Inha University

Note-Taking Shorthand

Listening Comprehension IIIAcademic Listening and Note-Taking

SkillsInstructor Chris Gunn

• In today’s class we are going to look at a system of shorthand for note-taking.

• Then you are going to develop your own system of shorthand.

• When you develop your system of shorthand you can use all, some, or none of the symbols shown in this presentation.

• It is entirely up to you to find a system that you are comfortable with.

• However, many of these symbols are commonly used and therefore will make your notes accessible to others.

• Whatever system of symbols you use,

be consistent!

• As well, the concepts highlighted in today’s lecture are essential concepts for making a good outline of an academic lecture.

• Having good shorthand helps to highlight the organization of the presentation, lecture or topic of discussion.

• Some important concepts you must indicate with shorthand are the following:

(1) Title/topic (2) Main idea (3) Supporting points (4) Conclusions (5) Examples (6) Definitions of words/concepts (7) Causes/effects (8) Trends/Increases/Decreases (9) Questions/Rhetorical questions (10) Reasons

(11) Benefits/Drawbacks, Pros/Cons,

Other Concerns

• As well, you will need to be able to indicate the relative importance of an idea and you should have a system for managing space in your notes.

• Managing space in your notes includes:

(1) Leaving space/not bunching everything up.

(2) Having space for tangents. (3) Using margins for definitions.

• So now let’s take a look at how we can use shorthand to simply the important note-taking concepts listed earlier.

(1) Title/topics

• In shorthand, one way to indicate a title or a topic is to use a long underline.

• Your title should go in the center of the page along with the majority of your notes so that tangents and definitions can go in the margins.

(1) Title/topics

• Lecture: In today’s lecture we’ll be

looking at the effects of global warming on polar bear populations.

• Notes:

(2) Main Idea

• One way to indicate a main idea or is to use surrounding stars or a box.

(2) Main idea

• Lecture: We’ll see how global warming has caused a rapid decline of polar bear populations throughout the arctic.

• Notes:

(3) Supporting points

• Supporting points to the main idea can be indicated using numbers, letters, or lower case roman numerals.

(3) Supporting points

• Lecture: The loss of sea ice has reduced the hunting grounds of polar bears.

• Notes:

(4) Conclusions

• To indicate conclusions (both within a lecture and as an overall conclusion) it is common to use the following symbol.

(4) Conclusions

• Lecture: This is because the polar bears use the sea to hunt seals as they come up for air. As the ice disappears, the bears can no longer catch seals and end up starving.

• Notes:

(5) Examples/Evidence

• One way to indicate an example is to use the ex) symbol.

• I use another symbol ev) for evidence but that is a non-standard symbol that only I use as far as I know.

(5) Examples/Evidence

• Lecture: The Hudson Bay bear population has decreased twenty percent in the last decade and the average bear weight is down by fifteen percent.

• Notes:

(6) Causes/effects

• The most common symbol for indicating cause and effect is an arrow.

• We have already seen several examples in previous slides.

(7) Definitions of words/concepts

• Definitions are often indicated by underlining a word in your notes and then providing the definition in the margin.

(8) Trends/Increases/Decreases• The most common symbol for

indicating upwards or downwards trends are arrows slanting upward or downward.

Putting It All Together

(9) Questions/Rhetorical questions

• Questions to be answered and rhetorical questions are usually indicated with a question mark.

(10) Questions/Rhetorical Questions

• Lecture: One question we’ll look at is whether or not polar bears will become extinct by 2050.

• Notes:

(10) Reasons• One common symbols to show cause

is the inverted ‘therefore’.

• If you want to differentiate shades of reasons such as because and so that.

• You can also use a left facing arrow to show reason.

(10) Reasons

• Lecture: The average temperature in the ocean is increasing due to the greenhouse effect caused by increased atmospheric CO2 .

• Notes:

(11) Benefits/Drawbacks

• Some common systems for showing benefits and drawbacks (or pros and cons).

(11) Benefits/Drawbacks• Lecture:

One benefit of the loss of arctic ice is that sea lanes are opening up for the transportation of goods. On the other hand, this will lead to more pollution and even greater stress on the bears habitat.

• Notes:

Abbreviations

• It may also be useful to have a system of abbreviation for commonly occurring words such as ‘international.’