Note-Taking Strategy
In the work of a good author, nothing is insignificant!
Good readers recognize that each paragraph is meaningful in some way, and chapters are significant to the whole. Text divisions like paragraphs and chapters are NOT random or meaningless!
At the end of a paragraph, page, or chapter ask, “What was important about that part?”
Did it help you better know a character? Did it contain an important symbol? Is there a key line you should write down? There isn’t always something to write down, but it’s a good strategy to pause every so often to think about it.
Cornell Notes
- Write the chapter assignment and date in the top margin.
- Use the red line on your lined paper to separate your page numbers from your notes.
- Good readers pay attention to four parts of a story:
- Characterization (Describe/Analyze Characters)
- Physical / Personality
- Perspective (Beliefs, Values, Culture, Background)
- Struggles (Conflicts, Internal and External)
- Motivations / Desires
- Plot elements (What happened? Conflicts? Parts of plot?)
- Literary devices (Symbolism, Juxtaposition, Foils, Similes, Metaphors, Etc.)
- Key statements (from the narrator or a character)
- Characterization (Describe/Analyze Characters)
- For most people, it works best to read a chapter first and then skim over it again to take notes. However, you can stop to take notes as you write, or you could put a small sticky note (they make ones that are very small, like pointers) pointing to something you want to go back to later to write about).
- Be sure you write the page number(s) your notes refer to in the margins!
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