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Study Skills – Listening and making notes


Welcome to our lesson.
Please listen carefully
and make notes.
First one: before you listen.
Don’t note
everything down.
And to save space,
use abbreviations.
And a quick and clear way
to show relationships
is to use symbols.
Whoa there.
Not easy, is it?
Taking notes while
listening is challenging.
So, first off,
here are three ways
to help you listen
more effectively.
Number one.
Don’t worry
if you don’t get every word.
Just try to focus
on the main points.
Number two.
If you miss a bit,
don’t keep thinking about it.
You’ll miss even more
if you do that.
Number three.
If it’s a video
or audio file,
pause and replay
important or difficult bits.
Now,
ten top tips
for taking better notes
while listening.
First one.
Before you listen,
gather information.
Read relevant course materials.
Anticipate what’s
going to appear.
You can research
key words and phrases
in advance,
so you’re not surprised
when you hear them.
Another tip.
Don’t note
everything down.
Take shortened notes.
Think about what’s
useful and what
you can leave out.
And to save
space and time,
use abbreviations
when you can.
And a quick
and clear way to
show relationships
is to use symbols.
For example:
‘equal to’,
‘therefore’,
and arrows.
Lots of arrows!
In fact,
if you really love arrows,
you might prefer
a mind map
or a flow chart
to show how things connect.
Or you might prefer
to write simple
lines of notes.
But don’t forget,
you can use capital letters,
underlining,
colours
and shapes
to help information
stand out.
Choose the style
that works best for you.
Phew!
By now you’re probably
taking a lot of notes.
But this is important:
leave some
white space
so you can add thoughts
and clarify things later.
And while you’re listening:
a warning.
How will you know if
you’re noting down
a fact
or an opinion?
If the speaker is just
giving an opinion
or if the speaker is
quoting someone else,
make this clear in your notes.
Is there a handout
for the lecture?
If so,
you can use this
as a basis
for your own notes,
adding your own thoughts,
rather than
copying it out.
And, once you’ve finished,
remember to reread
your notes
to help the information stick.
And rewrite your notes
soon after taking them,
to help them
stay in the memory.
There we are.
Ten top tips.
Now, try watching this
whole video again,
and this time
take your own notes!
Good luck.
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