Introduction

Students often say that they can't read or understand their own notes. Good notes trigger total recall of relevant material and are structured so they can be used for all study purposes including revision, assignment writing and exam preparation.

Features of good notes

Efficient and effective notes generally display the following features. They:

• are organised into key points and minor points
• record relevant source / bibliographical details, eg author, title, publisher, date of publication, page number/s
• use visual techniques, eg highlighting, graphics, colours, and underlining to identify main points
• use abbreviations and symbols to show connections between key points and minor points
• have line spaces so that you can add to your notes later, eg for revision.

Remember

Don't take down every word!
Don't write sentences!

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Abbreviations