Thursday 26 December 2013

Take Better Notes

By Franklin Skribbit


Research papers, essays, and any other written assignment can make a student feel like they've stepped through a portal to the underworld and into the presence of Hades himself. Citation is complicated, detailed and can be overwhelming when you don't fully understand what's going on.

When using a laptop, research various applications and programs which may assist you in your note taking. Programs like Evernote provide easy, instant access to your information regardless of whether you are viewing it from a phone, tablet, or computer. You can also scan your handwritten notes in for digital storage if you so prefer.

Competent note taking relies heavily on your ability to accurately and clearly record the information. Take time to learn to type faster and know the keyboard shortcuts for commonly used things like bold and underline. If you prefer to hand write your notes work on your penmanship. Hastily scribbled and hardly legible notes are quite simply a waste of time.

When you are working on citations, refer back frequently to your handbook to make sure you are using the correct format and style for citing. Your citations in-text and in the bibliography are important and even missing a simple thing like a period can cause you to miss points if your professor is feeling particularly pernicious. Be detailed in your study of the citation style noting things like line spacing, margins, page numbering, and font size.

Outlining itself is another way for a student to help themselves to stay on task with their term papers throughout the semester. After the general organization of the paper is complete, a student can focus on the specific outline for the paper.

Now we come to the hardest part, what to write down and how. This is where personal preference and learning style really come in to play. Do some research and play around with various methods for documenting your notes. There are quite a few including mind mapping, charting, the Cornell method, and creating a rough outline. It is important for you to find one that works for you.

Read, Proofread, Re-read, and RE-proofread your paper. Keep an eye out for the above mentioned faux pas and watch for capitalization and punctuation mistakes. Again, refer to your handbook for the capitalization and punctuation rules for any citations. Be aware of any mis-used homonyms like 'their', 'they're', and 'there' or 'to', 'two', and 'too'. Avoid slang terms and use only proper academic English.

As you work to perfect your note taking style, it will become easier for you to focus and prepare clear notes that you can study later. Whether you're pursuing a business administration degree in National City, or simply taking a single continuing education course, you will find this skill to be most valuable in helping you succeed.




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