How to make notes

• Read the passage carefully.
• Heading
  What is the main idea of the passage? Frame a heading based on the central idea and write it in the middle of the page.
• Subheadings
  How has the main idea been presented and developed? Are there two or three subordinate/associated ideas? You can frame subheadings based on these.
• Points
  Are there further details or points of the subtitles that you wish to keep in these notes? Indent, i.e., suitably space and number.

   

  All subheadings should be written at a uniform distance from the margin.

• Indenting
  All points should also maintain the same distance away from the margin.

Note: Do not write full sentences. And use abbreviations wherever necessary. Read below for more help on abbreviations.

Help with abbreviations

1. Use standard abbreviations and symbols as far as possible:
   1. Capitalized first letters of words
      e.g. U.P.,U.S.A.,U.K.,U.S.S.R.,etc.
   2. Common abbreviations
      Sc. (for science), Mr., Mrs., Dr., Govt., etc
   3. Common symbols
      e.g., : \, ∴ , +ve, -ve, ® (leading to), ↑ (rising), ↓ (falling), =, etc.
   4. Measurements and Figures
      e.g., : 100′, 100”, 100 kg, 1000 mm, 100ml, etc.
2. Making your own abbreviations:
   1. Keep the main sounds of the word. For example, edn. (education), progm. (programme)
   2. Retain the suffix so that later when you are going over the notes you may recall the full form of the word —e.g., ed’nal (educational), prog’ve (progressive).
3. Caution
   1. Do not get over-enthusiastic about abbreviations. You should not abbreviate every word. One abbreviation in point is enough.
   2. As a general rule, the heading should not be abbreviated. You may use abbreviations in subheadings.

Your notes should look like this

Notice that indenting, i.e., shifting from the margin has been used to clearly indicate subheadings, points and sub points. Subheadings, though separated by points occur below one another. Points and sub points too come below one another, similarly. Such use of indenting gives your notes a visual character. At a glance you can see the main idea and its aspects.

Mrs. Hall is quite an important character in the beginning of the novel. She is the owner of the inn, Coach and Horses. She is an astute
business woman, dominating wife, and practical woman. She does her job quite
well. She does not mind Griffin’s strange and eccentric appearance and behavior
for the business’s sake. However, she is quite quick in observing the
abnormality of Griffin’s behavoiur. 

She is quite meticulous with the keeping of her inn. She provides
satisfactory services to her customers. When Griffin spoils the fender, walls,
and the floor in the room, she points it to him. She is a woman of ethics and
right behavior. She does not like Griffin’s mysterious disappearance from the
room one morning. She does not like the abnormal behavior of the furniture in
Griffin’s room.

When she becomes suspicious of his connection with the burglary at the Vicarage, she becomes quite strict with Griffin. She insists on him to clear all his pending bills. She stops serving him his meals and other services; when Griffin gives some money to pacify her, she wants to know from him where he got the money from. She also asks him to explain why the furniture in his room behaved abnormally. This infuriates Griffin, and he reveals his invisibility to her by putting his nose on her hand. She gets scared and urns away screaming.

Poetic Devices/ Figure of Speech/ Literary Devices

1. Simile : Compares one thing to another (of a different kind, and yet alike in some significant way)

For e.g. Her mother was looking as a late winter moon.

Her face ashen like that of a corpse.

1. Metaphor: A word or phrase for one thing that is used in place of another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar. ‘Like’ or ‘As’ is not used in metaphor.

For e.g. Life is a big roller-coaster ride.

This world is a rattrap and all humans are rats.

1. Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of the words.

For e.g. Don’t drink and drive.

If Peter piper picked a pack of pickled peppers.

1. Repetition: The repeated use word or word pattern.

For e.g. All she did was smile, smile and smile.

1. Personification: The practice of representing an inanimate object or an abstract idea as a person, and endowing it with human traits.

For e.g. The sun stretched its golden arms and greeted everyone with his kind smile

The trees were fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

1. Pun: The pun can use multiple meanings of the same word (homonyms) or different meanings of similar sounding words.

For e.g. I am a mender of bad soles.

I was struggling to figure out how lightning works.

1. Antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas to give a feeling of balance

For e.g. There was both Peace and War

Good and Evil are the part of life.

1. Onomatopoeia: The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.

For e.g. Buzz, Woof, Hiss, Quack, Beep

1. Assonance: The use of words that have the same or very similar vowel sounds near one another.

For e.g. The fat cat had a smack. Alas! It was a tough nut to crack.

Well, it rises high into the bright blue sky.

1. Oxymoron: The conjoining of two contradictory words.

For e.g. I observed deafening silence there.

It was an intelligent donkey.

Being to the point,first of all u need to pick up the side for/ against.And then start your debate like:

Honourable jury member,worthy teachers & my dear friend .A hearty good morning to u all.Today I have got a golden opportunity to express my view on the topic - (TOPIC IN BLOCK LETTERS TO PUT THE EMPHASIS).This topic is really very interesting & Thought provoking.I am totally against or for the motion.

Now,change the paragraph.And please raise certain questions in your debate .It really impresses the examiner.

Have 3 paragraphs for

• Problem
• Solution
• Conclusion

Now in conclusion mention : I conclude by saying that …(Ur point).

Don't forget to underline important points if u get time. It really helps u to fetch more marks.