{"id":2150,"date":"2020-05-01T20:25:56","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T20:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/?page_id=2150"},"modified":"2020-05-01T20:25:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T20:25:56","slug":"b-how-to-make-notes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/b-how-to-make-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"B. How to make notes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">Making good notes is a skilled activity and, like any skill, it is important to put time into developing it by following a\u00a0<em><strong>structured approach<\/strong>.<\/em>\u00a0Notes should be brief yet complete reminders of the essential information in a chapter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">Follow the\u00a0<em>\u2018<strong>MESSED\u2019 method<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0when making notes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>M:<\/strong>\u00a0USE TWO\u00a0<strong><em>MARGINS<\/em>\u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Draw a narrow margin (1cm) on the left-hand side and use this for numbering headings. Draw a wide margin (6cm) on the right and use this later for making any additions you feel necessary.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>E:<\/strong>\u00a0<em><strong>EASY<\/strong>\u00a0TO READ\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 Since your notes will be used to revise swiftly and often it is important that they are user friendly. Care now will save you a lot of time later.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>S:<\/strong>\u00a0<strong><em>SHORT<\/em>\u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Use words or their abbreviations, symbols and diagrams (spider grams, web diagrams, mind maps, graphic organisers). Sentences should only be used for important definitions, quotes, or equations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>S:\u00a0<em>SPACED<\/em><\/strong>\u2013 Do not cram your notes \u2013 they are hard to learn from later. You can also add more information in the open spaces at a later stage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>E:\u00a0<em>EMPHASISE<\/em><\/strong><em>\u00a0AND<\/em>\u00a0<em><strong>ENHANCE<\/strong><\/em>\u2013 Number and highlight each heading. Then list and itemize the details. Highlight important items during the revision stage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>D:\u00a0<em>DOWN<\/em><\/strong><em>\u00a0AND\u00a0<strong>DESIGN<\/strong><\/em>\u2013 Work down the page. After completing each chapter think of how the design of your notes could be improved in the future.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>Now<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>that you know how to structure your notes you should\u00a0<strong><em>read the chapter<\/em>\u00a0<em>first<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0before putting pen to paper.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><em><strong>While reading<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0do the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">read the <em><b>introduction<\/b><\/em>\u00a0or the<em>\u00a0<\/em><b><em>first<\/em>\u00a0<em>paragraph<\/em><\/b><em>.<\/em>\u00a0If there is no\u00a0introduction:<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">read the <em><b>summary<\/b><\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0<em><b>last paragraph<\/b>.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">study the illustrations\/graphics \u2013 <em><b>diagrams, charts, graphs<\/b>,\u00a0<b>tables,\u00a0pictures<\/b>.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">read the <em><b>headings<\/b>.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">read any <em><b>highlighted text.<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">read the <em><b>questions at the end<\/b><\/em>\u00a0of the chapter.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">(Make\u00a0sure your notes contain the answer to these questions).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">You are now ready to get to work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">If, however, you feel you do not have time to make notes an alternative is to\u00a0<em><strong>highlight the chapter in your textbook<\/strong>.<\/em>\u00a0Follow the six reading steps above then read the chapter from beginning to end. As you do, think hard at the end of each sentence. Only highlight the key words except where there is a sentence which contains definitions or quotations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><em><strong>Other active methods<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>of studying and note-taking, which are not dealt with in any detail here, are the use of\u00a0<strong><em>mind maps, graphic organisers and flash cards.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>Recent research suggests that these are superior methods, compared to highlighting and linear notetaking. You should\u00a0<em><strong>explore these<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and settle on the\u00a0<em><strong>system that suits you best.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\">The advantages of using any of these methods are that your\u00a0<em><strong>concentration is improved<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0because you are forced to be more\u00a0<strong><em>actively involved in thinking about the material.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>You are not being<strong>\u00a0<em>passive.<\/em><\/strong><em>\u00a0<\/em>You are\u00a0<em><strong>processing<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0the information and, in a sense, making it your own. Your learning is\u00a0<em><strong>deeper<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and thus greatly enhanced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;\"><em><strong>Frequent revision<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is necessary if you are to retain mastery of each chapter. Your notes, highlighting, or whatever method you have chosen, will allow you to\u00a0<em><strong>revise quickly<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0avoiding the time-consuming task of having to go through the full chapter. If you develop these skills and use them consistently, you will be able to bring a huge body of information in the various subjects under your control.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Making good notes is a skilled activity and, like any skill, it is important to put time into developing it by following a\u00a0structured approach.\u00a0Notes should be brief yet complete reminders of the essential information in a chapter. Follow the\u00a0\u2018MESSED\u2019 method\u00a0when making notes: M:\u00a0USE TWO\u00a0MARGINS\u2013\u00a0Draw a narrow margin (1cm) on the left-hand side and use this<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/b-how-to-make-notes\/\" class=\"themebutton\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2150","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2150"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2310,"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2150\/revisions\/2310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metc.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}