P**« 7
Students Take
Note
An important factor in getting
good grades in college is your
ability to take clear, well-or
ganized class notes. Listening
carefully to the instructor’s lec
ture and writing down the
important points is the key to
successful notetaking. The pro
cess of listening and writing at
the same time will also help you
understand. A few basic tech
niques can help.
The purpose of class notes is
to record the instructor's lesson
in a manner that will allow you
to review and understand the
material afterwards. Your ob
jective, therefore, is to outline
the main and supporting ideas
and facts so that they are clear
and understandable.
Write rapidly in your own
form of shorthand. Don't try to
take down everything - keep to
the main points. Develop your
own style of abbreviating and
condensing the important data.
Some people leave out' vowels,
for instance, or use only the
first syllable, and omit articles
and obvious verbs. Common
abbreviations and symbols
found in most dictionaries can
often be of great help.
Instructors’ teaching meth
ods will differ. You’ll have to be
alert to each one’s style and
organization. Often they start
each class with an overview or
outline and use it as a frame
work for their lecture. This, of
course, is a good reason for
being punctual.
Outlines, diagrams or lists
that instructors write on the
board are usually important. It
is a good idea to record these in
your notebook, unless you
know that the same material is
already covered in your text
book.
Indenting and spacing will
help make your notes more
readable. Start a new line out
to the left for an important
heading. Indent subheads un
der this and so on.
Start a new page for each
class, with the date and topic
heading the page. When a new
major topic or division is intro-
duced, begin another new page
so that you will have enough
room to record the appropriate
material under it.
A lined BVz X 11 inch note
book is recommended. On the
front cover you can paste your
work schedule, as well as your
name, address and phone num
ber in case you ever misplace it.
You can keep all your class
notes, and the instructor’s
handout’s, in this one book by
tabbing sections for each
course. You can also add or
delete notes or fresh paper as
you need to. Most students, by
the way, find that notes made
in pen are much more legible
and durable than those in pen
cil.
It is best to write on the
right-hand pages only. You can
then make your own study,
review or textbook notes on the
left-hand pages.
Jot down questions as they
occur to you in class and hold
them for the appropriate mo
ment. They might be answered
or become unimportant in a few
minutes. But if not, you’ll want
to have them answered either
in class or later.
Be alert to the instructor’s
tone, emphasis or questions.
These may be clues to things
that will appear on an exam.
For example, if Professor
Smith says, “Five important
reasons for the treaty were....”
or “Remember n0w....”, you can
be sure those are things to be
recorded.
Class lectures’and textbook
assignments do not always par
allel each other. Your class
notes will reflect the instruc
tor’s approach to the topic, but
you might find it helpful to
make additional notes from
your textbook on the left-hand
page across from your class
notes.
Design your notetaking
system so that you have suffi
cient room to record the in
structor’s material, your read
ing notes and your review notes
on one page or two opposite
pages.
Remember, review your
class notes as soon as possible
after the session has ended. In
this way you’ll be able to
correct, clarify or fill-in where
necessary. This review time
will also be critical in helping
you remember the class mater
ial when it is fresh in your
mind.
One style of notetaking, de
veloped at Cornell University,
has been very helpful to stu
dents. One every right-hand
page, draw a vertical line from
top to bottom, 2V* inches in
from the left side. In class use
the large 6 inch column on the,
right for recording the lecture
material. After class and during
study times, use the smaller
left hand column for making
your own review notes. By
marking down the key word,
idea or fact, it can help you
remember what you are study
ing and help you review for
exams. Some students find it
helpful to use a colored marker
or pen during review to under
line the important words or
phrases.
Completing textbook or
reading assignments before
each class will help minimize
notetaking in class. You will
know whether the material un
der discussion is in the text or
not. You will already have
underlined the important ideas
in the book, so you won’t have
to duplicate these points when
the instructor makes them. In
stead of taking down these
same facts write ’’refer to text
book chapter."
Typing or rewriting notes is
normally a waste of time, if
they are legible, accurate and
complete it is much more pro
ductive to spend your time
reviewing the notes, reading
your text and keeping up every
day and every week with your
studies.
This feature is one of a series
developed for students by col
lege textbook publishers.
The Iceman Cometh: Student Bob Foster appears to be delivering icicles to
needy students. Actually, he forgot his key.
Lou’s
When you buy a shampoo
for your hair and expect mar
vellous results, remember
shampooing is an art. It is not
just slopping the liquid on the
head and presto! its done. It
requires time to shampoo thor
oughly, and the shampoo is as
good as you effort. Here are a
few tips (for men and women):
Never use more of the sham
poo than is necessary. Some
concentrates are stronger than
others. Measure the liquid be
fore use. according to instruc
tions. Too strong a shampoo can
cause skin irritation.
If the hair is of normal
texture and oiliness, wet the
hair first, before applying the
shampoo. Make sure that you
lather-rub the shampoo well
into the hair before you apply
more. Usually a shampoo does
not lather well on the first
application. Massage the sham
poo near the neck, face and ear
area, as well as all over. Rinse
well with water using temper
ature that is comfortable.
Shampoo a second time gently
massaging the head thoroughly.
If is is necessary to wash the
hair a third time, do so. Rinse
thoroughly. If the hair is tinted
make sure that the shampoo is
Corner
all out; lather has a tendency to
stay on tinted hair as it is more
porous.
Use a tepid last rinse water.
This not only closes the pores of
the skin, it helps the hair to
straighten for combing. If a
cream rinse is used after the
shampoo, do not apply too much
as this can cause the hair to
acquire pollution quicker, mak
ing it dull and oily fast.
To prevent hair from tang
ling after shampooing add 1
tablespoon of vinegar, or lemon
juice, to the last rinsing water.,
Wrap the head in a soil
towel, always dealing with hair
gently. Dry naturally as much
as possible, as hair dryers can j
cause hair to dry and split at •
the ends. |
If the hair is very oily, appiy j
the shampoo to the dry hair,
then gradually add a little wa
ter sufficient to shampoo. This
enables the shampoo to cut the
oil first.
If the hair is very dry, rinse
after shampooing with a good
professional cream rinse and
avoid vinegar or lemon rinses.
This sounds like a lot of
preparation, but is well worth
it. The hair stays cleaner long
er, and gives one a feeling of
well-being.
.©*
9
c.e. reader