#how to take notes

[the---hermit]

how I take notes on non fiction books

I recently made a post on my study method, and decided to make a whole separate post on my note taking method. The structure of the notes I write doesn't vary too much from my lecture notes to things I might have to read. A couple of useful informations you might want to know before I start actually talking about note writing is that I am mainly focused on studying history (tho I have had other humanities exams in my degrees), and that I study for oral exams in which the material is mainly composed of non fiction books, but sometimes include articles as well as lecture notes. Somehow I have also failed to mention that I am speaking about HANDWRITTEN NOTES. I only do handwritten notes, I don't work well digitally, so keep that in mind. And with this being said brace yourselves for a very long post. The bullet points I will be making are not really in a specific order and I will be including a few pictures too.

The first step when I am working on the materials for an exam is to figure out in which order I will be reading (and writing notes) the books. This hasn't really much to do with the notes themselves, but it's important to know which of your materials is more general and what other things go more in depth, so that you don't struggle too much while studying. Another plan related thing I always do is to write down each chapter of the book I have to study on my bullet journal and how many pages it is so I can plan my studying more comfortably. If the chapters are very long, and divided in subchapters I sometimes also write those down.

The goal of the notes I write is to fully take the place of the book, so they tend to be very detailed and long. I do this because the very act of writing is part of my study method, and working on things I have written down in my own words is just much better for the type of learner I am. So basically I read the book only once, then it goes back on the shelf and I work exclusively on the notes. This means my notes need to be detailed and well organized.

My method is to read a chapter, underlining important stuff as I am reading, and then right after I am done reading I work on the notes for that chapter before moving onto the next. I do this because it makes the note writing more effortless, I am fresh with informations I just read and I basically just need to skim over what I have underlined.

On underlining, since it is so important. I underline everything I will be including in my notes, it might seem much as sometimes it consists of full paragraphs, instead of key words. But this is okay because my notes I don't just copy and paste.

To create useful notes you need to be re-elaborating the informations. You need to read, understand what you read, and be able to write it down using your own words. That way the notes will be easier to review, they will often be composed of shorter sentences, and by doing so you are also actively making writing part of your studying and not just a mindless activity.

Personally I don't work well with full pages summaries, I need the text to be visually broken into sentences/small paragraphs, and I use a lot of symbols as well as abbreviations.

Symbols and abbreviations are in a way part of your very own language when you are writing notes, you tend to develop these with time, but they are so useful. I personally use different types of arrows, all caps words, position of the text in the page, different methods of highlighting and abbreviations (usually for words that come up often like country names, for example Italy becomes ita, France becomes fr, etc.).

Your notes need to be useful for you, they don't have to necessarily be comprehensible for another person (which means you can and will fuck up sentence structure because sometimes skipping a couple of words makes the notes shorter and still understandable), and they do not have to be pretty. They should be as tidy as possible, but again that might change from person to person, I have some very messy looking notes that make total sense to me. With time you'll learn what works best for you.

I have a visual memory so as I mentioned titles, highlighters, all caps, the placement on the page and other similar things are very important in my notes. I cannot fully exapain some of these things because some definitely only make sense to me in the moment (like the words I choose to write in all caps, or the way I highlight things).

I like to have a clear chapter and subchapter break (so that in case I need to refer back to the book it's super effortless). I like to write those with a red pen, usually the chapter title is in all caps and the subchapter in coursive, but it really depends.

I use only two highlighters in each set of notes yellow for dates, and the colour I associate with the book/the subject of the book (I have synesthesia I don't make the rules when it comes to colours). This of course might change depending your preferences and on the element of your notes you want to focus on. I like to have spacific colour for dates and time periods, because of course while studying history that is a fundamental element. If you are focusing on other subjects you might want to have a specific colour for names, or other elements.

I like to leave a big side margin to add either key words (especially in lecture notes since they might be messier and jump around informations more often), or additional information in a second time (sometimes it happens, after you read another book, or attended a particular lecture you have to add a couple of sentences and I rather have a blank space that never gets used rather than no space at all for emergencies).

