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EOY Informational Essay

Alyssa Regner
Miss Ericksons Literacy Class
5/23/2014
Core 4

Have you ever struggled in class while taking notes because you could never get enough notes, or you always lost
them? Do you take notes and then by the end of the next class, you forget what you wrote notes on? Writing notes can be
hard, but if you know how to write them and use them to study for tests, it is quite easy and keeps you involved in the
lesson or lecture. I have done a bit of research on taking notes, and as being a student myself in the seventh grade, I can
relate directly to the challenges and how to make note-taking easier. Taking notes may seem like a challenge and a ton of
steps at first, but after a while, the procedures become easier and taking effective notes and reviewing them, will come
naturally. There are three main parts to having effective notes, which include, being prepared for class, actually taking the
notes in class, and reviewing, editing and revising the notes afterwards.

Coming to class prepared is very important because students need to make sure that they have the right materials
and utensils required to take notes and participate in class. Before even taking the notes, students need to make sure that
they come to class prepared with highlighters, pencils, paper, binders, notebooks and folders to organize and find notes
from previous classes. (Dietsche, Vivinette) It would also be helpful to have documents or presentations of information
that students already have on the topic so that they can concentrate on the things in class that are not on the slides or
document. Sitting towards the front of class would also be helpful because students can make sure that they hear the
information better and there are fewer distractions when they sit closer to where the teacher is talking. ("Note-Taking
Advice.") Start by entering the classroom with a positive attitude. Going to class thinking, This is the last place I want to
be today only sets the stage for inattentive listening. Approaching lectures with a positive attitude allows one to be open-
minded and enables students to get the most out of the information presented in class. Overall, coming to class prepared is
the first step to successfully writing notes. Now that students know what to bring to class, the taking notes part will be
the most difficult as there are some things that students should not do when writing notes and certain ways that would

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make it the easiest to take and organize the notes that students take in class.

Strategies, techniques and organization are important skills that are used when taking the notes which are used in
class to remember information that is taught by the teacher or instructor. When in class, students should make a conscious
effort to pay attention. Concentrate on concentrating. Without concentration there is no focus, and without focus there is
no learning (Dietsche, Vivinette) First, when taking notes, students often want to write everything down to make sure
that they have all of the information that they need. This does not always work out because they often miss important
information because it is not easy to type or write as fast as the teacher talks. Therefore, it is more helpful to just write
down the key points or the most important information mentioned. ("Note-Taking Tips.") Instructors will frequently make
comments like, This is an important concept. Or, Make sure you understand this. These are direct clues that this will
more than likely be on an exam. Highlighting these notes will help remind students later that this is definitely something
the students in the class need to know. (Dietsche, Vivinette) Using font, color, size, and underlining techniques to draw
attention to different types of notes. For example, a student might want to write examples in a red color and direct quotes
in a blue color. ("Note-Taking Advice.") Most of the time, teachers will put the most important information on a
whiteboard or give them to the class, if this is done by the teacher then take advantage of this and use the notes.
Otherwise, students can observe the teaching and take notes that they find the most valuable for when they would need to
go back and study for a test. It may also be easier to write down just a couple important bullet points and then review the
information after class or at home when students generally have more time. ("Note-Taking Tips.")
Knowing what and how much to write down is sometimes difficult. Students should rely on some of the following
tips for what to include in their notes: Details, facts, or explanations that expand or explain the main points that are
mentioned. Dont forget examples, definitions, word for word so that they don't get mixed up, enumerations or lists of
things that are discussed. Make sure to also include material written on the chalkboard or on a transparency, including
drawings or charts and information that is repeated or spelled out. (University of Texas at Austin) There is a great
difference between knowing a thing and understanding it. Charles Kettering (1876 1958), American electrical
engineer and inventor. (Dietsche, Vivinette)
Secondly, students need to ask questions. It is a students' responsibility to make sure they are learning and if no
questions are asked to better understand the concepts, then students are not learning. Even asking to repeat information

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announced during a lecture or lesson could be as simple as a student raising their hand to ask or just asking the teacher
after the class is over. Some other students might be wondering the same thing.
Lastly, organization of notes can become important when going back to review them for tests. Notes should be
kept all in one place. This can either be done by putting the notes in a folder after classes or when taking the notes, they
can be written in a notebook in order so that students can go back to a date or name of lesson. ("Note-Taking Tips.")
Using a binder may be the most helpful for students to keep their notes and worksheets organized because they can easily
be ordered by date, subject, or unit, and then taken out and then put back in. The dividers make it easy to just flip to a
page and bring students to the right area. (Dietsche, Vivinette) Actually, heading papers with the date and name of lesson
can be important when students want to go back to a certain lesson or date when they heard important information, to
review for tests. ("Note-Taking Tips.") Taking notes is important in class as they will help make it easier for students to
study for tests and easily be able to go back to their notes (which should be organized) to review information from a
certain class, subject or date. Now that the notes are taken, the next step is for the student to review or rewrite notes to
make it even more easy to review them.

Now that the notes are taken, they can be actually used, revised and maybe even more information could be added
to them. Notes should be reviewed within at least 24 hours after the class takes place to make sure that the students
themselves understand it. (Dietsche, Vivinette) Notes should be reviewed before the next lecture or lesson. Regularly
reviewing notes is the only way to achieve lasting memory and helps connect concepts from one lesson to the next. Also,
students should make notes as to any questions that they may have about any notes that they got out of the lesson. These
should be asked to the instructor. ("Note-Taking Advice.") Sometimes when students take notes, they are too concentrated
on getting everything down that the teacher says, and are not concentrating on what they are learning. In addition, notes
can also be compared when students are going over the reading later on or they can be compared with peers. Sometimes
when reviewing the reading, students find more information that they may have missed from the lesson. When reviewing
with peers, some students have information that others don't, and then even more notes can be added. Comparing and
discussing notes that students take can also help them remember more of the information and it can also help them find
errors and mistakes that they may have made.
When in a rush to write down notes, they can sometimes get sloppy and rewriting them or copying them into a

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different spot can be helpful for readability reasons. Also, when writing notes over again, it can help students remember
the information better. ("Note-Taking Tips.") The time after the lesson is what follows-up on the notes from the lesson as
they are reviewed, edited and organized so that they can easily be used to study for tests.

Quality notes require three main steps; preparation for class, taking notes during a class lesson, and looking-over
the notes to review information and study for tests. The very first step of taking notes is to come to class with the right
supplies and attitude to make it through the class and take accurate notes. Next, students need to make sure that they listen
and pay attention to the lessons in class and write down only the most important information. Then, this information needs
to be organized and compared with other students and questions need to be asked for information that is not understood at
first. Lastly, students should review the notes they took and maybe rewrite ones that are not complete and may be sloppy.
Preparing, writing, and reviewing notes is a common skill that students need to know especially for high school and
college. They help a lot towards studying for tests and can help in the future during business meetings or when
researching topics in the future.




Works Cited


Dietsche, Vivinette. "Taking Notes: 5 College Success Tips." Jerzs Literacy Weblog. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May
2014.


"Note-Taking Advice." Note-Taking Advice. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2014.


"Note-Taking Tips." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Chris Cortellessa. The
Nemours Foundation, 01 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 May 2014.







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