How to take lecture notes quickly. Common abbreviations and symbols for students
Abbreviations and symbols save time. They shorten words and phrases. For example an abbreviation or the word ‘paragraph’ is para.
It’s a good idea therefore for students to use them when writing short-hand notes quickly during lectures and from books and other resources.
Keep this list of common academic abbreviations and symbols near you in lectures and when studying until you know them. Overtime you can always add more to your list that are specific to your area of study.
Frequently used abbreviations
approx. | approximately |
b/c | because |
b/4 | before |
bk. | book, born |
C | (e.g. 21C for ‘twenty-first century’) |
c. | approximately, roughly, about (abbreviation for the Latin ‘circa’) |
cf. | compared to, in comparison with |
cp. | compare |
def. | definition |
diff. | different, difference |
ea. | each |
e.g. | for example |
fr. | from |
etc. | and the rest, and so on |
gen. | general |
i.e. | that is, that means, in other words |
impt. | important |
NB | important, notice this, note well |
nec. | nessesary |
no. | number |
pt. | point |
p. | page (pp. = pages) |
re. | regarding, about |
sim. | similar |
s/t | something |
T. | theory, theoretical |
tho’ | though |
thro’ | through |
w/ | with |
w/o | without |
viz. | namely, that is to say |
v. | very |
vv. | extremely |
vs. | against |
Frequently used numbers and symbols
2 | to, two, too |
4 | for |
8 | anything ending in ‘ate’ |
+ | and, also, as well as, in addition to, plus |
– | minus, without |
= | equals, is the same as, results in |
≠ | does not equal, is not the same as, does not result in |
≈ | is approximately equal to, is similar to |
< | is less than, is smaller than |
> | is greater than, is larger than |
↑ | increase, rise, growth |
↑↑ | rapid increase |
↓ | decrease, fall, shrinkage |
↓↓ | rapid decrease |
∴ | therefore, thus |
∵ | because |
→ | leads on to, produces, causes |
x | no, not, incorrect |
xx | definitely not, disproved |
? | uncertain, possibly, unproven |
✓ | yes, correct |
✓✓ | definitely, certain, proven |
# | number |
✳ | special, important, notable (when added to a word or phrase) |
/ | per (e.g., £50/day instead of ‘fifty pounds per day’) |
! | not, isn’t |
@ | at |
∝ | proportional to |
Less frequently used abbreviations
A | answer |
adm. | administration |
adj. | adjective, adjourned, adjustment |
abr. | abridged |
abbr. | abbreviation, abbreviated |
acad. | academic, academy |
aka. | also known as |
app. | appendix |
assoc. | association |
biol. | biology |
bibliog. | bibliography |
bot. | botanical, botany |
cap. | capital, capitalise |
chap. | chapter |
chem. | chemical |
co. | company |
colloq. | colloquial, colloquialism |
conf. | conference, confer |
cont. | containing, content, continental, continue, continued |
com. | commercial, commission, common, communication, community |
cr. | credit |
crit. | criticism |
diag. | diagram |
disc. | discovered |
dist. | distinguished |
div. | dividend, division |
distr. | distribution, distributed |
econ. | economics, economy |
esp. | especially |
est. | established, estimate |
ex. | examined, example |
excl. | excluding |
f. | feminine, feminism, frequency |
gen. | gender, general |
govt. | government |
hist. | historian, historical, history |
illus. | illustrated |
inc. | including |
info. | information |
lang. | language |
m. | male |
no. | number |
orig. | original, originated |
p. / pp. | page / pages |
para. | paragraph |
poss. | possible, possibly |
prin. | principal |
prob. | problem, probable, probably |
probs | problems |
prob. | produced by, producer, production |
pt. / pts. | part, point / parts, pts |
Q. | question |
ref. | refer, reference |
reg. | region, registered, regular, regulation |
rev. | review, revision |
sci. | science, scientific |
sect. | section |
sp. | special, species, specific |
st. | study, student |
univ. | universal, university |
usu. | usually |
vers. | version |
yr. | year |
Which abbreviations are used in your subject area?
Consider making your own list of abbreviations that are specific to your subject.
Most abbreviations should NOT be used in essays and coursework as they are generally too informal – some acronyms can be used (although they should be written fully at first) such as the NHS (National Health Service), United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) to name a few.
[…] less and focusing on the lecture will help your brain digest the info better. In fact, here’s a good list of abbreviations to get you […]
does anyone know any good websites for abbreviations and symbols for note taking?
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