A tool in your armoury

Updated on: Monday, July 19, 2010

It is a skill which one masters with practice. The more you make notes, the easier it is to learn and remember. But when we talk about making notes for a tough nut like the UPSC’s Mains, it is not a frivolous affair. Note making here needs some well planned strategies.

The key to preparing good notes is to judiciously select what you record. The point to drive home is that while attending a coaching class or reading at a library, the idea is not to jot down every word, but to record certain key elements and highlight important terms. While in a classroom, the trick is to concentrate and catch the few important terminologies which define a larger concept faster and easier. Similarly, if you are making notes from a book, ask yourself why you are making them. Always remember that notes serve the unique purpose of understanding and recalling the content.

Interestingly there are no set rules of note making. There are different styles of making them — short sentences, pointers, concept maps, graphical ways. Follow what suits you best. Here are few effective note making methods.

Headings and bullets
Condense the matter using headings, sub headings and important points. This is useful while in a classroom when you have to keep pace with fast-delivered lectures. You can also leave space at the end of each session in order to write additional information from newspapers, magazines or other academic sources.

You may use separate sheets and file them, so that it is easier to file extra sheets at later stages. If you are using a computer to make notes, even better. You will be able to dig out your notes in a jiffy.

Pattern notes
This type of note making is like a spider’s web where you write the main theme at the centre of the page and each line radiating from it will have brief keywords describing the subject. This will not only give you a bird’s eye-view but will help you understand the relationship between the off-shooting remarks/observations as well. Experts say that such representations leave a more lasting impression than linear forms of making notes.

Double notes
This is not duplicating but bifurcating two sources of information. For instance, if you are writing an essay on a current issue, then you will use two colour pens or two columns to first write the available information and then give your point of view. The aim is to separate your ideas and ensure that you are not repeating the same words.

Annotations
If you have already written lengthy answers, you can highlight the key points and also write additional details in the margins.
Remember to keep a record of all the sources that you read to integrate your notes. Referencing will include a chapter’s name and the book where it is taken from, the author, a webpage with its URL, quotations, newspapers and magazines. This simultaneous exercise will help you find details easily just in case you want to check something.
Whatever be your method, one technique that works for everybody is a quick recap. Review your notes immediately and you will notice if you’ve missed something important as it will still be fresh in your mind. You can make amendments at this stage. So after class is over at the coaching centre, revise your notes and if you’ve skipped some part, your tutor will be only too happy to fill in the gaps.

A tool in your armoury

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