The Basics

Taking Notes

Being that you can now tell the difference between Primary and Secondary information, we can assume that the majority of your notes are filled with Primary Information. It is completely up to you to decide how much Secondary Information you find useful to make note of. 

Organized Notes

Much like a book, pamphlet, or website your notes should be organized in a way that makes them easier to review or refer back to later on. This is one of the reasons why you should review the materials BEFORE you start taking notes because this habit will help you keep your notes better organized. You aren’t looking for perfection, but it does help to be tidy.

Notes may include:

• Different sized text differentiating between titles and regular text

• Line spacing or line skipping so different sections are isolated

• Underlined or highlighted text makes that text easier to spot

• Bullet notes or numbering for lists

• Asterisks, quotes, or italics when you want to add a note, quote a resource, or indicate the title and author of a book, video, or painting.

• Arrows to connect related or subsequent information that might be separated

• Sticky notes, tab markers, etc…. to mark sections, chapters, or specific information

• Your own thoughts, insights, or realizations summarizing each section

What Good Notes Might Look Like: