Note-taking styles for academic English

This tutorial covers the main styles of note-taking for academic reading and listening: linear notes, and pattern notes (including table, flowchart, tree diagram and spidergram). There is also information on the Cornell Method of note-taking. ▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 00:00 Intro 00:55 Linear notes 04:16 Pattern notes (table) 05:42 Pattern notes (flowchart) 06:58 Pattern notes (tree diagram) 08:02 Pattern notes (spidergram) 10:01 Cornell notes 10:57 Summary ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Linear notes are the simplest and therefore the most common style of notes, both for reading and listening. The word linear is the adjective of the word line, which indicates that these notes are written down the page, one line after the other. Two common features of this style of notes are the use of numbering/lettering and use of indentation. Pattern notes are notes which are not linear and therefore have some distinctive pattern. There are four main types: spidergram (also known as a mind map, most often used when there is one central topic with several related sub-topics); table (for comparing two or more things); flowchart (for showing a process or change over time); and tree diagram (to classify). The Cornell Method is a particular method of note-taking, rather than a separate style, since the two styles described above, linear and pattern, can both be used within the Cornell Method when noting the main points. For more information on this topic, see: