An Approach to Note-taking

For years I’ve been struggling taking notes from what I read.

If I’m not copying, word-for-word, the passage with the idea I want to capture, I use my own version of use your own words: I just copy the whole sentence while adding (or deleting) some words, or replacing one or two with their synonyms.

The problem with my technique is that it creates an illusion of understanding. I fall into what Sonke Ahrens call (in his book, How to Take Smart Notes) the mere-exposure effect, which states that "the moment we become familiar with something, we start believing we also understand it."

Familiarity is not the same as understanding, so we must test ourselves in some form. "If we don't try to verify our understanding during our studies, we will happily enjoy the feeling of getting smarter and more knowledgeable while in reality staying as dumb as we were."

Thankfully, I found a simple and doable note-taking technique from Jordan Peterson’s 10 Step Guide to Clearer Thinking Through Essay Writing.

I took this note from his article:

(If you struggle taking notes using your own language, do this:

Read the paragraph, look away. Then say to yourself, out loud, or quietly (if you’re in a library), what the author is trying to say. Listen to your words, then capture and write them on paper.)

Read as if you’re having a conversation with the author. Take your notes as if you’re saying: “Here’s how I understand what you're saying.”

Say what you understand (without peeking at the author’s words), say your comments, ask your questions - all these will be your notes.

Taking notes this way forces you to articulate the idea you want to understand. It uncovers gaps in your thinking you were not aware of before. What you can do, then, is read the material again and reiterate it from memory, so you clarify your thinking and reinforce connections inside your brain.

The result? The idea sticks with you.

As John Seales once wrote, "If you can't say it clearly, you don't understand it yourself."

P.S.

If you want to read 10 Step Guide to Clearer Thinking Through Essay Writing by Jordan Peterson,

(a) visit his website at https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/blog/.

(b) hover your cursor at 'Online Exercises,'

(c) then click 'Writing Guide.'

Here's how it looks.

I refer to this guide when I write my essays.

Enjoy!