A note-taking system for 35-word segments

CCL segments are 35 words or fewer. That’s short enough that many people try to hold everything in their head, and long enough that a phone number, a date and a list of three symptoms will push something out.

Notes aren’t there to capture every word. They’re there to catch the things memory drops first: numbers, names, lists and negatives.

Split the page

Draw a line down the middle of each page before the test. Use the left side for the English speaker and the right side for the other speaker. You’ll always know who said what, and your eyes go to the right place when the chime sounds.

Start each new segment below the last one. Don’t try to reuse space.

Write down less than you think

For each segment, aim for five to eight marks on the page:

• Numbers exactly as heard. “$1,250”, “3 pm Tues”, “14 days”. Never round them in your notes.
• Names and places. First letter plus a vowel is often enough: “Sh-ma” for Sharma.
• The first letter of each item in a list. “headache, nausea, dizziness” becomes “H N D”.
• Negatives, circled. A circled ✗ next to a verb means “did not”. Missed negatives are among the costliest errors.

A handful of symbols

Pick symbols you already use and stick to them. A starting set:

Symbol	Meaning
→	leads to, then, will
←	because, came from
✗	not, no, didn’t
?	asked, question
↑ / ↓	increase / decrease
Dr	doctor, medical person
$	money, payment, cost

Learn them until you don’t have to think, then stop adding. Ten symbols you use without thinking beat fifty you have to decode.

Practise with the recording on

Notes only help if you can read them under pressure. When you practise, interpret from your notes, then play back your recording and compare it with the model answer. If something’s missing, check whether it was in your notes. If it wasn’t, that’s the thing to start writing down.

For more on the details that slip, see numbers, dates and names.