Study Skills: Reading Techniques and Methods of Note Taking

This report discusses the importance of reading for students and highlights different reading techniques and methods of note taking. Skimming, scanning, SQ3R, questioning, Cornell method, sentence method, mapping method, and outlining method are discussed in detail. The report emphasizes the benefits of these techniques and methods in improving students' reading and note-taking skills.

Study skills

ABSTRACT
The report highlights about the reading technique which can be used by students in order
to improve their reading skills. It also defines about the note taking method which helps students
to remember the things in significant manner.

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...................................................................................................4
Reading techniques.................................................................................................................4
Methods of note taking...........................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Reading is important for children as it helps in contributing positively in the development
of children. Through reading, children can learn something new and also educate themselves in
any area of life. Reading helps in developing imagination and creativity as students read their
book, watch movies or television which brings imagination in mind. It also helps in improving
vocabulary and communication as children gets an access of world of words. Reading also helps
in bringing good self image and playing well with others (Bursali and Yilmaz, 2019). The factors
which help in bringing well rounded self image are learning new concepts, understanding other’s
perspectives and discovering exciting places. The report is based on study skills in which
different reading techniques are identified which helps students to become more efficient
readers. It also covers the methods of note taking which helps students to remember more
information.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Reading techniques
Reading techniques are the tools of communication that allows students to turn writing
into meaning. Through reading technique, students can convert written text as meaningful
language with comprehension, independence and fluency. There are various importance of
reading techniques as it helps students to exercise their comprehension abilities and analytical
abilities. It also helps in recalling information as well as stabilizing emotions. One of the
importances of reading habit is that it helps in strengthening the mental muscles. The reading
techniques helps in improving the reading skills by setting aside time to read each day,
previewing the text of reading, determining the purpose, applying key reading strategies, taking
notes while reading and also apply reading by summarizing (Irish and Parsons, 2016). The
different types of reading strategies are activating background knowledge, skimming, scanning,
questioning, analyzing text structure, visualization, activating and summarizing.
Skimming:
It is one of the techniques of reading in which students focuses on the main ideas of text.
By using skimming technique, students can skip text that provides stories, details, data and other
elaboration. This technique helps children to read more in less time. The importance of
skimming technique is that it helps students to locate the information quickly by ensuring that

the time must be used in effective and efficient manner. Through this technique, the amount of
usable materials which are obtained by students also gets increased (Rombot, Boeriswati and
Suparman, 2020). Students can review their materials which they have learned but cannot reread
everything. Skimming technique is useful when students want to survey the text in order to get
general idea of what it is about. The main purpose of skimming technique is to get an overview
of text and cone to the main point rather than focusing on long details.
Scanning reading technique:
Scanning reading technique is another technique which can be used by students while
reading. This technique is used when students want to identify specific information quickly.
Students use scanning technique, when they have questions in their mind and they read a passage
only to find the answer and ignore the unrelated information. There are few steps through which
students can scan a book such as previewing the content page, read the title. Read the back of the
book, read the index, scan for images, read the chapters name and read the first sentence of
paragraphs. The importance of scanning technique is that it helps in understanding the main
points of articles and also individual can find specific facts. Thus, scanning technique helps in
developing reading skills of students by providing them enough time to identify some specific
information like main idea in reading text.
SQ3R:
It is also a reading technique which can be used by readers in order to improve their
reading skills. Thus reading technique mainly includes five steps such as survey, question, read,
recite and review. Thus, it is necessary for readers to follow the steps in order to learn how to
glean as much as information as possible from the content. The importance of this technique is
that it helps to students to think about the text they are reading (Masruddin, 2016). SQ3R helps
students to understand the things at first time they read text and also know how to read and think
like an efficient and effective leader.
Questioning:
Questioning is another reading strategy which students can use for improving their
reading skills. This reading technique helps students to engage in text actively. Students
generally read and take information from the text but questioning strategy encourages them to
ask questions. There are different types of questioning technique such as open question, closed
questions, clarifying question, leading question and many others. The importance of questioning

