How to Write Notes ? | Class XI & XII

What is Note Making?

• The exercise that helps a student organize the reading material into brief notes is called note-making.

• A note-making exercise helps a student to reduce a long lecture given in the class into a series of brief notes.

• Note-making also helps the reporters to take down important points from a press conference, interview session and so on.

How to Make Notes from a long reading text/lectures/press conference etc?

• At first read the reading text/ passage at one stretch and get the idea of what it is all about.

• Read again paragraph wise and write down important points and sub points based on that paragraph.

• Make a sequence of all points & sub-points in the order of their importance.

• Do not use full sentence : Use only words/phrases

• For Each main point make a maximum of four sub-points.

Characteristics of Notes

• Short, no full sentences, only points

• only the important information included

• logically presented in sequence

• Organized approximately under Heading and Sub Heading.

Mechanics of Note-Making

1. Use of Abbreviations :

• Capitalized first letter of words: UNO. CBSE, NCERT etc.

• Arithmetic symbols: (><, --------------, kg, % etc.)

• Commonly used : (in newspapers, magazines etc.) : govt. etc., e.g.,

• Invented : First and last few letters of the world with a dot at the end (edun., poln., popn, Mfg.)

2. Proper indentation

Heading Title

(1) Main point..............

1.1 Sub Point

1.2 Sub Point

1.3 Sub Point

1.3.1 Sub Sub Point ( if required)

1.3.2 Sub Sub Point ( if required)

3. Make use of words and phrases only. Avoid full length sentences.

4. Give Appropriate Title : The title may be given at the beginning.

Notes: As the notes are of 5 marks and should not be more than 1/3 of the passage’s length.

Marking Scheme / Pattern for Note Making.

1. Title -1 Marks

2. Content - 3 Marks (minimum 3 headings and sub-headings, with proper indentation and notes)

3. Abbreviation/Contraction -1 Mark (Minimum four)

Common Errors with Note Making

1. Inappropriately title and not placed suitably.

2. Title is not written with capital letters.

3 Sub-Headings and sub-sub-headings are not properly indented.

4. Students either forget to write abbreviations or don’t form correct abbreviations.

5. Students make the key for abbreviations but do not use them in notes. Do not underline the abbreviations.

6. Write complete sentences instead of headings.

7. Write the word ‘Title’ and ‘Sub-Title’ which is not required.

8. Make more than 5 Main points.

9. Exceed the word limit in summary.

Weightage of Marks as given by CBSE

Q1. Note Making and Summarization based on a passage of approximately 200-250 words.

I. Note Making: 5 Marks

○ Title: 1M

○ Numbering and indenting: 1M

○ Key/glossary: 1M

○ Notes: 2M

II. Summary (up to 50 words): 3 Marks

○ Content: 2M

○ Expression: 1M

Sample Note Making

1. How does television affect our lives? It can be very helpful to people who carefully choose the shows that they watch Television can increase our knowledge of the outside world; there are high quality programmes that help us understand many fields of study, science, medicine, the arts and so on. Moreover, television benefits very old people who can’t often leave the house, as well as patients in hospital. It also offers non-native speakers the advantage of daily informal language practice. They can increase their vocabulary and practice listening.

2. On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages to television. Of course, it provides us with a pleasant way to relax and spend our free time, but in some countries, people watch the ‘boob-tube’ for an average of six hours or more a day. Many children stare at a television screen for more hours each day than they do anything else, including studying and sleeping. It’s clear that the tube has a powerful influence on their lives and that its influence is often negative.

3. Recent studies show that after only thirty seconds of watching television, a person’s brain ‘relaxes’ the same way that it does just before the person falls asleep. Another effect of television on the human brain is that it seems to cause poor concentration. Children who view a lot of television can often concentrate on a subject for only fifteen to twenty minutes. They can pay attention only for the amount of time between commercials.

4. Another disadvantage is that television often causes people to become dissatisfied with their own lives. Real life does not seem as exciting to these people as the lives of actors on the screen To many people television becomes more real than reality and their own lives ..boring. Also many people get upset or depressed when they can’t solve problems in real life as quickly as television actors seem to.

5.Before a child is fourteen years old, he or she views eleven thousand murders on the tube. He or she begins to believe that there is nothing strange about fights, killings and other kinds of violence. Many studies show that people become more violent after certain. Programmes they may even do the things that they saw in a violent show.

