Note-making asks you to hunt through a text for the points that fit each given heading. Write them as short, separate notes - not full sentences, and not whole lines copied out. Attempt each task first, then open the plan to compare how you selected and sorted the points.
These passages are our own, written for practice. Bring your notes to a lesson for our teachers to check.
1Read our original passage, then make brief notes under the two headings. Write each point as a few words, and do not repeat a point under both headings. When Hillside School gave every Year 9 student a tablet, teachers noticed changes quickly.
Students who rarely brought books now had every worksheet in one place, and those who found handwriting tiring typed instead. Lessons could include short videos without booking a computer room. But the school also had problems: some tablets were dropped and cracked within weeks, a few students played games under the desk, and the wireless network slowed when every class logged on at once. Headings: - Ways the tablets helped - Problems the school faced
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Under 'helped', note worksheets in one place, typing instead of handwriting, and videos without a computer room. Under 'problems', note cracked screens, gaming in class, and the slow network.
Keep each as a note of a few words, not a sentence, and make sure a point appears under one heading only. Check the syllabus for how many points each heading is worth.
Model opening: Ways the tablets helped: - all worksheets in one place
Checklist:
- Each note is a few words, not a full copied sentence
- No point appears under both headings
- I only included points that actually fit the heading
- I found points from the whole passage, not just the first line
2Read our original passage and make notes under the two headings. Only include points that match the heading. The Greenfield Animal Shelter runs entirely on volunteers.
On a normal morning they clean the pens, refill the water bowls and walk the dogs that have been waiting longest. Newer volunteers are shown how to fill in each animal's record card. Many say the work is tiring, but they also describe it as the best part of their week: they learn to handle nervous animals calmly, they make friends with people of all ages, and several have gone on to study veterinary nursing because of it.
Headings: - What volunteers do at the shelter - What volunteers gain from the work
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: 'Do' covers the actions: cleaning pens, refilling water, walking the longest-waiting dogs, filling in record cards. 'Gain' covers what they get out of it: calm handling skills, friendships across ages, a route into veterinary nursing. The remark that the work is tiring fits neither heading, so leave it out.
Model opening: What volunteers do at the shelter: - clean the pens each morning
Checklist:
A trial lesson can start from your child's attempt at Note-making practice for Cambridge International 0510, with feedback from an experienced teacher.
- Actions went under 'do' and benefits under 'gain'
- I left out the point that fits neither heading
- Each note is short, not a full sentence
- I did not repeat the same point in both columns
3Read our original passage about a young swimmer and sort the relevant points under three headings. Junior swimmer Priya trains before school four mornings a week, and adds two evening sessions in the pool to practise turns and starts. Her coach keeps her land exercises short but regular.
She eats a large breakfast after morning training and carries fruit and nuts for the school day, avoiding the sugary drinks her friends buy. Priya is strict about sleep, going to bed early even at weekends, because her coach says tired muscles recover slowly and lead to mistakes in a race. Headings: - Training - Diet - Rest
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Sort carefully. 'Training' takes the pool sessions and the land exercises. 'Diet' takes the large breakfast, the fruit and nuts, and avoiding sugary drinks. 'Rest' takes the early nights and the reason her coach gives. Some sentences carry a point for more than one heading, so read to the end before you file each note.
Model opening: Training: - four morning pool sessions each week
Checklist:
- Every point sits under the heading it truly belongs to
- I split the sentence that mentioned more than one area
- I kept the notes brief
- All three headings have points, not just one or two
4Read our original passage. It contains some detail that does not fit the heading. Make notes under the single heading, leaving out anything irrelevant.
The Corner Kitchen was an ordinary cafe until two years ago. The owner, who had once worked on ships, repainted the walls a deep blue. More importantly for its success, she began opening at six for early workers, offered a cheap bottomless pot of tea, and let students stay for hours to study without being moved on.
The cafe is on Mill Street, near the old clock tower. Word spread, and queues now form on Saturday mornings. Heading: - Reasons the cafe became popular
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: The heading wants reasons for the success: opening early for workers, the cheap bottomless tea, and letting students stay to study. The blue walls, the owner's past on ships, and the street location are background, not reasons for the queues, so leave them out. Note-making marks reward selecting the relevant points and ignoring the rest.
Model opening: Reasons the cafe became popular: - opened early, from six, for workers
Checklist:
- I included only the true reasons for the cafe's success
- I left out the background detail (walls, ships, location)
- Each note is a short phrase
- I did not simply copy the passage in order
See the method and an annotated model on the note-making page for Cambridge International 0510, or the technique in our note-making skills guide.