This is a fascinating topic, because I don't feel like I have especially great note-writing skills either (through high school and much of college I was able to get by without taking notes much, so I never paid attention to ways to do so!). I usually try to start my notes by writing a paragraph or so summarizing whatever section I've just read (chapter or whatever), but I do the quote thing quite a bit as well. I'm trying to paraphrase more, and my notetaking seems to be getting more effective; for the longest time I couldn't take notes at all because I just reproduced almost everything so it wasn't much help. I do tend now to read a section (say, a chapter), then go back and take the actual notes, so I know better what I can disregard. And I seem to note-take much more effectively if I have a very specific purpose in reading a particular piece (i.e. to answer one or two specific questions rather than just to understand everything about the book).

Oh, and if I own something I'm reading, I tend to scribble all over it rather than actually take formal notes. Thus I have all kinds of stuff open around me when I write...

Ok, I have the same method you do, and I also think it's a crappy method.

What I've read, and what I hypocritically ask students to do, is that you should read whatever-it-is and then summarize the *main points*, the structure of the argument, and perhaps one or two of the *most important* quotations for your work. So I guess you use stickies or marginal notes as you're reading, to kind of bookmark the central salient points, and then construct your synopsis and choose the most important quotes when you're done.

It seems to work very well for my students.

Good to know I'm not the only one being "productive" by taking copious notes -- and then procrastinating on the actual writing/implementing of said quotes. It's amazing how many things I can busy myself with -- OTHER than writing the thesis that is looming over my head.

I love this conversation - it is so reassuring. I just don't take notes on secondary sourcees. Or if I do, I never use them. Consequently, I re-read things over and over because when I get around to writing about them, I have to go back and pick it up again and re-read it. I'm an underliner and big creater of marginalia. So, like NK, I usually have stacks and stacks of books around me when I write. This gets to be a pain when I have to change locations.

Primary stuff, I just copy exactly always so that I know that when it is a primary source, I have to be REALLY careful. I have a filemaker file that mimics 4x6 notecards and type into that. That way things are searchable. But, then eventually, I print them out and wind up with stacks and stacks of cards that clutter up my whole desk, office, bedroom, house, Cage, study, living room, car....

I confess that I do something VERY LAZY. I left philosophy for over 20 years to study law and, ultimately, nursing. Coming back to the field after a long absence means I have to make up a LOT of lost ground. To give just 2 examples, in the 1970's I was interested in philosophy of religion and philosophy of mind. I have missed the entire "reform epistemology" debate and the "zombie wars." What to do?

I have a dictation program. After reading a book or paper, I just sit down, turn on via voice, and blather on about what I remember about the piece. I print this out and, with my dictation and paper/book in hand, go back and compare and correct.

Seems to work for me.

Bob Newsom

Bob, I like this idea! I keep meaning to get a dictation device. Do you mean you have a dictation program for your computer? What's it called?

It is great to see you bring this up here. I spend so much time on this topic with coaching clients.

This style of note taking doesn't just take tons and tons of time during the initial phase, it also means that you have many more notes to go through when you turn to the writing phase.

I think that it develops early in our academic career - gets cemented during college - and usually has to be actively unlearned by grad students.

The problem with this method is that you feel like you need to have read and know EVERYTHING on your topic before you start writing (in your own words) and since that's not possible it becomes more and more difficult to sit down and write the rough draft.

What's the alternative? To write as you go.

I advise people to do something similar to what BitchPhD is talking about: usually, to read a section -- a significant portion of an article, chapter or whatever -- and then to freewrite in response to what they've just read. Many of the profs and students I work with choose to do this in the notes section of Endnotes or whatever reference management program they use. They try to freewrite about what the text is about, and what points relate to their own thesis and topic. Then, when they get ready to write, they go back to these notes as their starting point.

So sorry, I'm getting disgustingly preachy and taking much to long on this post. Let me get off your blog and respond on my own when I have the time not to sound like such a self-satisfied and patronizing teacher.

This careful quote collecting is the way I worked throughout grad school. (hundreds of index cards spread on floors throughout the house....) I no longer do this. Writing is much easier. But it is REALLY hard to make even a small shift in habits that have worked so well for us and there are lots of small transitional steps in between obsessive, verbatim, quote collecting and just dashing off a few notes on endnotes.....

there I go again!

No, AC, you don't sound preachy! This is great! Advise away!

That said, your method makes me feel very nervous - what, let go of this life raft made of lead? And I do need to know everything and to have read everything before I... Oh, never mind.

OK, I'll try a little free writing today. Actually, I've been doing some already, on my diss blog. Now, I'm off to your blog.

Cleis:

I use a program called ViaVoice. It is available for both Mac and PC. There are others as well. You have to "teach" the thing to recognize your pronunciation (it took a while for me, due to the Atticus Finch southern accent.) Also, it makes mistakes no matter how long you work with it. The virtue of it, for me, is that sometimes I just simply think better out loud. Maybe it was all of those years in court running my mouth.

One of my favorite quotes for women who read to much...

“Among other things, starting to write before I feel ready makes me realize how much of the research I planned to do was unnecessary.”
-- Ralph Keyes "The Courage to Write"