I honestly mentioned everything that came to mind right away, but since note writing is now basically a mindless skill I have been practicing for years I surely forgot about something. I might end up adding to this post in the future or write another one. My note-writing method has also changed a lot thought the years from high school to university, it's a skill I have been perfecting for the past decade. This to say that depending on what you are working on things might change, and by experimenting with different things you might find out things that work very well for you. If you have any questions on specific things I didn't mention or that wen't clear my inbox is always open and I am more than happy to help.

Since this post is already very very long I am adding the pictures below the cut

Example of a page of notes before and after highlighting

Example of symbols and structure of the notes and the way I highlight things (in which you'll hopefully be able to understand my handwriting, and in which there might be some spelling errors but alas that often happens in my real notes as well so if there are any it's for the sake of accuracy lmao). If I end up adding informations on the margins I always use a pen of a different color so I can tell which informations I got from what source (ex. main notes from lecture, colorful notes from additional article).

Example of messier notes in which the main text in black are the notes I took during lectures and the additional colorful text was added while writing the materials (I rarely do this, it usually happens when the lectures follow a book precisely, which happens when we have to study books or summaries written by the professor). As you can see I often use post it notes to add more writing space, and sometime I even use them to create visually separated sections. If I end up adding some drawings I also usually like to have them on post it notes so they stand out more (and if you are wondering why the hell would an history student need drawings it's usually either because I need a map or a region/state to mark things out, or when studying for archaeology exams I often needed visual references, for example to identify different types of vases or decorations).

[vesperalities]

I started a new blog called @ontakingnotes where I post everything related to, well, taking notes.

My premise has always been that a notebook is a tool of thought. However, the socioeconomic climate today promotes the commodification of self-improvement practices such as journaling, often reducing them to what's see-able, post-able, like-able, and purchasable.

Far from being grudgy and judgemental, I am the first person to post pictures of my notes, journals, etc. I am also trying to be more thoughtful in my consumption, and in my online presence. By that I mean I am trying to be more careful in what I take or give to the (on/off line) community. But I am not self-decieving and that’s why I recognize I will probably keep sharing this kind of content, because it makes me feel good and it is also a form of self-expression.

All that is to say that although the aesthetic part of taking notes is very valuable, it is also hyper-explored. And most importantly, it is not what note-taking is all about, contrary to what retailers want you to think.

If you want to expand your vision of the meaning and the different ways there exist of keeping a notebook, this is for you. In this new blog, you will find inspiring classifications, diagrams, metaphors, and reflections on note-taking and how it might actually change the way you think, and therefore, your life.

[suiheisen]

(✿◕‿◕) die (ꈍ ꒳ ꈍ✿)

[sophiebaybey]

Not to preach to the choir but I wonder if people generally realize that AI models like ChatGPT aren't, like, sifting through documented information when you ask it particular questions. If you ask it a question, it's not sifting through relevant documentation to find your answer, it is using an intensely inefficient method of guesswork that has just gone through so many repeated cycles that it usually, sometimes, can say the right thing when prompted. It is effectively a program that simulates monkeys on a typewriter at a mass scale until it finds sets of words that the user says "yes, that's right" to enough times. I feel like if it was explained in this less flattering way to investors it wouldn't be nearly as funded as it is lmao. It is objectively an extremely impressive technology given what it has managed to accomplish with such a roundabout and brain-dead method of getting there, but it's also a roundabout, brain-dead method of getting there. It is inefficient, pure and simple.

[hinamie]

subject, specimen, spectacle;

should i say that you're dead?

[chloesimaginationthings]

Was dissecting the SOTM trailer and apparently your monty is a mm member comic is now canon

ANOTHER WIN FOR MONTY ENJOYERS!!!

(Original comic)

[stil-lindigo]

frankly, the people whose kneejerk reaction to bisan asking for a global strike form the 21st-28th is to say that it takes years to organize a general strike are really unhelpful! no one is saying otherwise, but palestine will be a smoking crater if we all wait for years to do anything - bisan is asking us to do something now. Like are we only supposed to do something if we can do it perfectly??? At some point it’s a valid critique about the work that goes into social movement, and at another point I feel like some people are just trying to absolve themselves from not putting any effort into observing a week of economic inaction.

like idk! I get it, okay! People have bills to pay that don’t magically go away for a strike, we don’t have nearly enough social infrastructure in place to support people to fully stop going to work for a week. But fuck, dude! Stop immediately responding in such a defeatist way! Cut out unnecessary purchases! Try to shop local! Put more effort into promoting Palestinian voices online! Attend a protest, call a local rep, do something!

