Critical Thinking Corner: Note-making

From reading to writing in 4 steps

When researching, many students access sources online. This is a great idea - and it saves a lot of photocopying! However, there can be a temptation to search, search, and keep on searching until we 'know enough' to start making notes and get writing. This is a time-consuming and inefficient way of keeping track of your ideas and interpretations. Instead, make notes as you go in hard copy or using word processing software - you will quickly identify relevant ideas and are more likely to stay critically engaged with what you read.

When you make notes from online journal articles, try the following 4 steps:

1. Record the bibliographical details of your source - don't forget page numbers!
2. Copy and paste a relevant quote (eg. a definition, statement of main message, or contentious argument).
3. Summarise the main point in your own words in order to develop your understanding. 
4. Stop and think! Consider how this point is relevant to your assignment or project topic. The more thinking you do here, the more reflective, analytical, and sophisticated your writing is likely to be.

Here is how it works:

The example above shows how you can organise your notes to include space for thinking. We can see that the student has already performed the (difficult!) task of identifying the source's main message. By challenging herself to summarise the quote in her own words, she is then able to think clearly about how she will integrate it into her writing.

This approach to reading and research is helpful because when we are immersed in the reading process we have the greatest chance of developing a considered response that is faithful to the original source. However, if this response is not written down, it can get lost or distorted in the task (or creative chaos!) of writing.

Useful links

How to survive ... Thinking Critically

How to survive ... Effective Reading

Useful tips: Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing

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