1. (a) Title : The Impact of Television

Notes:

1. Benefits of T.V.

1.1 Inc. our know. Of o/s world

1.2 High qty prog 1.2.1 Fields – science, medicine, arts

1.3 Old people, patients – can’ t leave house

1.4 Non-native speakers – daily informal long. Prac.

1.5 Inc. vocabulary, listening

1.6 Way to Relax

2. Disadvantages of T.V./Boob-Tube on body

2.1 Long Duration of viewing – affects eyes

2.2 Human brain

2.2.1. gets drained

2.2.2. poor concentration

2.3 Effects of violent shows on adults/behaviour

3. Effects of T.V. on children

3.1. Lack of concentration in studies

3.2. gets used to violence

3.3. Loses discretion / understanding

4. Other effects

4.1 People become dissatisfied

4.2 Unable to diff. b/w reel and real life

4.3 Real life seems boring

4.4 Imitate actors

4.5 Get upset/depressed – unable to solve problems

Key to Abbreviations

1. Inc. – increases

2. o/s – outside

3. know – knowledge

4. lang. – language

5. prac. – practice

6. T.V. – television

7. difft. – differentiate

8. b/w – between

Summary Writing Sample

In Delhi where 80% of the people are pedestrians in some stage of their commuting,

least attention is paid in pedestrian paths. Delhi’s side walks are too narrow, very poorly

maintained and full of potholes poles, junction boxes and dangerous electrical installation, not

to speak of the garbage dumps that stink and stare at the pedestrian Ashram Chowk is a

good case in point where thousands of pedestrian change direction from the Mathura road

radial to the Ring Road. A flyover facilitates the automobiles.

While the pedestrian is orphaned by the investment hungry authorities. One corner

of the Ashram Chowk has a ridiculous imitation wood sculpture with an apology of a fountain

and across the same Chowk you have the open mouthed massive garbage dump right on the

pedestrian path in full exhibition for the benefit of the public. These symbols of poor taste

and object apathy are then connected by narrow dangerous and often waterlogged footpaths

for the helpless pedestrian to negotiate. In the night street lighting in the central median light

up the carriageway for cars and leave the pedestrian areas in darkness.

Delhi’s citizens leave and want to get to their destination as fast they can. No one

wants to linger on the road, no leisure walks, no one looks a stranger in the eye. It is on the

pedestrian path that citizen encounters head on the poor public man agement and the excuse

called multiplicity of authorities One agency makes the road, another digs it up to lay cables,

third one comes after months to clear up the mess and the cycle of unaccountability goes on.

Meanwhile crores are spent in reparing the carriageway for vehicles and in construction of

the flyovers without a care for the pedestrian below. Solution offerd is to make an expensive

underpass or an ugly foot overbridge, ostensibly for facilitating the pedestrian, while in reality

they only facilitate the car to move faster at the expense of the pedestrian. Take Kashmiri

gate, ITO, Ashram Chowk, AIIMS. or Dhaula Kuan, at all these important, at pedestrian

crossover points the story is the same. They have pulled the sidewalk from the pedestrian’s

feet.

In modern cities across the world, the pedestrian is king. The floor of the city is

designed and maintained as an inclusive environment, helping the physically challenged, the

old and the infirm children and the ordinary citizens to move joyful across the city, Delhi

aspires to be world class city Hopefully the authorities would look once again at the floor of

Delhi.

The pleasure of strolling on the road is deeply connected to our sense of citizenship

and sense of belonging. Pride in the city grows only on a well designed floor of the city.

While the pedestrian is orphaned by the investment hungry authorities. One corner

of the Ashram Chowk has a ridiculous imitation wood sculpture with an apology of a fountain

and across the same Chowk you have the open mouthed massive garbage dump right on the

pedestrian path in full exhibition for the benefit of the public. These symbols of poor taste

and object apathy are then connected by narrow dangerous and often waterlogged footpaths.

SUMMARY

Delhi, although is a major city for the pedestrians but provide least attention in the matter of

facilities. The sidewalks are dangerous, narrow, poorly maintained, and full of potholes,

garbage dumps, dangerous electrical fittings and stinky urinals. Public management is poor.

Unaccountability can be seen on the part of authorities. Money is misused without providing

care to the users. In the modern city. Where pedestrian is the king, the floor of city should he

maintained by keeping in mind about the environment, physically challenged, old and infirm

children. For making Delhi world class, the authorities would once again look at the floor of

Delhi.

Bibliography:

1. Communication Skills-A Practical Approach by Hema Srinivasan ( Frank Bros & CO. )

2. English Core, Class XI , Support Material issued by DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION Govt. of NCT, Delhi.