[aerialworms-art]

Lifespans.

(ID under cut)

[Image ID: A three-way venn diagram floating against a starfield. The circles are coloured; one yellow, one light blue, one a darker shade of blue. The yellow is the smallest, the two blue ones over double its size, with the darker blue the biggest. The yellow is half covered by the two blue circles, while it takes up a small amount of the two blues. The centre overlap between all three is labelled "the precious few years we three were together".

There is very little overlap between the yellow and the darker blue without the lighter blue.

The work is signed 'aerialworms'./End ID]

[applebees4prez]

i am personally of the opinion that emily axford and lou wilson are the two best dnd players of all time. nobody has both the tactical genius and connection to their roles that they do. they don’t just play their characters, they ARE their characters. they could each give a masterclass on multiclassing as well.

[disgracefulthings]

Shang Qinghua: Bro, wanna go on a date?

Shen Yuan: No???? I'm straight?????

Shang Qinghua: No no, as a joke. It'll be funny

Shen Yuan: Oh ok, sure

~~~

Shang Qinghua: Bro, will you marry me?

Shen Yuan: But we're both men

Shang Qinghua: You misunderstand, it's like a prank, I promise

Shen Yuan: Ah, I see. Yes, let's get 'married'

~~~

Shang Qinghua: We should have sex

Shen Yuan: Gay sex?

Shang Qinghua: As a joke!

Shen Yuan: Oh, I'm down then

~~~

Shang Qinghua: Bro, bro! Let's adopt a kid together!!

Shen Yuan: But-

Shang Qinghua: C'mon, it'll be soo funny!

Shen Yuan: Fine, but I'm naming them!

~~~

Shen Yuan: You know, I'm struggling to figure out what the joke is

Shang Qinghua: The joke is that you still think your straight

[watchingwisteria]

listen there really was just something about how in the book, snow’s 3-page descent from hesitant lover boy to deluded mfer happens entirely in his mind. lucy gray gives him no indication whatsoever that she suspects him, that she’s going to leave or betray him. he’s just sitting quietly in the cabin waiting for her to return when that seed of calculated suspicion, which he has needed to survive the capitol, takes a hold of him and chokes the life out of any goodness left inside him. it really drives home your terror as a reader that “oh my god did he kill her? did she escape? what happened to her? why would he even think that?” in a way that when the movie had to adjust for visualization it lost some of that holy shit this guy has lost it emphasis.

[bigfatbreak]

I honestly can't wait to see Adrien's reaction to the whole engagement thing. I wonder whether he will get jealous and just. Not completely, if at all, understand where it comes from. He just wants to hang out with his dear friend Marinette it's not like her engagement changes anything, right? And meanwhile his fae hindbrain is seething.

P.S. your posts made me want to go read lukanette fics after not engaging with the fandom (besides your comics) at all for *checks watch uh clock uh calendar* 4 years. Thank you<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

honestly before the jealousy even forms, the abandonment trauma hits like a freight train and he almost falls apart

[marivanilla05]

In the middle of exams so here are just some higher quality versions of my last sketches!

(There will be no context for Menelaus dressed as a seal and Helen doing drugs. If you know, you know.)

[ocean-breeze-pier]

If you hate masculinity keep that embarrassing shit to yourself instead of pushing narratives that it’s inherently evil

[tired-teacher-blog]

Okay, this is something that I strongly believe Iida and (or) Izuku would do.

He keeps a journal in which he documents every single detail of your sexual encounters.

Entries upon entries detailing how many times you've done it so far, locations, who orgasms first and who lasts longer, who initiates it on each occasion, sexual positions– sketched and labeled, plus their effect on your pleasure and its intensity, and even ideas to be tested in order to enhance the experience for you (although if you were to be asked, you'd say that he's already the best lover you've ever had).

That journal is of course safely stored, someplace that no one can ever reach, and he'd rather die a thousand times than allow another soul to read through it, especially you, because he'd definitely not survive the humiliation of his secret being revealed.