How to take good notes while listening

True

If you cannot read your own notes they are useless. Details of the title, the lecturer's or presenter's name, the date etc are essential if you wish to use them and, in the case of a lecture, reference them for an assignment. These details also help you to place them in a context if you are using them at a later date for revision purposes.

False

There is no maximum length for notes. Lectures and presentations vary in the quantity of useful information they contain and in the time they take to deliver. These factors will affect the length of your notes. However, it is important that you do not try to write down everything that is said (although it is unlikely that you would be able to write fast enough). Notes are, by definition, a short form and you need to be selective and concise when making them.

True

Notes that are written too close together can be difficult to understand later. Leaving plenty of space between points can help you quickly distinguish between a main point and a secondary point. Similarly, making lists of points (rather than by using a paragraph for example) can help you quickly distinguish groups of related points. Items in lists are often numbered or ordered by letters (a,b,c).

True

Good notetakers use time-saving techniques when making notes. For example, they may use symbols (e.g. = & \ % ) and abbreviations (e.g. abbrev.), or use figures (e.g. 780, 2M) instead of writing numbers in words. They will often note only keywords and leave out words that are less important in conveying meaning (e.g. a, the). This will take less time when they are listening and writing at the same time.

False

Good notetakers often use more than one colour when making notes. For example, they may use a different colour pen or highlighter pen to emphasise key points. In a similar way, they may also choose to emphasise important parts of their notes by the use of underlining or capital letters. Any of these methods can make key points stand out in a set of notes so that they are easier to understand when read at a later date.

Claudia's notes show use of all of the time-saving techniques on the list except for indenting and the use of different colours to highlight points.

Indenting (setting some points of secondary importance at a mid point on the page rather than aligning them with main points on the left side) is an easy way of presenting main and secondary points differently so that they are more noticeable and their relationship is instantly recognisable to the reader.

organisations

Business partners

At present (now)

These are the full forms of the words that Claudia's abbreviations stand for. Remember, this is her system. There are commonly used abbreviations (e.g. 'prob' for 'problem'), but people have different systems to suit their own purposes.
problems, external, difficult, applications, services, confidence, process flexibility

Notice how it is common to finish the abbreviation with a consonant and if it represents a noun in the plural form to include the final 's'. Abbreviations can take account of common noun endings too, e.g. flexib'y= flexibility.