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Note taking

When is it a good idea to take notes?
Notes are written records that help us remember or store information for later use. You should take notes during class, when you’re reading, even when you’re discussing ideas with peers and teachers.
Question for thought: How does note-taking differ when you are reading to when you are listening to a lecture?
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is theft. It is making someone else's work look like your own. There are many types of plagiarism, such as copying from a book, copying the work of another student or any other borrowing of ideas without giving credit.
In general, this does not include facts which are accepted and well known which don't need to be researched or given credit in the form of references. For example, if you wanted to say that China has one of the world’s largest economies you wouldn’t need a reference. But if you say that China’s economy has grown by 7.5% every year since 1975 you would need a reference. The reason is that people want to know where you got the information and whether or not it is still true. For example, if you had quoted the statement from a book published in 1977, it would mean that the economy was only growing at that rate for two years. If the fact is from 1995, it would mean that this rate of growth had been sustained for twenty years.
When you copy an idea, be sure to give information about whose idea it is and where the information came from in such a way as someone else can read what you've written and go back to the source to see if your quotes and paraphrases are correct and truly support your ideas.
Task: Everything that we know was once said by someone else. How do you know what you must and must not reference?
What is a paraphrase?
Paraphrasing is a way of restating what someone else has said. It may be done to change from direct to reported speech. For example, John said "I am a music lover." becomes John said he is a music lover. More often, paraphrasing is a way of summarising the key points and eliminating ideas that are not necessary to your argument.
Task: Paraphrase this exchange.
"I’m not really sure if we should go without Jane."
"Don’t worry, Jane will be okay without us."
"Well, as long as you think it’s perfectly okay."
What should I do after I take notes?
Write them up. In particular, notes taken in a lecture are only useful if they are quickly translated into full notes that expand the short notation you may have used to summarise ideas.
Task: Think of the symbols you use in taking notes. Which of them are sensible? Which are universal? Which are difficult to remember later