ESL note‑making for 0510 and 0511

This guide shows how to pick the right points from a reading text, cut each one down to its core, and avoid copying whole sentences.

What note-making asks of you

Note-making tests whether you can find the right information and put it in order. The task gives you a text and one or more headings. You collect only the points that belong under each heading.

Cambridge describes the reading side of IGCSE ESL 0510 as selecting and reorganising information. The same skill sits behind 0511. Always check your own syllabus for the exact task format.

A five-step method

1. Read the heading first. It tells you what to look for. Ignore everything else for now.
2. Read the text once, quickly. Get the general idea before you hunt for details.
3. Read again and underline. Mark only the words that answer the heading.
4. Shorten each point. Keep the key nouns and verbs. Drop examples, adjectives and repeated ideas.
5. Check your list. Each point should sit under the right heading and say something different from the others.

Cutting a point down

The most common mistake is copying a whole sentence. It wastes space and shows the marker nothing about your understanding. Work on one idea at a time.

Here is our own example, written for practice. The text says that a school library opens early on Mondays so that students can return books before lessons.

Under the heading “Opening times”, a good note is “Mondays: early opening for book returns”. It is short, accurate and clear.

A weak note copies the whole sentence word for word. That fills the line but shows no thinking. For more on this habit, see our guide to paraphrasing without copying.

Mistakes that lose marks

• Writing a point under the wrong heading.
• Including an example when the heading asks for a main idea.
• Repeating the same idea in different words.
• Adding your own opinion. Notes report what the text says.
• Running out of space because the first points were too long.

How to practise

Take any short article. Choose two headings yourself, then make notes in five minutes.

Compare them with the article. Ask whether each note is short, correct and under the right heading.

Our guide to selecting points for a summary builds the same habit. You can also try the ESL note-making practice tasks and read the annotated model response.

How our teachers help in 1-to-1 lessons

Students usually get stuck because their notes run long. They copy a whole sentence when three words would do. In 1-to-1 lessons, our teachers take one of your attempts and cut each note down with you, until you can see where the extra words are.

This is part of our English as a Second Language tuition. To try it, book a paid one-hour trial lesson and bring one set of notes.

Next, visit our original practice tasks to try the skill on a task of your own. Our English as a Second Language tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.