Note Taking

Good note taking is an essential skill if you want to succeed in your history courses. Events and developments which seemed clear the day the professor discussed them in class, may not be so clear and understandable when you start preparing for your test (after all, you will not receive a test or a quiz about the material the same day you received it and yes, you do have a life outside of history). Bad notes are the number one cause for bad grades. Everybody has to develop his or her own personal style of note taking. However, this tutorial might point you in the right direction.

There are three principles of good note taking. The first one is historical reasoning. Suppose the professor gave the following lecture in class:

The battle of Arnhem, often referred to as the Bridge too far, was part of General Montgomery's (Monty for his friends) plan for a surprise attack on Germany. This plan, code named Market Garden, was initially rejected by Eisenhower. But Montgomery's insistence (likely the result of a prestige battle with Patton) ultimately won him approval, despite Allied and Dutch resistance intelligence warnings about heavy German reinforcements in the area.

On September 17, 1944, 5,191 paratroopers of the British First Airborne Division landed near Wolfheze with orders to capture the 2,000 foot-long bridge over the Nederrijn in Arnhem (Operation Market) in anticipation of General Brian Horrocks XXX Tank Corps' arrival (Operation Garden). The idea was for the paratroopers to hold the bridges so the tanks could pass and circumvent the German Siegfried line. The action was compromised due to the distance of the drop zones from target, radio communication difficulties, and unexpected strong German resistance. As a result, only Colonel John Frost's Third Battalion was able to reach the bridge.

However the operation was further compromised when Horrocks' tanks encountered serious delays. Overjoyed Dutch civilians blocked the roads several times in celebration of their newfound freedom. Furthermore, the advance route was utterly inadequate and hard to defend (the Allies named it the Highway to Hell). Subsequently, Horrocks' tanks failed to reach Arnhem even though their last obstacle, the Bridge in Nijmegen, was undamaged. This was due do to the courageous action of Jan van Hoof, a sixteen year old who managed to demine the bridge.

Despite troop and supply reinforcements, Allied efforts to reach Frost's bridgehead in Arnhem failed due to fierce opposition from Lieutenant Colonel Walter Harzer's Ninth Hohenstaufen Division. Subsequently, Frost was forced to surrender on September 21. When Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich's Second SS Panzer Corps succeeded in containing the remains of the First Airborne Division near Oosterbeek and stopping Horrocks' efforts to reach Arnhem from the south, Major General Robert Urquhart was ordered to retreat on September 25. From the 10,005 Allied troops who fought at Arnhem, only 2,163 returned. The failure of Arnhem postponed the allied occupation of Germany and provoked the Battle of the Bulge.

Now look at the notes of this student. Are these good notes?

Arnhem
Bridge too Far
Market Garden
Montgomery Monty
Eisenhower
Patton
Horrocks
Siegfried
Frost
Nijmegen
Jan van Hoof
Walter Harzer Hohenstaufen
Bittrich
Uruquart
Bulge

What must have happened to this student? Possibly bored to death, maybe engrossed in the story. But is this student going to ace the test? Definitely not. This student merely copied the words the professor wrote on the board. The quiz/test will not be about words. And even if the professor would give one or two of these terms as an ID, the student would still fail because he or she did not write the meaning down.

How about these notes?

And then came Market Garden. This was a cool battle because it could have been the decisive one but it was not because it went wrong. They call it the bridge too far because they never got the 2000 ft bridge. Monty wanted it and Patton was mad but Eisenhower said yes and so they had Market Garden where they went from Eindoven to Arnhem by tank (Market). And in order to get over the bridges they had paratroopers securing them (Garden). But they were warned. But it went wrong paratroopers were dropped too far so they couldn't get to the bridge in time because of the German tanks who were by accident in Arnhem. Also the tanks were late because of the Dutch and Jan van Hoof. So they decided to hold the tanks and force Uruquart back. Therefore the war was late with the battle of the Bulge.

These notes seem better but this student will also fail the test miserably. What went wrong? It seems that this student tried to write everything down the professor said. Maybe the professor went too fast. Most likely, the student never fully heard what the professor said. Worse, when you read the last part of the notes, it seems that the student probably didn't understand the lecture in the first place.

How about this student?

Battle of Arnhem
(also called bridge too far)

Plan by Montgomery (=Monty) despite resistance Patton (b/c prestige battle with M.) but approved by Eisenhower despite Allied/Dutch resistance warnings heavy German defense.

