{"id":470,"date":"2022-10-24T10:19:46","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T10:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/?p=470"},"modified":"2022-10-24T10:19:48","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T10:19:48","slug":"a-quick-guide-to-reading-and-notetaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/2022\/10\/24\/a-quick-guide-to-reading-and-notetaking\/","title":{"rendered":"A Quick Guide to Reading and Notetaking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/rolexpv\/51020129243\/in\/photolist-2kJtuUK-dRTbx5-8vdhwV-2kJxeBF-2kJxK6M-kZG1B-8vgkg9-qt4BWV-niGXe4-noiJWq-oZB11X-nt8bdP-pL6d6t-osvyqj-qvAFVz-otGhTs-7gvjZR-9w1Jop-mSnwKE-rtSrW8-pPCrTd-8imeu9-oy1hnX-bf1nPi-pfWBZW-qp49r7-ef59ZH-s1cgEH-pWsLY1-2nhK15a-aXd9ek-2ivXtex-rFSgUZ-2ivTHMV-2ivTHM9-bC2fUQ-2mbzzUs-2cknChL-2kJz8nc-PCNxUe-rPzW7Q-2kdnAXh-kuYNYc-2kdnAYE-2krdDW3-9PSNPf-rco8ia-81w944-2nhJZPR-QNdHeE\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51020129243_6e2a06051c.jpg\" alt=\"Reading and highlighting\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Image by Raul Pacheco-Vega<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking notes as you read helps you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Engage with the material<\/li><li>Process your thoughts<\/li><li>Gather information and evidence to use in assessments<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s all too easy to fall into the trap of taking too many notes, though, and it can be overwhelming to end up with pages and pages of notes that you don\u2019t quite know what to do with. The key to avoiding this pitfall is to identify your purpose: if you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re reading for, you\u2019ll risk turning into the \u2018human photocopier\u2019 and noting everything down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To begin with, then, think about why you are reading and, relatedly, what you will use the resulting notes for. For instance, are you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Reading for background to prepare for an upcoming lecture and\/or seminar<\/li><li>Reading to clarify understanding from a lecture and\/or seminar<\/li><li>Reading for further knowledge for an assignment.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Reading to develop an argument by evaluating existing viewpoints on a topic or synthesising current knowledge and understanding with the viewpoints of other authors<\/li><li>Or, another purpose?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are reading to gain background knowledge, or to clarify your understanding of a topic, these questions might be useful in helping you stay on track and avoid tangents. They\u2019ll also help identify exactly what you might need to make notes of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Are there any specific questions you\u2019d like your reading to answer for you? Any particular gaps in your knowledge you\u2019re looking to fill?<\/li><li>What wider context do you need to understand and why?<\/li><li>What knowledge, information or data do you need and why?<\/li><li>Do you have any articles\/texts in mind that it would be useful to consult? If you are looking to construct an argument, what answers\/positions\/debates\/arguments already exist?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve identified your purpose for reading and notetaking, you can think about the type of reading you need to do. For instance, if your main purpose is to get a general sense of somebody\u2019s argument, you probably don\u2019t need to read the entire article to begin with. Reading the introduction, conclusion and first line of each paragraph could well give you what you need (and ensure your accompanying notes are concise and relevant!). If you are working on your dissertation and are looking to adapt an existing method for your own use, then focusing on the methods sections to begin with will give you what you need. Identifying your purpose thus means you can be selective when reading and notetaking, which can also help you save time. If you\u2019d like tailored advice on reading and notetaking, feel free to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/library\/book-appointments\/\">book <\/a>a 1-1 session with us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taking notes as you read helps you: Engage with the material Process your thoughts Gather information and evidence to use in assessments It\u2019s all too easy to fall into the trap of taking too many notes, though, and it can &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/2022\/10\/24\/a-quick-guide-to-reading-and-notetaking\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5886,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-learning-effectively","category-new-at-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5886"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":471,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions\/471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/academicskills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}