what you are writing down. Most lectures are recorded these days and posted onto the Virtual Learning Environment (Moodle) but check beforehand to ensure this is the case. As much as you can, try to focus on what is being said during lectures and participate in group discussions to aid understanding of new learning. Afterwards, listen to the recording, pausing to summarise key themes in your own words and making notes to aid assignment writing and to prompt further research.
Condensing your learning
Following further research and note-taking, you may find it helpful to revisit your notes and condense them into a more manageable and memorable format. The goal is to be able to talk about and ultimately write about what you have learned from your research in your own words. It is important to experiment until you find something that works for you. Here are some suggestions:
| Flashcards | Use both sides. On one side, record the topic, for example, ‘How children learn through play’ and on the other side, include details of key theorists, dates and summaries of their work. |
| Timelines | Useful for understanding a sequence of historical events, for example, key art movements. |
| Diagrams and flowcharts | Helpful for understanding complex processes, for example, the flow of blood around the body or the basic components of the internal combustion. |
| Big paper | Using an A3 sheet in a landscape orientation, write or paste your assignment brief at the top and then create subheadings across the page on topics or main arguments you wish to cover. Then, make brief notes under each subheading. |
| Colour | It can be helpful to use different coloured pens, paper or post-it notes to organise and group your notes and ideas. |
Consider the benefits of digital devices
Although research suggests that taking notes by hand is more effective than doing it digitally, there are benefits to be gained from making audio recordings and using central repositories for storing things like text notes, to do lists and images. This can also make it easier to search through your notes to quickly find information. It can also be helpful for sharing resources if you are working in a group.
