USES OF MAPPING AND SUMMARIZING READINGS.

Summarizing Readings Summarizing is important for at least two reasons: 1. it aids memory, and; 2. it encourages high-level, critical thinking, which is so important in university work. Use Mapping in the following ways, to summarize an article, or a chapter in a book: 1. Read the introduction and conclusion of the article, and skim it, looking at sub-headings, graphs, and diagrams. 2. Read the article in one sitting. For longer material, "chunk" it -- into chapters, for example -- and follow this procedure for each chunk. 3. Go back over the article until you are quite familiar with its content. (This is assuming that it will be useful and relevant to your work -- one would not wish to spend this amount of work on peripheral material). 4. Do a Map as described above, from memory. Do not refer to the article or lecture notes while you are doing the Map if you do, you will disrupt the process. 5. Look over what you have done. It should be apparent if you do not understand, or have forgotten, anything. Refer back to the source material to fill in the gaps, but only after you have tried to recall it without looking. 6. Up to this point, the Map is made up of information derived from what you have read. If you want to add your own comments, you can differentiate them by using a different colored pen -- or you could make a whole new Map. This is useful if you want to go more deeply into the material -- to help to remember or apply it, or to work on an essay. (See the section on "Working on an Essay," below.) 7. Now, ask questions about the material on the Concept-Map: - How do the parts fit together? - Does it all make sense? why, or why not? - Is there anything missing, unclear, or problematic about it? - How does it fit with other course material? How does it fit with your personal experience? Are there parts that do not fit? Why not? - What are the implications of the material? - Could there be other ways of looking at it? - Is the material true in all cases? - How far does its usefulness extend? - What more do you need to find out? Of course, not all of these questions will apply to every Map; however, the more closely you look at the material, the more questions will come to you. Try to think of the central, most important question about the material: if something does not make sense, or seems unresolved, try to state explicitly why, in what way, there is a problem. This may be difficult to do, but it is worth the effort, because it will make it easier for you to find an answer. Summarizing Lectures Some people use Mapping to take lecture notes. If you find that this works for you, by all means do it: however, if it does not work, you can certainly take lecture notes as you normally would, and summarize them later (as soon as possible after the lecture) in the way described above. Be sure to do this first from memory -- then check it over for accuracy. If possible, give yourself adequate time to do this -- the more time you spend, the better your retention will be. However, even a brief summary will have very beneficial effects for your memory, and your overall understanding of the material -- its salient points and how they fit together. Making Notes in a Seminar or Workshop A seminar differs from a lecture in that it lays more emphasis on process: in a more-or-less open-ended discussion among all members of the group, there is a less linear progression of ideas than there is in a lecture. A Map can be useful for keeping track of the flow of ideas in such a context, and for tying them together and commenting on them. Reviewing for an Exam Mapping can be a productive way to study for an exam, particularly if the emphasis of the course is on understanding and applying abstract, theoretical material, rather than on simply reproducing memorized information. Doing a Map of the course content can point out the most important concepts and principles, and allow you to see the ways in which they fit together. This may also help you to see your weak areas, and help you to focus your studying.