Note Taking

Please read the Cornell Note Taking Document.

Answer the following questions in paragraph form:

• Why take notes at all?
• What is the best way to make taking notes work? Why is it effective?
• Do I take notes in this way?
• How have I, as a student in AP English Language and Composition, have been taking notes up until now?
• Is what I've been doing effective?
• Is there anything I would do differently?

  The act of taking notes helps us, the student and learner, by providing for us an opportunity to review the information we learned and to further organize, analyze, understand, and interpret the information. When we go back and review the notes that we have taken, we once again implant the information into our minds, creating a strong impression and a more long-lasting memory that will follow us. The best way to make taking notes work is to create a system that is best for you or a system that you are most comfortable with. The system must allow you to understand what you are writing and why you are writing it in a specific way or place. For example, in the Cornell system for note taking, different areas are separated for different review purposes: the note taking area, the key word or idea column, and the summary area. This system is effective because it forces the note taker to review the lecture in more depth and makes sure that the note taking understands the material in a general sense.
  I do not use the Cornell system to take notes. Instead, when I take notes, I create a first draft that is usually constructed of bullet points and is very simple and concise in wording. Many of the sentences in this first draft are just ideas, and usually includes a lot of abbreviations. Then, I would recreate the notes, usually an electronic document, into a more organized fashion that can be understood by all people. After this, I would then print out the document so that I can review it again, and maybe take any last minute notes that spring up. However, this is a little bit different from the way I take notes for AP English Language and Composition. Before I start writing or typing down the notes, I would read through the material first and highlight the important and main ideas. Then I would type it and organize so that it is in a clearer fashion. This is effective for me because the notes that I take for AP English are usually different types of rhetoric technique that can be separated into different levels, and organizing them the way I do makes them more readable and understandable. I believe that my way of note taking has served me well enough, and I don't believe that I would change much. One of the things that I might include may be the key word or idea column in the Cornell System of note taking.

3rd Debate: My Impressions

  The third presidential debate between President Obama and Governor Romney was not as impressive compared to the previous two. Both presidential candidates did a pretty good job debating and following the rules, and the debate's going was smooth and did not have that many problems, unlike the last two: the more talked about topics of the first debate was President Obama's behavior, while the ore talked about topics of the second debate was the moderator, Candy Crowley's, role. To sum it up, the third presidential debate did not include any controversial actions, behaviors, and topics.
  The third debate's power to influence the voters in the United States of America is shadowed and overpowered by its precedents. People will most likely focus on the first debate if they wanted to attack President Obama, and others who support Obama would refer back to the second debate.
  To be more on the negative side, the debate could be said as boring.

Obama Romney 2nd Debate: The Role of the Moderator

  Candy Crowley, the moderator of the second presidential debate moderator, has given rise to controversial talks. Even before the debate, both Obama and Romney's campaign have been concerned that Candy will go beyond her role and ask harder questions. She had stated her intention to assert herself in the debate and prod candidates when necessary. And I believe that she did go beyond her role. During the conversation about terrorism, Romney questioned whether the President called the killing of the US ambassador in Benghazi an "act of terror". However, Candy, in an act of protecting President Obama, said that the president did say it was a terrorist attack. Also, Candy asserted some of her personal opinions during the debate. In the end, Candy was actually wrong because the president didn't clearly state that the killing of the US ambassador was an act of terror until much later.
  Also, I believe that Candy's moderating had a flaw because even she continued to say that she wouldn't have enough time for all of the audiences to ask their questions. This means that her time management isn't good enough, even though Romney didn't follow the rules for the debate.

Groups I Identify With

  I am a person who actively responds to both group identification and solidarity. Peers and and social groups are considered important and prominent parts of my life, while I enjoy solidarity because it allows me to think and do enjoy the peace and quiet that is not brought to me by my peers and groups (most of the time).
  The groups I belong to include the Asian society, Taiwanese group, a resident of Hsinchu, my family, my classmates from school, Model United Nations, the girl's basketball team, and my dance crew, from a broader level to a specific one. These groups are those that I identify myself as. I identify myself with the largest groups, the Asian society and the Taiwanese groups, because of my family heritage and my genes: I am born in Asia, in Taiwan, and I have the features of an Asian. On the next level, I identify with my family and classmates because we share the same blood and ancestors, as well as school, respectively. Finally, on the most specific level, I identify with the Model United Nations group, the girl's basketball team, and my dance crew because I have the same hobbies and interests as the ones in these groups.