What aspects to study when studying a subject (to make better notes)?
by yaobin.wen
A book organizes the subjects sequentially. When taking notes, if not doing with care, we tend to organize the notes in the same sequence of the book. I find this not effective because knowledge points are usually interconnected so they should look more like a graph rather than a list. Therefore, if I start to organize my notes in a linear fashion, I know I haven’t really grasped the subjects.
In order to organize the subjects in a graphical topology, one must be able to make notes for one subject.
However, one subject can contain a lot of information. If not well organized, the notes would easily become paragraphs of texts that don’t show the key points. This article tries to present the aspects of a subject that the notes should capture. Ideally, these notes can be recorded on a flash card (physical or virtual), and then flash cards are easier for re-organization.
The following aspects should be studied:
- Concept: Aka “what essentially it is”. The concept may not describe the detailed activities but it tells you the most important part of the subject.
- Principles: The guidelines of doing activities. Sometimes there is no clear rule to follow, and the principles are the direction that you should think in.
- What It Is Not: This aspect resolves the common misunderstanding towards the subject.
- Activities: What the subject requires the participant to do. This aspect is usually applicable if the subject is about a process.
- Tools: The tools that the participant can use in order to do certain activities more effectively.