How to Improve Note Taking While Reading

Find a method of taking notes that works best for you.

Taking good notes while reading can be a challenge. Maybe you read for fun from time to time and you don't need to take notes. But most people will need to take notes while they read at some point in their lives, maybe for work, school or even personal entertainment. Remembering everything you read can be difficult, and that's where the notes come in. But those notes need to make sense to be useful.

Things You'll Need

• Book or magazine
• Pen
• Paper

Instructions

1. Decide how much reading material you will need to take notes for. Maybe you have to make good notes for one article in a magazine. Or maybe you need to take notes for an entire novel. Clearly understanding exactly what you are taking notes for, and how long the reading material is, will help set you in the right frame of mind.

2. Think about the level of detail you need. Good note taking skills will allow you to easily find pertinent information that was in your reading material. If you simply need to remember certain key names and dates, then you probably don't need to record too much detail.

3. Read with a pen in hand and paper nearby. Take notes as you write, or even take notes directly on the text you are reading by underlining key passages, circling important dates or words, and taking brief notes in the margins. You could also record notes on a computer. Take notes while you read, rather than after you're done reading. Jot down key items fairly immediately after coming across them. If you wait until you are done reading, then you will likely forget important details.

4. Consider underlining or starring important details or ideas while you read. After coming to a logical stopping point, such as a sentence, paragraph, or end of section, take a moment to jot the item on your note paper. Write a brief description along with the page number that your item corresponds to. This will allow you to easily refer back to the original source.

5. Take a moment when you come to a new idea or concept to briefly write about the previous idea or concept. Reviewing the reading this way will ready your mind to easier grasp how the next concept relates to what was previously presented.

6. Look over your written notes after finishing a reading section. Do they make sense? More importantly, do you think you will really understand what certain words refer to when you review your notes at a later date? If you answer "No," to either question, review the above steps and make changes until you can honestly answer "Yes" to both questions.

Tips & Warnings

• Jotting down notes while you read actually makes the reading process much more interactive. In addition to the notes you will have, you will be able to better remember the reading material even without referring to your reading notes.

References

• Thinking, Reading, and Taking Notes