Readings

Hello all, I am starting Geography (BA) at Durham University, in the coming week, and just wanted some advice for following the reading-lists and subsequent note-taking. Obviously I know most courses and modules are variant, in their nature, but is it a good idea to always note down key points/arguments, and my complementary thoughts/reactions from essential, and even recommended readings. Should these notes be dense, or efficient? And, should I only take notes of things, from the readings, that I feel are in correlation with said lectures. Sorry for the ambiguity, just looking for some advice. I'm sure it will all come with experience, and learning anyways...

Reply 1

Durham Students

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

Hiya,

Yes it's definitely ideal for you to note down any important information but the technique doesn't really matter. My advice is to do your essential reading and note down any information which you feel is useful and then refer back to the lecture slides as a sort of guide. Your lecture slides generally contain a condensed version of your essential reading.
With recommended reading, its definitely worth looking through and noting down any important information but don't stress if you can't manage to note things down, reading through and understanding the recommended reading is usually sufficient (or you could do what I do and just note down important pages from recommended reading and refer back to it later if you don't have time to read though it). You definitely shouldn't only note things that have been mentioned in lectures, its good practice to do more wider reading and note down key examples/information that haven't necessarily been mentioned in lectures but will better your understanding on a subject or point and it makes writing summative assessments and exams easier because you have done wider reading.

In terms of whether it should be dense or concise notes, it really depends on you and what you find easier to read through, for example, there's no point in writing notes in really long formats and paragraphs if you find it difficult to read though so much information. Usually bullet points or shorter paragraphs are the best way to go with writing notes but it is quite subjective and down to what's easier for you to read 🙂

I hope this helps!

-Ghala

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Original post by Durham Students

Hiya,
Yes it's definitely ideal for you to note down any important information but the technique doesn't really matter. My advice is to do your essential reading and note down any information which you feel is useful and then refer back to the lecture slides as a sort of guide. Your lecture slides generally contain a condensed version of your essential reading.
With recommended reading, its definitely worth looking through and noting down any important information but don't stress if you can't manage to note things down, reading through and understanding the recommended reading is usually sufficient (or you could do what I do and just note down important pages from recommended reading and refer back to it later if you don't have time to read though it). You definitely shouldn't only note things that have been mentioned in lectures, its good practice to do more wider reading and note down key examples/information that haven't necessarily been mentioned in lectures but will better your understanding on a subject or point and it makes writing summative assessments and exams easier because you have done wider reading.
In terms of whether it should be dense or concise notes, it really depends on you and what you find easier to read through, for example, there's no point in writing notes in really long formats and paragraphs if you find it difficult to read though so much information. Usually bullet points or shorter paragraphs are the best way to go with writing notes but it is quite subjective and down to what's easier for you to read 🙂
I hope this helps!
-Ghala

Thank you so much, appreciate it