How To Prep A Chapter

for your Notes for the final

Prepping a chapter consists of two elements.

I.) The chapter outline
II.) The answers to the questions I send you (go there now)

Both elements will constitute the notes you will use on the final exam (go there now).

I. CHAPTER OUTLINE

Your outline should resemble the outline the author might have used to write the chapter. You should follow three steps:

1) Identify the central theme of the chapter; 2) Look for the leading of idea of each “chunk” of text; 3) Look for the supporting details for each “leading” idea

1) Identify the central theme of the chapter

Your description of the central theme should be no more than two sentences, but should explain the overall topic of the chapter. Having to come up with a concise description of the main idea will help you see the forest for the trees.

2) Look for the leading of idea of each “chunk” of text.

You’ll see that the author has divided the text into units that each have with a subheading caption, such as “Eurocentrism” on p. 8 (the first unit of the chapter, however, will not have caption).

Identify the central point of each “chunk” or unit of text. The specific leading idea may or may NOT be expressed in the wording of the subheading.

So, to use the example of “Eurocentrism”: from p. 8 of our text.

The central idea here is NOT simply the definition of Eurocentrism (although that matters), but rather the role of "eurocentrism" in a the bigger story the author is telling.


3) Look for the supporting details for each “leading” idea; the supporting details will either illustrate the leading idea or explore a ramification of that idea

So, for example, take a look at p. 14 where the author addresses the fact that families in both Europe and China limited the number of children they had in the 14th century. The author uses that fact to support his larger argument ("leading idea") in this section that phenomena often thought of as uniquely European and thus the basis for this rise of European power (aka, "The European Miracle") are NOT, actually, unique to Europe. And if such phenomena are not uniquely European they can't be the cause for Europe's rise. You should identify in your notes the supporting details the author uses and understand how they support the author's leading idea. I'm very likely to ask you a question on the final that requires such knowledge, so having it in your notes makes a lot of sense.

II. ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS I ASK

For each chapter, I will send out at the beginning of the week seven or so questions. Some of these will be smallish questions to direct your attention to important details that you might overlook otherwise; others will be big “thinking” questions about the chapter as a whole.

Your answers to these questions should appear in your notes. Again, I won’t be grading you on those answers, but they will be helpful on the final exam.

YOUR NOTES AND THE FINAL EXAM

I will collect your notes from you at the start of class.

AT THE FINAL EXAM, I WILL RETURN ALL OF YOUR NOTES TO YOU FOR USE ON THE FINAL; SO, THE MORE CARE YOU PUT INTO YOUR NOTES, THE MORE LIKELY YOU WILL DO WELL ON THE FINAL. THOSE WILL BE THE ONLY NOTES YOU WILL BE ALLOWED.

If you take good notes, it would be very difficult NOT to do well on the final. In contrast, without good notes, you will have to have an excellent grasp of the semester’s material (and a photographic memory), to do well. In particular, my phrasing of the questions on the final exam will employ Arabic terms; so if you don’t have the glossary of terms in your notes from each chapter, well, you better have a better memory than mine.

ADDITIONAL POLCIES ON NOTES:

1) YOUR NOTES MUST BE HANDWRITTEN; I WILL NOT ACCEPT TYPED NOTES (EXCEPT FOR YOUR FIRST NOTES THAT YOU WILL BE SUBMITTING DIGITALLY; I WILL BRING THOSE TO THE FINAL FOR YOU).

2) YOU SHOULD PHOTOCOPY YOUR NOTES BEFORE THE START OF CLASS SO THAT YOU HAVE A VERSION FOR YOUR OWN REVIEW.

3) IF DURING CLASS DISCUSSION, YOU REALIZE THAT YOU MADE A MISTAKE IN YOUR NOTES, YOU HAVE 48 HOURS TO SEND ME AN E-MAIL THAT EXPLAINS HOW AND WHY YOU MISUNDERSOOD THE TEXT AS WELL AS YOUR NEW UNDERSTANDING. IF THE MISUNDERSTANDING IS LEGITIMATE—THAT IS, NOT THE OBVIOUS PRODUCT OF A SUPERFICIAL READING—I WILL ATTACH YOUR CORRECTIONS TO THE NOTES I RETURN TO YOU ON THE DAY OF THE FINAL.