Note Taking

Symbols

The table below contains some of the symbols most often used in note taking.

SOME SYMBOLS USED IN NOTE TAKING
Practice
Less than, smaller than or before, prior to
Less than or equal to, on or before / ≤
Greater than, bigger than OR after, following
Greater than or equal to, on or after that date / ≥
Woman or women / ♀
Man or men / ♂
Infinity, never ending / ∞
At, (eg at a cost of, at a rate of, each one) / @
Approximately / ≈
Therefore / ∴
Not equal to, not the same as / ≠
A number of, the number of particular items / #
Because / ∵
With / ċ
Up, increasing, bigger / Û
Down, decreasing, smaller / Ü
Ditto, the same as before or above / ″
More to follow, or information has been omitted / ….

SMS messaging

People using SMS (short messaging service) may already be familiar with some good notetaking techniques. For example, they might send a message to a friend that read, TYVM 4 set meet went well B4N (Thank you very much for setting up the meeting. It went well. Bye for now). This technique can be applied to taking notes in a business environment.

Table 8: SMS Messaging Abbreviations
SMS Text / Practice
Are you okay / ruok
Be mine / bmine
Birthday / bday
Bye for now / b4n
Free to talk / f2t
Laugh out loud / lol
Oh I see / oic
Talk to you later / t2ul8r
Thank you very much / tyvm
Too much information / tmi

Omitting vowels

Another useful note taking strategy is to omit vowels except for essential, initial and final vowel sounds.

Write out the full form of the sayings in the spaces provided below.

1. ppl who liv in gls hss shdnt thrw stns.

______

2. dnt jdg a bk by its cvr.

______

3. mny hnds mk lt wrk.

______

4. u cn alwys trn ovr a nw lf.

______

To transcribe the sentences with missing vowels back to the full form, we try out the sound of the consonants and then try out different vowel sounds until the words make sense. Even with some of the vowels left out, the meaning of the sentences is quite clear. The context helps you work out the meaning of the shortened words.

To help you decide which vowels to omit, the notes below explain why vowels were included or omitted in the first saying:

People / “eo” omitted. “e” also omitted at end of word people. This vowel is not sounded when we pronounce people. Although it is written at the end of the word, it is not a final vowel sound and so can be omitted. The word who following people may have also provided a context hint.
who / who is written in full as “o” is the final vowel sound and must be included.
live / lv could have been live or love – either makes sense, so the “i” is essential to make it clear. The final “e” is not sounded and so can be omitted.
in / “i” is included as it is the initial vowel. Initial vowels are included to avoid any confusion.
glass / “a” is omitted as it is not an essential, initial or final vowel sound.
houses / “ou” and “e” are omitted as they are not essential, initial or final vowel sounds.
Shouldn’t / “ou” and “o” are omitted as they are not essential, initial or final vowel sounds.
throw / “o” is omitted as it is not an essential, initial or final vowel sound.
stones / “o” and “e” are omitted as they are not initial or final vowel sounds.

Using symbols for prefixes and suffixes

A prefix is a meaningful group of letters added to the beginning of a word (eg understand), and a suffix is a meaningful group of letters added to the end of a word (eg education).

A good notetaking technique is to represent prefixes and suffixes by using a single letter written smaller than usual and above the usual line of writing, eg education (educan). Some words have both a prefix and a suffix, eg understandable, which can be written as ust&b.

Some common prefixes and suffixes are listed below. Remember, context helps to work out the meaning when one superscript can stand for more than one prefix or suffix. Try to drop vowels, except essential, initial or final vowels.

Prefixes/Suffixes / Example / Practice
after / afternoon / ann
ance / allowance / allwa
ant / confidant / confida
able / fixable / fxb
com / comfortable / c4tb
con / conflict / cflct
dis / disclaim / dclm
dis / dispose / dpos
des / despise / dpis
ever / everglade / egld
every / everybody / ebdy
ence / confidence / cfde
ent / discontent / dcte
ever / however / hwe
ever / endeavour / ende
ful / helpful / hlpf
graph / autograph / autog
gram / program / prog
hope / hopeful / hf
inter / interrupt / irpt
inter / interpret / iprt
intro / introduce / idc
ing / waiting / w8i
ing / bringing / brii

Using capital letters to represent words

Capital letters can be used to represent the days of the week and the months of the year. Capital letters can also be used to represent whole words or word sounds. Remember, the context will be the key as to which abbreviation is correct.

Table 1: Capital Letters for Days of the Week and Months of Year

Symbol / Days of the week / Symbol
January / J / Sunday / S
February / F / Monday / M
March / M / Tuesday / T
April / A / Wednesday / W
May / Ma / Thursday / Th
June / Jn / Friday / F
July / Jl / Saturday / Sa
August / Au
September / S
October / O
November / N
December / D

Short forms for frequently used word groups

All letters have a salutation (greeting), an introduction, and a complimentary close. Some of these can be abbreviated to very short forms. They will be recognised because they are in frequent use.

Short form (Salutation) / Phrase
Ds / Dear Sir
Dm / Dear Madam
Dm / Dear Miss
Dmr / Dear Mr
Short form (Introductions) / Phrase
Ihul / I have your letter
Irul / I received your letter
Ir2ul / I refer to your letter
Tu4ul / Thank you for your letter
Short form (Complimentary closes) / Phrase
Uf / Yours faithfully
Us / Yours sincerely
Kr / Kind regards
Ufr / Your friend


Plain English

Be Precise

·  Avoid vague terms such as “as soon as possible”. Give a specific date or time instead.

·  Do not use general words such as “several”, “many” or “a few” as they mean different things to different people. Instead use specific numbers or quantities.

·  If you are referring to documents or papers, always give a full title and, if necessary, the date, so that the meaning is clear even after some time.

Use short words, sentences and paragraphs

Do not use a long word where a short word will do. Similarly, do not use an unusual or obscure word where there is a common one available:

A response is required / An answer is needed
Ameliorate / Improve
Comprehend / understand

Don’t pad out sentences with extra words

There are many phrases that are simply unnecessary or could be replaced by a simple word:

The council would like to take this opportunity to thank the team / The Council thanks the team
Come to a decision / Decide
In the event that / If
The department is large in size / The department is large
In addition / There is also

Use the active voice

The active voice is shorter, more direct and more easily understood than the passive voice. It simply means identifying the taker of action before the action:

It was decided by the committee / The committee decided
It will be settled by the manager / The manager will settle

Avoid jargon

Jargon is any term or acronym that is understood by a particular group of people (and by definition not by those outside the group). Examples might be:

·  Slang or current buzzwords

·  Use of initials or acronyms

·  Highly technical terms – if you have to use technical terms make sure they are explained in brackets.

Write in the positive

Write about what has been done, will be done, etc. rather than what has not, will not be done

Visitors will not be allowed unless accompanied / Visitors will be allowed if accompanied
The scheme is not suitable for staff aged under 45 / The scheme is suitable for staff aged 45 and over

Source: Gutmann, J, (2001), Taking Minutes of Meetings, Kogan Page, London

Listed below are some useful websites to assist with Note Taking.

http://michaelhyatt.com/recovering-the-lost-art-of-note-taking.html

http://www.english-zone.com/study/symbols.html

http://www.ilile.org/events/past/Seminar_08_03/lesson_plans/Wheelersburg/NoteTakingSymbolsandAbreviations.htm