How To Make Notes About Your Reading Material Through Independent Learning

How should I make notes about my reading material?

When you read and you have to make notes, the first thing you need to do is to make a reference of the book you're reading or the paper you're reading. Take a full reference - that's the author and the title and the publisher and the date - put it at the top of the paper, and then make your notes. This is because you may need to use these notes later and you'll now have the reference for your essay. If you make notes and you just scribble the name of the author and then you come to put it into your essay, you think, “Oh, where was that reference? I can't find it,” and here it's last minute, and then it's just impossible. So, first thing, put the full title, put the full reference there. Secondly, you might want to think - how do you take notes? And some people make lists of notes, just reading and making lists. Others have used spider diagrams, or tables, or concept maps. It really does depend if you're a visual learner or a linear learner - where you need have lists. So know the best way for you take notes, but, whatever you do, put the reference in.