technique is that it helps students to clarify and comprehend what they are reading. Thus,
through using this technique students can stimulate their learning, drive clear ideas, develop their
potential to think and also stir the imagination (Shara and et. al., 2020). It is important for
students to ask questions while reading as it provides clear understanding of the text and also
improve their knowledge.
Methods of note taking
Note taking is a process of recording information from different information and sources.
Students generally prepare their notes in order to record to essence of information and also
freeing up their mind from having to recall everything. The main purpose of note taking is to
encourage active learning and prepare for the exams. There are different types of note taking
such as outline note, cornell note, boxing note, charting note, mapping note and sentence note.
The most effective strategy for preparing note is to write down and highlight the difficult words
(Voyer, Ronis and Byers, 2022). The principles of note taking are staying active and engaged
during lectures, understanding what students are learning and clarify thinking, remembering the
material, organising idea. Planning structure and reviewing before exam.
Cornell Method:
Cornell method is one of the methods of preparing notes, this method helps in providing
systematic format for organizing and condensing notes. The method is specially designed for
high school or college level students. In this method, there are five R’s of note taking such as
record, reduce, recite, reflect and review. This method is important for students as it helps in
promoting active listening and also it is effective for individuals in retaining information. The
benefit of using cornell method is that it provides well organised system and also it outlines the
record contents. Thus, this method also helps in reducing the editing and students can also
review the text by turning main points into questions (Phan, 2020). The steps of cornell notes are
creating notes format and complete heading, organize notes on right side, review and revise
notes, note key ideas to create questions, exchange ideas by collaborating and also link learning
to create a synthesized summary.
Sentence method:
Sentence method is another method of note taking in which students use line spacing in
order to separate their thoughts, idea and concepts from one another. The importance of using
sentence method is that it helps in providing meaning of statement written down as a sentence.

Sentence method of note taking helps students to remember the new information as it helps in
giving first impression to phrases and sentences (Witherby and Tauber, 2019). The benefit of
using sentence method in note taking is that helps in providing new ideas due to which students
can prepare their notes in effective and efficient manner with large quantities of sentences.
Mapping method:
Mapping method is another method of note taking in which students uses concentration
skills and also related each idea to others. This method is important while making note as it helps
in supporting learning, shows how different facts and ideas are related, improves information
recording and also increases creative problem solving. Through using this method, students can
visually track their lecture regardless of conditions. This method is used when lecture content is
well organised and heavy.
Outlining method:
Outlining method is another method of note taking in which students gather note taking
materials, outline main topics, outline subtopics, insert supporting thoughts and facts, add further
details and review notes. The method helps students to remember the things in effective and
smooth manner as it helps students to prioritise the material (Jiwane, 2019). There is various
importance of outlining method as it provides more structure and also makes students to
correctly interpret the main issues. Outlining method is important for students as it provide clear
and concise notes of lectures and research.
CONCLUSION
It is being concluded from the above information that reading plays an important role for
students as it reflects the personality and communication level of students. Through reading, an
individual can explain their things in effective and efficient manner. The effective reading skills
help in improving concentration and increase the general knowledge. Thus, the report mainly
highlights about the reading techniques and methods of note taking. It is being identified that
there are various reading technique which can be used by students in order to improve their
skills. There are various methods of note taking which helps students to remember the things in
smooth manner.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bursali, H. and Yilmaz, R. M., 2019. Effect of augmented reality applications on secondary
school students' reading comprehension and learning permanency. Computers in Human
Behavior. 95. pp.126-135.
Irish, C. K. and Parsons, S. A., 2016. Sharing a reading technique with families. The Reading
Teacher. 69(6). pp.607-610.
Jiwane, D., 2019. Enhancing the Retention of Lectured-Information for Higher Education
Students through Note-Taking Skills. International Journal of Engineering and
Management Research e-ISSN, pp.2250-0758.
Masruddin, M., 2016. The Efficacy of Using Language Experience Approach in Teaching
Reading Fluency to Indonesian EFL Students. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 7(4).
Phan, M. P .K., 2020. The Application of Metacognitive Note-taking Skills in Reading Lessons
to EFL College Students. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education. 3(1). pp.30-
49.
Rombot, O., Boeriswati, E. and Suparman, M. A., 2020. Improving reading comprehension skills
of international elementary school students through blended learning. Al Ibtida: Jurnal
Pendidikan Guru MI. 7(1). pp.56-68.
Shara, A. M and et. al., 2020. Correlating reading literacy and writing literacy in junior high
school Pematangsiantar. Journal of English Education. 5(2). pp.72-85.
Voyer, D., Ronis, S .T. and Byers, N., 2022. The effect of notetaking method on academic
performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Contemporary Educational
Psychology, 68, p.102025.
Witherby, A .E. and Tauber, S. K., 2019. The current status of students’ note-taking: Why and
how do students take notes?. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and
Cognition. 8(2). pp.139-153.