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  increasing, increased, increases, rises  decreasing, decreased, decreases, falls = equal to, is  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.

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