Note taking key to success, advisor says
by Linda Compton, reporter

    Effective note taking is a key to academic success, a SE Campus academic advisor told students last week.

    Steve Rakoff provided students with tips and expected results in Effective Note Taking: Getting the Most Out of What the Instructor Says, a student skills workshop.

    "After class, the retention rate after one hour is only 60 percent; then it gradually tapers down," he said.

    Rakoff suggested that the best time for students to revise notes and study the day's lecture is directly after class.

    "Students remember 90 percent of what they say and do, 70 percent of what they say, 50 percent of what they see and hear, 30 percent of what they see, 20 percent of what they hear and only 10 percent of what they read," he said.

    To improve student grades, Rakoff offered practical tips for taking effective notes, including always going to class prepared.

    Rakoff also recommended the SQ3R+P (Survey, Questions, Reading, Recite, Review and Practice) method of reading textbooks.

    Students should survey the day's recommended reading, noting the introduction, headings and bold printed words, figures and summaries and writing any questions that arise while they are reading.

    This practice will enable students to ask questions they might not have understood during their reading and mark any discrepancies that might occur during the lecture, Rakoff said.

    Students should then recite by repeating and recalling information of sections read. Next they should review by answering questions and repeating the summary, Rakoff said.

    Finally, they should practice using the information read and use problem-solving techniques.

    "During class sitting up front helps to prevent distractions that may occur in the room and lessen your ability to focus attention on the teacher," he said.

    Students should try to recapture the main points of the lecture.

    "Distinguish principle from colorful filling as the lecture is being given," he said.

    "Listen for structure and question and evaluate the material presented by the instructor," he said.

    Students should make notes using the white space of the notebook paper, located just to the left of the red vertical line or directly to the right of the vertical line.

    They should also use abbreviations, copy everything the instructor puts on the board, ask for clarification of anything they don't understand, pay attention to verbal cues such as Òif you remember nothing else remember " or 'the most important thing is'"

    "The purpose of note taking is to store information until it's time to learn it," he said.

    Rakoff said note taking teaches the student to pay attention and to rephrase and/or condense what has been said.

    "Taking notes is difficult for three reasons. First, oral language is more diffuse than written. Second, the speaker's organization is not immediately apparent, and third, immediate feedback seldom occurs," he said.

    Rakoff recommended additional tips for taking effective notes.

    Writing on one side of the paper will help the student reorganize notes when time to study.

    In addition, students can use a three-ring binder leaving the white space for notes or questions and different colored ink or highlighters, which help students mentally organize notes.

    "Date each day's notes; even date a sheet of paper when absent a day. This will remind you what day to ask for when borrowing notes from a neighbor," he said.

    "Write down all information written on the board and, when possible, use creative shorthand and abbreviations," he said.

    Another form of note taking is Cornell Note-Taking System, developed at Cornell University, Rakoff said.

    The Cornell System divides the paper into a note-taking section and a recall column.

    At the top of the page, students should write the lecture topic and date. Before class, they can make a recall column by marking two-inches from the left and two-inches from the bottom, Rakoff said.

    "Record any notes in the right hand section of the page. Save the bottom two-inches for paraphrasing of the page. Use only one side of the paper," he said.

    Rakoff also suggested using the five R's: recoding, reducing, removing, reciting and reflecting.

    "Get down the main ideas and facts. Write the notes in simple paragraph form making sure they make sense later when reviewing. Write any examples and figures used in lecture," he said.

    Students should pick out key ideas as cues for review and remove any adjectives and adverbs, leaving only subjects and verbs, Rakoff said.

    Since retention is only 60 percent one hour after class, Rakoff said students should review notes as soon as possible after lecture.

    Then they should think about the information presented in lecture and use the left column for reviewing several times a week.

    Other note-taking procedures Rakoff discussed included outlining, listening about five minutes then paraphrasing what one has just heard and conceptual mapping.

    "Note taking is different for everyone; experiment with several methods to see which is best for you," he said.