Taking Notes - What NOT to Do

You will be taking notes as you read texts, watch videos, etc.  By writing notes in your own words, you will be forced to think about the ideas that are presented in the text and how you can organize and explain them. The process of note-taking will help you to understand and to analyze what you have read.

What NOT To Do

It is important to understand that effective note-taking means writing notes on what you have read in your own words.  Copying what others have said is not note-taking and is only okay when you want to quote an author.  It can be tempting, especially if your reading material is online, to copy and paste straight into a document.  This is "easy" and doesn't require thinking - and your teacher really wants you to think.  Also, copied text that ends up in your biography is plagiarism and is not okay.  It is important to keep track of your sources. You'll learn more about this shortly.