Note Taking - Symbols and Abbreviations

	therefore
	because
÷	statement/answer is correct
x	statement/answer is wrong
?	question; is the statement correct?
/	or (this/that = this or that)
& or +	and/plus
-	a dash (often used to join ideas and replace words or punctuation marks that have been omitted)
" "	ditto (means the same as the words immediately above the ditto marks)
	does not equal, differs from, is the opposite of
=	is/are/have/has/equals
Æ	leads to/results in/causes
	does not lead to/result in/cause
SYMBOL		MEANING
&		and
@		at
/		per
é		increasing, increased, increases, rises
ê		decreasing, decreased, decreases, falls
=		equal to, is
¹		not equal to, is not
\		therefore
w/		with
w/o		without
w/i		within
etc.		et cetera, so forth
b/4		before
b/c		because
esp.		especially
diff.		difference
min.		minimum
max.		maximum
gov't		goverment
ex.		example
2		to, two, too

Abbreviations

Many of the common general abbreviations are found in an appendix in a dictionary; however, some of these are listed below:

e.g.	for example
i.e.	that is
etc.	etcetera: and so on
c.f.	compare
viz.	namely
c.(or ca.)	about/approximately
N.B.	note
C19	nineteenth century; similarly C20 etc.
1920s	i.e. 1920-1929; similarly 1970s etc.
approx.	approximately
dept	department
diff.(s)	difficult(y)(-ies)
excl.	excluding
govt.	government
imp.	important/importance
incl.	including
info.	information
lang.	language
ltd	limited
max.	maximum
min.	minimum
1st	first
2nd	second
3rd	third etc.
G.B.	Great Britain
U.K.	United Kingdom
Eng.	English
Brit.	British
Q.	question
A.	answer
no.	Number
p./pp.	page/pages
poss.	possible/possibly
prob.	probable/probably
probs.	problems
re-	with reference to/concerning
ref.	reference
sts	students
tho'	though
thro'	through
v.	very
s/t	something
s/o	someone
Notetaking and Test Taking Tips
Doing your best during class and on exams

What?! You didn't say THAT was going to be on the test!

Notetaking Tips (excerpts taken from The Confident Student by Carol Kanar)

Notetaking can be easy if you develop a system and use it in each class. There are three systems of notetaking. Each one is useful for different student personalities. The Cornell Method is useful if you are very organized and plan to read the chapters before the lecture. The informal outline is easy to do and is useful in almost every class. Clustering is for more artistic students. It is a visual method that can be used by itself or in conjunction with another method.

I. Notetaking

A. Three types of systems

• Cornell method
• Informal outline
• Clustering

When you take notes, you will save time and energy by using abbreviations. The following list shows some common abbreviations. If you are in a class that uses a specific word over and over, such as Civil War in American History, it may be helpful to make up your own abbreviations. For example, you could use CW. The most important thing is that if you make up abbreviations, you should be sure to remember what they mean.

B. Common abbreviations

Equal -- =	Department -- dept
With -- w/	Compare -- cf
Without -- w/o	For example -- e.g.
Number -- #	Against -- vs
At -- @	Introduction -- intro.
And -- +	Organization -- org
And so forth -- etc.	Politics -- pol

Here are some other basic pointers for notetaking.

Tips

1. Put the name of the class at the top of the page.
2. Put the date at the top of the page.
3. Put the page # at the top of the page.
4. Write down the basic topic of the lecture.
5. Use 8 ½" by 11" paper in a looseleaf binder.
6. Take notes in pen [you can get erasable pens].
7. Make sure your notes are legible.
8. Keep all notes from one class together. It is helpful to buy separators with color tabs for your binder.
9. Use one of the three types of notetaking systems.
10. Make sure you copy information from the chalkboard or overhead transparencies.
11. As soon as possible after class, review your notes to fill in the gaps of information that you missed. Do this while the lecture is still fresh on your mind.
12. If you miss class, get photocopies of notes from another student. You can make copies at a charge in the library.

Besides notetaking, there are five basic ways that you can organize information for study. Each one has specific qualities that will be most helpful in some classes.

Organizing information for study

1. Concept map
2. Comparison charts
3. Time lines
4. Process diagrams
5. Branching diagrams