Tips on Taking Notes from Textbooks
What should you note as you read a history textbook?
Some students will not make a single mark in their history textbook as they read along. Others will mark it up so much, it’s hard to figure out what’s actually noteworthy. (I’ve seen one world history textbook that looked like Jackson Pollock painted over its pages.) Still other students manage to strike a middle ground. In any case, making some notes in your textbook can be useful. Whether it’s just a few highlights, some underlined passages, or a brief comment in the margins, you’re identifying something in the text that is….noteworthy. But while these markups help quickly identify information in the textbook, they might not help you recall much later. Besides a textbook is already annotated to some extent, so marking it further might actually confuse things. That’s why making separate notes on your reading outside of your textbook is essential.
When making your own notes, whether typed or hand-written, follow the same outline as the book. Minimize copying or simply paraphrasing what is already written in the textbook. You might also be tempted to take more and more notes in the hope you will recall more this way. However, the trick to taking good notes is to balance what you mentally note from reading with what you need to recall. So, take notes with a purpose:
- Note the themes, time frame, key actors, and events.
- Connect them to other actors and events in different places and times with drawings or figures.
- Note what precipitated changes in an event or time period as well as what stayed the same afterward.
- Write in your own words why something is important.
Add any observations that stand out from the reading, such as what was surprising, disturbing, or even funny. You might recall the material better if you associate it with these observations.
Most importantly, remember that reading and taking notes is an iteration. In other words, you’ll need to go back and forth between the textbook and your notes, sometimes re-reading the textbook and revising your notes. These are only guidelines to help you take notes better. With time and practice you will develop your own techniques to serve you best. You will know your notes are good when they help you become an active reader and help you explain what you’ve read.
Reading primary sources or other materials apart from your textbook requires a slightly different tactic. Stay tuned!