Chapter 8 Outlines– and how to take notes

Here is an example of how, specifically, to practice the skill of outlining to take notes from your text, as we discussed in class previously.

The goal of these notes is to make your preparation for class more efficient, as well as to help you manage the information you will encounter in college level textbooks, which are not divided into lessons and which do not usually provided vocabulary or terms lists. As you manipulate the information in the chapter, you will also begin to comprehend cause and effect relationships and move to a deeper level of thinking about the material. Finally, these notes are usually much shorter than the “mini-books” some of you have been compiling on your own.

Remember, the procedure is:

1. Skim the text, before you read it. Note subheadings, graphs, charts, and pictures, connecting to what you already know.

2. Reduce and summarize the information into no more than 3-5 subtopics, optimally. Organize the subcategories in a logical format once you have brainstormed them.

3. Try to write your subtopics as questions or prompts.

4. Organize the information under the appropriate sub-category.

5. Make sure you emphasize causal relationships and reasons for significance.

Below are the outlines for your textbook homework for chapter 8. Fill in the outlines with details, and don’t forget historical significance. Complete at least Roman numeral I by Tuesday, September 6.

I. What philosophical ideas underlay the drive to revolution?

A. Thomas Paine

B. Republicanism- an Enlightenment idea

C. Richard Henry Lee

1. Contextualize- What events led him to ask for independence?

D. Declaration of Independence

II. Who were the main players in the drama?

A. Patriots

1. Continental Congress

2. George Washington

3. Benedict Arnold- saint or sinner?

4. von Steuben- our own German

5. Gates

B. British

1. Burgoyne

2. “Howe” stupid is he?

3. Mercenaries

C. Loyalists

1. Where did they tend to cluster?

2. Why did they resist the rhetoric?

3. Where did they run?

D. French—why did they get involved?

1. Marquis de Lafayette

2. Comte de Rochambeau

3. Their navy saves us

E. Native Americans—no matter what, they lose

III. Describe the prosecution of the war itself.

A. Bunker Hill

B. O Canada!

C. New York

D. New Jersey and crossing the Delaware

E. Great Lakes

F. Saratoga- why is it a turning point?

G. War in the South

1. Why did the Brits focus there?

H. The frontier & privateers

I. Yorktown

IV. A new nation is born—Can it last?

A. Another Peace of Paris!

B. What do we get?

C. What do the British get?

D. Those poor Loyalists?

E. How ‘bout the French?

F. Problems facing us as a result of the war

Notetaking from a text: An Overview

Guidelines to follow when attempting to take notes from a textbook:

1. Skim the chapter or material to be summarized.

2. Divide it up into no more than three to five subheadings of subtopics, if possible. Do not fall into the trap of having thirteen or eighteen subheadings– you will not make any sense of the text, and there is no way you can remember that many ideas in addition to all the details.

3. Organize each subheading around a question or prompt. The question type that is most helpful is called an essential question. Then organize the rest of the material in the chapter under each subheading in order to help answer the question or prompt.

4. Benefits? This notetaking method will enable you to reorganize a chapter which does not seem to be organized logically or thematically. It also causes you to interact with the text in such a way that your comprehension will improve more than if you merely passively read. You will be making meaning of the text yourself, which will also aid retention of the information. This should save you time in studying and learning.

Below is the outline I have drawn up for chapter 7.

I. Why did mercantilism cause colonial dissatisfaction with British policies?

A. Explanation of mercantilism

B. Benefits/ disadvantages to the mother country

C. Benefits/disadvantages to colonies

D. How did it help unify the colonies

E. What finally caused the British to attempt to strictly enforce mercantilist policies?

II. What were the various schemes used by the British to raise revenue?

A, B, C, D, etc—various taxes and their intents, whether they were repealed….

F. What was the purpose of the Quartering Act, and how did colonists respond? Why?

G. Declaratory Act

III. How did colonists react to each specific tax? How did the rebellion grow?

A. Massacre

B. Tea Party

C. Committees of Correspondence

D. Stamp Act Congress

E. Boycotts

F. Riots

G. Shots fired, Dec of Causes of Taking Up Arms

H. Declaring independence

IV. Compare the various advantages and disadvantages of each potential side as the Revolution became more likely.