How Do You Make Notes?

One of the things that I have always had a problem with while I have been studying with the OU is the compilation of notes.  Practically every course has a section in its Introduction booklet or Study Guide entitled 'Note taking' or 'Making notes'.  Every year I read this section and tell myself that I will make sure that I do indeed compile good notes so that when the time comes to revise for the exam I will be prepared.  But I never manage it.

I start every course full of enthusiasm for the task. Reading the course material and carrying out the activities and exercises that are proscribed is not a problem. However, producing notes that will help me to remember all the necessary information to help me pass the exam seems to be completely beyond me.  I have read various books about strategies for this task, and no matter what I try, I never seem to be able to succeed.

The last few courses that I have completed have not included an exam, a substantial piece of written work being submitted in place of it.  This suits me fine because I am afraid that exams cause me to go into a state of extreme anxiety, which generally starts a couple of weeks before the exam date and is likely to continue until I get the results.  I have never failed an OU exam yet, but I have had a couple of close run things.

While the first of the courses that I am taking at the moment is one that relies on a long written piece in place of an exam, the second course does not, so note taking is something that I need to address again so that I can revise for the exam in as efficient a manner as possible. So, how am I going to produce these notes?

To start with I am going to skim read each chapter, highlighting important points as I find them. Then I shall read each section of each chapter more carefully and make handwritten notes of significant information and producing a precis of that section.  After that I shall put a bullet-pointed version of these notes into Microsoft Office One Note with references to the pages where the information came from.  As I complete each of the course books I will print out these notes and store them in a folder with the course book and the TMA that covers this part of the course, and hopefully by the time it comes to revising for the exam I will have a comprehensive series of notes and references that will enable me to give a good account of myself in the exam.

I think that this should give me the best chance of getting a good mark in the exam; only time will tell.  But if any of you out there have any suggestions that will help me to make the notes that I need and to revise efficiently, I would be very grateful to receive them.

I Am Going To Be Firm With Myself

I didn't sleep very well last night, but never mind I don't feel too bad.  I have performed my morning ablutions and I decided that I would sit down and get to work on my TMA.  But I haven't started yet, and the reason is that there are just too many distractions in the house.

So, in an hour or so I am going to pack my books in a bag, make sure that I am equipped with notebook, pencils and pencil sharpener, and take the short walk up to the library.  I am determined that today will see the completion of the second essay for the TMA, so to ensure that I don't get side-tracked it's going to be the library for me.

Going to the library today also means that I can change my library books.  I shall make the most of the next few days, which may well be my last opportunity to read a book for relaxation for some time.  This morning I have paid for my additional course and hopefully by this time next week I will have the books from the OU to be able to start studying this course too.

This is going to be the first time that I have studied two courses at the same time.  When I was working full time it was absolutely impossible because I often had to work very long hours.  But as work is still not a feasible option for me, I intend to make the most of my time and for the next two years work towards two different degrees.  And I don't think that I could be doing two courses at the same time that are more different to each other.  I am already working on the OU's Arts/Humanities Foundation Course, and my new course is Human Biology.  I have to hope that I can maintain the momentum that I have achieved on the foundation course; I'm about four weeks ahead of schedule at the moment and that should help me to spend a little time on the new course when the books arrive.

The only concern that I have about the new course is that I have to sit an exam at the end.  I'm afraid that exams always cause me problems, but I am sure that if I endeavour to write proper notes throughout the course I will be able to revise for the exam effectively.  Note taking has always been one of my weaker skills but I seem to have improved a little over the last few months so I shall have to persevere.  And I also know someone who has taken the course already and she has offered help if I get stuck at any point.  I've never had that kind of support before, so it is already making me feel a little more confident about embarking on such a programme of study.