Outlining and Taking Notes

Overview

Organizing information can never be underestimated when we speak of issues of clarity and the logical relationships between ideas. When I say that, I also mean that if it is difficult to outline what a person is saying, then maybe they are not being as clear as they could have been, and miscommunication may be the end result. In today’s post we will focus particularly on the area of outlining what you hear, but please know that much of this same information can be applied to what you read, what you write and how you go about planning for when you present your ideas.

Outlining Defined

Outlining allows you to organize your ideas and identify the logical connections between these ideas. It enables you to develop the ability to select and encode information that is presented to you in lecture form in notes.  The primary goals of outlining are threefold: (1) to help you build your listening comprehension proficiency in English; (2) to assist you in developing your English note-taking skills; and (3) to enhance your ability to read, review, and discuss information related to the general and specific topics contained in the lecture you heard.  Keep in mind that one of the main purposes of outlining is to discuss concepts and ideas related to the general and specific topics of the lecture in oral and/or written communication.

Outlining “How to”

It is likely that you may not be able to keep up with the lecturer.  Therefore, I suggest that you quickly jot down the main ideas of the lecture.  Do not worry about writing complete sentences while outlining.  If you try to write everything down, there is a good chance that you will fall behind and that you will have difficulty catching up.  Here are some tips that will help you prepare an outline of the specific topics presented in the lecture with relative ease and success:

Ø  As you listen to the lecture attentively, constantly frame these questions in the back of your mind: WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? For example, if the lecturer says, “The resources are assets and the claims to those resources are liabilities and owners equity,” then all you really need to write down is resources, assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity.  The task of outlining will become more difficult if you try to write complete sentences.  Therefore, simply write down the main ideas, and do not worry about words such as ‘the’, ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘when’, etc.

Ø  Remember that you do not have enough time to write complete words, especially those that are long and difficult to spell. For this reason, use abbreviations and symbols to capture the main ideas of the lecture. What follows are some examples of abbreviations and symbols that are used to catch the main ideas.  This is not an exhaustive list of abbreviations and symbols.  You should feel free to create your own list, using whatever codes and symbols that work for you.  They say, “Sky is the limit,” so be creative, aim high, and make up your own abbreviations and symbols as you listen to the lecture.

Abbreviations	symbols
Inc = income/incorporate Inv = investment Econ = economy Fin = finance BS = balance sheet FS = financial statement CEO = Chief Executive Officer CFO = Chief Financial Officer Emp = employment Inf = inflation Pres = president Mkt = market Mgmt = management Stk = stock Eqt = equity Acct = account/accounting	= something equals something + increase, growth, progress - decrease, decline $ money, revenue, profit, sales, dollar % percent, percentage # number & and, in addition < less than > greater than

Ø  Do not pay too much attention to the mechanical aspects of writing.  If you do not know how to spell a certain word, then use an abbreviation for it.  You will always have the opportunity to look it up in your dictionary later.  Similarly, when you are listening to the lecture, do not concern yourself with grammar rules.  Do not worry about correct punctuation and subject-verb agreement.  Focus on familiarizing yourself with the overall general structure and content of the lecture.

Ø  Once you have listened to the entire lecture and prepared a rough outline of the main ideas, listen to it a second time.  You will realize that this time you understand the content of the lecture more clearly than you did the first time.  Check what you have written, and try to fill in the information gaps.  Basically, by listening to the lecture a second time and by looking for the missing bits and pieces of information, you are allowing yourself to cycle in on the material that was presented to you the first time. This should enable you to recall information later when you share the main ideas with your classmates in the peer discussion room and present them in written form.   

Implications for your Learning

As I mentioned previously, the primary goals of outlining is to help you build your listening comprehension proficiency in English, assist you in developing your English note-taking skills, and enhance your ability to read, review, and discuss information related to the general and specific topics contained in the lecture heard. In fact, you can even apply these skills to the good organization of a paragraph.  You can make an outline of the main ideas that you want to present in written communication, and expound on them in a logical and coherent manner as you write the paragraph.  As you can see, there are great benefits to organizing information in outline form.