Automatic Note Summarizer

Getting ready for your physics or history exam? Trying to gather your thoughts before a Zoom or Google Meet conference? Simply recalling what you've learned throughout the study course? In any case, you will have to go through your notes. They can help you remember all the essential material and get prepared for your lessons, exams, or any work-related meeting. And if you lack time to read everything, our note summarizer will shorten the info for you.

This notes summarizer is a simple solution for a variety of purposes.

For example, it can assist you in putting together all the separate pieces of information you have on a topic or subject. It can also organize your notes according to the Cornell method. This system relies on creating short summaries based on everything you've written by the end of each lesson. Thus, our tool can summarize your notes so that you don't have problems with this method.

In the article, you will see how to maximize your note-taking efficiency. But first, let's figure out how automatic summarization works.

📝 Note Summarization: the Key Types

Thanks to deep learning models, summarizing your notes has become a task that takes less than a minute to complete. Yet, it may not be entirely easy to understand how these automatic systems operate. Here, we have tried to explain how any text can be shortened in just a few seconds.

The most widespread type of automatic summarization relies on extractive methods. It takes the following steps to cut down the text:

1. Dissecting the paragraph. The first step is quite simple. The system extracts each sentence of the paragraph in a separate line. To achieve this correctly, it splits the passage when the dot appears. The step allows structuring the content properly and dealing with individual entities, not the whole text.
2. Text filtering. The next step involves in-depth text processing. Here, the essential task is to get rid of unnecessary items. It starts with deleting stop words, punctuation, and various symbols. Thus, the sentences will lack any redundant and superficial information that is unnecessary for understanding the meaning.
3. Tokenization. This step involves listing all the words that are present in the text. Basically, the tool splits them up as separate units. For example, see the sentence, “The cat went on a walk.” By removing the stop words and tokenizing the line, we will get, [‘cat’,‘went’,‘walk’].
4. Evaluating the occurrence frequency. The program calculates how many times each word appears in the given passage. The occurrence frequency of each item is divided by the frequency of the most used one. Let’s say the name “Annie” is the most reoccurring word, appearing in the text four times. We will compare other items to it, evaluating their frequency accordingly. The given coefficient equals the weighted occurrence frequency of the word.
5. Replacing words with their weighted frequencies. The last step involves calculating the sum of the weighted frequencies. For this, the system replaces each word with the corresponding calculated number. The greater the sum of the weighted frequencies – the more significant the sentence is. Thus, the tool will prioritize the information and include only essential data in the resulting summary.

👌 6 Useful Note-Taking Tips

Taking notes while reading a book, research paper, or article? Whatever source you’re looking at, you should do it correctly. In this section, we have covered the main note-taking tips.

These recommendations will help you note the essential aspects of any text and understand them later.

• Draw and use colors. Coloring is crucial when you need to highlight headings, significant sections, etc. You can also use different colors to link information to a specific topic or classify concepts. Also, don’t forget about growing circles, stars, and other simple figures. They will help organize your lists and make the key points stand out.
• Write down keywords. Don’t write complete sentences – it’s just a waste of time and energy. Try to determine the keywords and short phrases you will be able to decode. Note them down beforehand not to forget their meaning later. This way, your writing will be concise and neat.
• Use symbols. Abbreviations and symbols are the most significant helpers of the note-taking process. Yet, you should be consistent with them. Make sure you remember what you meant by a particular scribble or doodle. For that, create a table with the often-used symbols/abbreviations. You can refer to it if you forget something.
• Structure your text. Add some bullet points, numbered lists, and headings. These are powerful tools for making your notes well-structured and easy to read. Write headings each time the new topic is raised and add as many lists as you may need. Use bullet points to indicate crucial data or another list. This way, you will scan your notes effectively and find necessary information quickly.
• Add some graphs. Sometimes, diagrams, graphs, concept maps, and other visuals can be more effective than text with numbers. Thus, get creative and graphically organize your notes. Figure out how you can visually present the information so that you’ll be able to memorize and understand it easily.
• Use your own words. Don’t just copy and paste the words from the book or lecture. Paraphrase them. Firstly, you will use more simple terms, which will help you understand the material better. Secondly, you will remember more information if you paraphrase. So, take a double benefit!

Thank you for visiting our page! Use our notes summarizer, and be sure that you keep your knowledge in order.

🔗 References

• A Gentle Introduction to Text Summarization in Machine Learning – Alfrick Opidi, FloydHub
• Techniques and Tips for Listening and Note-Taking – UNSW Current Students
• Effective Note-Taking in Class – Learning Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill