Note Taking Basics

Guidelines for Note-Taking

1. Concentrate on the lecture or on the reading material.
2. Take notes consistently.
3. Take notes selectively. Do NOT try to write down every word. Remember that the average lecturer speaks approximately 125-140 words per minute, and the average note-taker writes at a rate of about 25 words per minute.
4. Translate ideas into your own words.
5. Organize notes into some sort of logical form.
6. Be brief. Write down only the major points and important information.
7. Write legibly. Notes are useless if you cannot read them later!
8. Don't be concerned with spelling and grammar.

Ways to Reduce and Streamline Notes

1. Eliminate small connecting words such as: is, are, was, were, a, an, the, would, this, of. Eliminate pronouns such as: they, these, his, that, them.
2. DO NOT to eliminate these three words: and, in, on.
3. Use symbols to abbreviate
4. Drop the last several letters of a word. For example, substitute "appropriate" with "approp."
5. Drop some of the internal vowels of a word. For example, substitute "large" with "lrg."

* above material credited to: www.arc.sbc.edu/notes.html