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Student Study Skills

This guide provides resources for student study skills and information on student success at PennWest.

Note-Taking

TAKING LECTURE NOTES

The Goal: Capture the lecturer's ideas as accurately and fully as possible in the order the ideas are delivered, to allow for analyzing, reflecting and making them your own.

The Reason: To make a record of the lecture to fill the gaps created by the massive forgetting that will take place during and after the lecture.

5 Essential Steps for Mastering Your Notes:

1. Record the information
2. Reduce the ideas to a key word or phrase in the left-hand margin
3. Recite it without looking at it, and if you can't, you don't know it
4. Review to get a complete picture of the ideas that were recited
5. Reflect by speculating on the implications of the facts and concepts


Adapted from "Notetaking" from Dartmouth Academic Skills Center


The Five R's

1. RECORD: During the lecture, write all meaningful information legibly.

2. REDUCE: After the lecture, write a summary of the ideas and facts using key words as cue words. Summarizing as you study helps to:

  • Clarify meanings and relationships of ideas
  • Reinforce continuity
  • Strengthen memory retention
  • Prepare for exams in advance

3. RECITE: To study properly, you must recite all the information in your own words without looking at your notes or the text.

4. REFLECT: Think about your own opinions and ideas as you read over your notes. Raise questions, then try to answer them creatively. Record original ideas in your notebook and review them regularly. Use your creative ideas when answering exam questions, in classroom discussions, and when writing papers.

5. REVIEW: Before reading or studying new material, take ten minutes to quickly review your older notes. Skim over the main ideas and details. Review enhances more effective retention of old material when adding new material to your memory system.


Source: Pauk, W. (1989). How to study in college (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

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If you cannot access the above video, you can watch it here

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