Operation Market Garden: attempt to circumvent the Siegfried line (German defense)
›Market: Horrocks tanks from south Netherlands via bridges (see map book) to Germany
› Garden: Paratroopers to hold Bridges

Paratroop attack: Sept 17, 1944. Good surprise but problems:
1. Droppings too far (gives Germans time to defend)
2. Communication problems (Frost cut off from rest)
3. Unsuspected German Resistance
› Only Frost on Bridge

Tanks advance: Trouble
1. Civilians block roads (in celebration liberation)
2. Advance road too small and easily attackeble by Germans (Highway to Hell)
› Arrives too late in Arnhem for paras to hold Bridge (despite bridge Nijmegen free ride [Jan van Hoof])

› Disaster: 1. B/c no supplies, Frost knocked of Bridge by Harzer's Ninth Hohenstaufen Division

2. B/c tanks late (held by Bittrich's Second SS Panzer Corps) Uruquart (boss paras) forced to retreat (Sept 25; 2,163 out of 10,005 return)

Result: M/G delayed Allied occupation Germany (b/c winter) and provoked Hitler counter attack (Battle Bulge)

Good notes? You bet! This student used historical reasoning. Instead of writing down what the professor wrote on the board or said in class, the student "filtered" every piece of information by asking, "why is that?" With this, the student made sure to understand:

1. The relevance of the information (who cares that the bridge is 2,000ft long; the bridge is important because it ultimately would prevent the Allies from advancing into Germany in September 1944)
2. Its hierarchy (Highway to Hell is a less important term than Market Garden; Van Hoof is a less important person than Horrocks)
3. Its sequence (the action - reaction of history [this causes that])
4. Its importance (the conclusion)
Furthermore, by asking, "why is that?" the student made sure to understand the material before putting it on paper. Since test/quizzes/exams ask you to explain why thing happen and with what result, it is essential you understand the material before putting it to paper.

We know that this is easier said than done. This may help. Whatever the Prof. says, ask yourself: why? If you can't answer it, start panicking. We prefer you ask right there on the spot what we mean (most likely more students will not understand and you are only helping us to present a clearer lecture). If this is too scary, put a question mark in the margin and ask at dismissal. Do not wait until the next class period. You will have forgotten the context (after all, if you go through the drive thru at the fast food place and they give you the wrong order, you don't drive off either but get it fixed).

The notes of the last student contain the second principle of good note taking: the four-week rule. The student realized that what made perfect sense at the day of class may not make perfect sense four weeks later on the test. Therefore, the student used a second filter: am I going to understand this four weeks from now? Apparently, the student is confident that he or she will remember who Frost was. But when in doubt, the student wrote very short clarifications between parentheses (for example the student added "German defense" to Siegfried Line and "boss paras" to Uruquart's name out of fear to forget the terms. The student also added explanations to why the droppings were too far and why the bridge of Nijmegen fell in allied hands). You should do the same. The use of parentheses allows you to recognize what you added to your professor's words.

The student in our last example could have obeyed the third principle of good note taking a little bit better (but this is still sufficient to ace the test). Think for a second where you left your shoes last night before you went to bed, or where you put yesterday's mail, or where you can find your favorite cereal at the grocery store. Can you picture it? That's exactly my point. You know it because you always put it there (or is there) and you can picture it.

In order to do well in life we like to do two things. We like clear, consistent, reliable images (fire trucks are red, so are beef bouillon cubes; traffic signs are the same in every state; cola is dark, sprite is clear). Any deviance confuses us (yellow fire trucks, clear cola, red sprite). Secondly, we like to remember things in a visually organized manner (often we don't remember exactly what the article in the newspaper said, but it was on page two in the right hand corner).

Do the same with your notes

1. Create a visually easy to remember structure, separating main points from sub points by starting them on set places in your notes (look at the placing of "attack," "advance," and "result" in relation to their sub points in the example above)
2. Do not write anything under your main points so you can instantly recognize the number of points, their sequence, and their relevance.
3. Number your subpoints. It makes it easy to remember how many subpoints per main point you have. This will prevent you from giving incomplete answers.
4. Use arrows ( › ) to signify reaction/result
5. Use a consistent structure for all your notes: Start a new topic on a new page, underline main terms/titles, keep space between your points, mark the end of a topic.

Do remember that good class notes is only half of your quest for historical greatness. You have to study them. But with notes which adhere to these three principles, it becomes a lot easier. Now you don't have pain yourself trying to remember why this was important, what again this Bridge too far-thing was, and how many reasons there were why Monty could not get his .... straight. It is all there in your notes. With clear explanations. We hope it is....

Good luck