into a structure, taking notes if you wish, note difficulties and think about what
may lie ahead in the text.
Note Taking
There are three reasons for taking notes when reading. First, what is read may
be available only temporarily because, for example, it is borrowed from a
library. Second, it may be necessary to condense and summarise the material
so that it can be remembered. Third, with difficult material, taking notes helps
comprehension because it produces an active form of reading.
In the above discussion of reading, and in the earlier discussion of writing,
great emphasis is laid on the fact that one of the principal concerns of both of
these activities is the structure or flow of argument. Consequently, one of the
most basic pieces of advice about note taking is that notes should adopt and
portray the structure or the argument. For traditional law texts this will involve
classification and organisation of provisions or a structure based on the
models for organising law and forming law.
An effective way to take notes is by the use of headings and sub-headings, and
by careful selection of key words, which indicate the relationship of the
material to the argument. To illustrate this point, headings such as "essence",
"causes", "reasons", "consequences", "examples", "deviations",
"exceptions", make a point clearly and simply, and indicate the standing of the
material which follows.
However, to the above advice there is a possible qualification. If notes are
taken for the purpose of writing, it is also important that the notes be arranged
according to the plan of the proposed work. This need can create a conflict
with the advice given above to take notes according to the author's structure.
Whether or not this conflict eventuates depends on the circumstances. All that
can be said here by way of general advice is to be alert to the possibility of
conflict. Further, while it is desirable to take notes with an eye to what has to
be written, it is not always possible, especially in the early stages of research,
to know whether or in what way information will be relevant. Again no specific
advice can be offered – in each case it is necessary to be alert to the problem,
and to resolve it in the most satisfactory way in the circumstances.
One technique which assists note taking for the purposes of writing a book,
essay or article is the use of numbered headings. Before reading the topic, or
before doing the final reading, work out the headings for the book, article or
essay. Then, regardless of how they will appear in the final version, identify
them with numbers. Then as you take notes you number the material with the
number of the relevant heading. In this way material is sorted as it is read. It
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