5. Reading and Taking Notes
5.1. Focused Study Reading
Reading for Academic Purposes is called 'Focused Study Reading', that is to say, reading:
to understand the text, identifying the main ideas
to follow the logic of the argument
to learn content through language and language through content.
Find a good environment where you can concentrate when approaching your reading material. Read without being interrupted and feel comfortable. It is essential to have always a piece of paper, pen and dictionary ready before you start. It is strongly advisable that you set you reading time and make short breaks to mentally review what you are reading..
5.2. Reading Techniques in Sequence
Focused study reading requires more than one simple reading through the text. At least three or four readings are highly recommended to achieve a good understanding of a text and therefore to be able to use it as a source of your essay.
· First Reading: Predicting & Skimming (or surveying)
Read the title and anticipate what the text is going to be about. Make questions about it to yourself. Skim the source, that is, read quickly without paying attention to detail, simply extract the main content.
· Second Reading: Scanning Now you know what is the source about, look for more specific contents, identify how the text is structured and what its main ideas are. Make a selection of chapters and section and underline relevant parts as you read. Some ideas might come to you while reading, write them briefly on margins so that you can link them to the content of your essay notes afterwards. (If you are using books borrowed from the library, please do not mark them, think they can be damaged and further users won't be able to borrow them. Use "post-its" or cards instead.).
Finally, write a summary of the text. Pay attention to this correspondence: if your text is an article, summarise one paragraph in no more than one sentence, if you are reading is a chapter, write no more than one paragraph, and write a longer paragraph if what you are reading is a book, always checking its introduction and blurb.
· Third Reading: Looking for Detail: Note Taking.
Note Taking for Essay Writing is 'Selective Note Taking'. Do not try to gather all the information in your notes, select only information related with your topic that you consider useful for the development of your arguments.
Consider only relevant parts of the text.
taking notes of all is a waste of time.
Note taking functions as a permanent record for later reference and it is the basis of your outline and consequently of your first draft and final draft.
Next section is entirely dedicated to note-taking techniques, you will find some tips that may help you in developing your note-taking style.
· Fourth Reading: Reading to Learn New Words.
The reason why you should do this in your last reading and not in the first is that, as you read, you may guess the meaning of new words by understanding the whole context of a phrase or paragraph.
However, you might also find words and phrases totally unfamiliar to you that depend directly on the subject matter of the text. And also, bear in mind that many English words may be used in a wide range of contexts conveying different meanings or connotations.
Try to keep a record of new words and their definitions. A glossary of new terms and expressions related to your topic can be very helpful by the time you start to write your essay. Be aware of the fact that your own words may not fit when dealing with university writing.
For this purpose, the use of a good dictionary is essential. Try to get familiar with monolingual dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries are good tools when dealing with translation exercises but in the case of essay writing in English, usually most of our sources as well as our essay will be written in English.If you are a first-year student, start by using a monolingual dictionary specialized in learners of English.
Some good dictionaries provide also a online version available for free use :
Both dictionaries contain a thesaurus version where you will be able to look up synonyms. However, you should pay attention to their register, range of use and connotations in order to know if they fit within a context.
This fourth reading can be also focused in form and style. Pay attention to phrasing, wording and to the way the author uses references and quotations.
5.3. Note-Taking Techniques
Notes
should be taken in your own words, never attempt to copy from the source text,
for this is plagiarism. Plagiarism means using other's words as if they were
yours. The use of words that you find in a source which belong to somebody
else is not a mistake. BUT, make sure you write appropriate references to
the author and work from which you took those fragments.
In order to avoid unintentional plagiarism, do not copy pieces of continuous prose, this can also prevent a true understanding of a text.
Follow this diagram: Use continuous prose in your notes exceptionally when words or facts are interesting as part of your evidence, when a writer uses words to refute or agree with an idea, to make easier the understanding of complex matter and for appealing and encapsulating vivid, expressive phrases or sentences in the author's style.
A visual arrangement of elements in your notes will help you to locate information. Arrange elements vertically rather than horizontally.
1) Identify main and subsidiary information (sequences of events or main points)
2) Use letters and numerals, diagrams or mind maps (vertically in columns, rather than across the page)
3) Highlight key elements (underlining, vertical lines, arrows, bullets, etc.)
4) Make use of the abbreviations that we find in English writings. Use them in your notes as well as in your essay as long as you know their appropriate use. Pay attention to their use in other textxs as you read. The most common ones are:
| No. | for "number" |
| Etc. |
(Latin et cetera) equivalent to "…" I |
| i.e. | (Latin id est) means "that is" |
| NB | (Latin nota bene) means "note well" |
| c.f. | (Latin confer) means "compare" |
| e.g. | (Latin exempli gratia) means "for example" |
| et al | (Latin et alii) meaning "and other people/things" |
| et seq | (Latin et sequens) meaning "and the following pages" |
| ibid. | (Latin ibidem) meaning "in the same reference" |
| op. cit. | (Latin opere citatio) meaning "in the work mentioned before" |
| viz. | (Latin videlicet) meaning "namely" |
| c. or ca | (Latin circa) meaning "approximately" (for dates) |
Then combine the different note taking techniques depending on different content material, use for instance:
Summarising for the main ideas, but remember to condense information:
1 chapter ------->1 paragraph
1 paragraph----->1 sentence
This technique helps you to understand the text and also to avoid plagiarism. Read the text quickly and underline its main points. Re-read it, this time taking notes of these main points. Rewrite your notes without looking at the original and using your own words. Reconstruct your summary using a logical order and discard not useful information, such as details and personal opinions.
Paraphrasing without plagiarising for relevant parts, in significantly different language, write the information in roughly the same number of words. Use inverted commas for occasional phrases from the source.
Quoting for vivid, appealing , controversial ideas, phrases that you consider they cannot be expressed in another way as it would somehow change their meaning. Include the exact words from the source in your notes within quotation marks including punctuation and capitalisation and write its reference immediately after it.
! Do not trust yourself to remember later which, words, phrases, and passages you have quoted and which ones are your own.
Writing Personal Comments, for inspiration, accidents of creative process, connections to other readings and also propose sharp question words to set up arguments.
When you come to synthesise information from more than one source, you may:
Present different points of view from different sources.
Include viewpoints that you can discuss and use as a basis for your own comments.
Present a point of view with your own comment.
5.4. Keeping a Record of your Notes
As you take notes, manage information systematically:
· Take a blank sheet of paper and write your name on top.
· After your first reading, write the name of the source on top of the page below your name.
· Once you have done your second reading, make a summary of content.
· From your third reading, extract the main points and arrange them visually adding bullets and arrows. Include your personal comments on margins. Remember to write the page number on the left margin.
· From reading four, write new words on the left margin.
