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STUDENT ORIENTATION 2012. Sara Steinke. Introduction to reading and note-taking. Aims of the session. Recognise the common pitfalls associated with reading and note-taking at university Look at key reading skills to help you read more efficiently and effectively for your studies
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STUDENT ORIENTATION 2012 Sara Steinke Introduction to reading and note-taking
Aims of the session • Recognise the common pitfalls associated with reading and note-taking at university • Look at key reading skills to help you read more efficiently and effectively for your studies • Introduce key note-taking skills to help you take notes more efficiently and effectively for your studies
Which of these pitfalls apply to you? I try to take down everything that is said/on the PowerPoint presentation in lectures. I am uncertain about how many notes to take, and what to make notes on. I do not take time to organise my notes so that I can retrieve them later on. I only know one way for note-taking. I read the words on the page but am not taking them in. I spend too much or too little time on the reading. I have difficulty expressing what I have read in my own words. I simply do not understand the material. I find the language used too complicated.
In academic reading the reader is: Active Selective and interacts with the reading material Has a particular question in his/her mind Re-reads with a purpose In non-academic reading the reader tends to : Be passive Read from page one till the end Be guided by the author through his/her narrative Academic Vs Non-academic Reading
How to take linear notes • Make headings and subheadings • List key words • Number the points • Underline, colour, use capital letters for emphasis • Use abbreviations • Add your own personal thoughts later • Only use one side of a page in case you want to add more • Note name of authors you want/need to read in margin
How to mind map • Turn the paper sideways, A3 landscape is best • Write the topic in the centre of the page • Write related ideas around this centre • Add secondary ideas to the main ideas • Link up these ideas to show relationships • Use colours, different line thickness, symbols, pictures etc. • Add details to points as you go along
Mind mapping Advantages • It is quicker to write/read • It gives you an excellent overview • It forces you to be brief • The relationship between ideas becomes obvious • You can add more details around the map at a later stage • It is visual, much more easily remembered than linear notes Disadvantages • This type of notes is more difficult to make when you are new to the subject • You may need to make a map of a map soon after reading or the lecture to do some tidying up • Making radial or concept notes takes some practice before you can do them easily and efficiency Linear notes Advantages • If an article or lecture is well structured, your notes will be well structured too • It is the easiest method when you don’t know anything, or very little, about the subject Disadvantages • Your notes are probably too wordy and messy • Linear notes do not give you a good overview.
Think about the following • Write down the three most important aspects of reading and note-taking for learning that you have learnt/thought about in this session? Why were they important to you? • Are there any areas for improvement in your reading and note-taking skills that you need to take action on? If so, what are you doing to do to improve this aspect of your learning?
Recap of the session • Identified key common pitfalls associated with reading and note-taking at university – which apply to you? • Outlined key reading skills to help you read more efficiently and effectively – SQ3R • Considered key note-taking skills to help you take notes more efficiently and effectively – linear notes and mind mapping
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/ services/facilitiessupport/reading online resources available on the Birkbeck Library website http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/get head-stay-ahead/skills/notetaking http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/get ahead-stay ahead/skills/reading interactive tutorials supporting this Student Orientation programme http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/ studyskills/learning/reading.asp http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/ Studyskills/reading/notes.asp helpful information on reading and note-taking skills on the Skills4Study website Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd Edition, Macmillan, London Chapter 6 ‘Research skills’ pp.111-136 Northedge, A. (2005) The Good Study Guide (Milton Keynes, Open University Press) chapter 5 ‘Reading’ pp.101-128 and chapter 6 ‘Making notes’ pp.128-156