Writing Book 6 · Lesson 2

Notes at reading speed

Usable notes from a text read once, at the speed it is actually read.

What it is

You cannot write everything down while reading at normal speed, and trying to is what makes notes useless — you end up copying. Skilled note-takers listen or read for a whole unit of meaning, then write one line. You will feel behind. You are not: you are deciding.

Watch it built

1
Do not write during the first sentences. Read the paragraph.
(pen down)
2
At the end of the paragraph, ask what the whole thing said.
It said the harvest failed for three separate reasons.
3
Write one line, then return.
  A. Harvest failed — three causes
Remember
Pen down for the paragraph. One line at the end of it.
Ask yourself: “Did I write while I was still reading?”

Remember

Pen down for the paragraph. One line at the end of it.

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