Taking Notes & Reading
A Shorthand System
Another excellent technique for taking better notes is to develop a personalized shorthand notation system. This strategy allows you to quickly record words and ideas without taking the time to write them out in their entirety.
Since your shorthand notation system need only be understood by you, any symbols or abbreviations that make sense are okay.
To get you started, here are some common examples of shorthand notations and their meanings.
Symbol
Meaning
=
equal, same as
¹
not equal, different
w/
with
w/r/t
with respect to
=>
leads to, gives rise to, etc.
You can also abbreviate long words after their first use (e.g., abbr.) and omit simple articles or prepositional phrases to further decrease the amount of writing in your notes. Remember, there are no hard and fast rules for developing a shorthand system, except that it must make sense to you.
All content herein ©Clemson University, 2000.
Site design by Michael R. Leigher.Please direct all comments and/or suggestions
regarding this web site to: Dr. Jerry Waldvogel.
