Using abbreviations

When you make quick notes, it helps if you can use a shorthand way of writing things down, and most students adopt their own set of familiar abbreviations. It is quite useful to shorten any frequently used words, and some common examples are given below.

longhand	shorthand
education	ed
research	R
social construction	soc-con
diversity	div
ecology	eco

There are also some commonly used symbols that are quick and easy to remember. You might even come up with a few of your own.

symbol	meaning
	and
	equals
	approximately
	plus (or it could mean also)
	less than or smaller than, or less important than
	greater than or more than, or more important than
	question mark - a good way to remind yourself to ask about something or look up this point later on
	at
	woman or female
	man or male
	therefore
	less than or equal to….
	greater than or equal to….
	percent

Download a copy of the table (RTF, 84KB) of symbols and keep it handy for reference.