We will be talking about what to do before, during, and after the lecture.

And also, the use of

symbols and abbreviations.

So, what to do before the lecture?

 Review the previous topic or lesson.

 Study the subject beforehand
 In your pre-readings, be sure to check the pronunciation of any new words or
terminology relevant to your subject.
 And lastly based on your note-taking system, set up pages. This lessens lecture period.
So, what do you mean by “set up pages”?
- It means take visually clear, concise, organized, and structured notes so that they are
easy to read and make sense to you later.

So, what to do during the lecture?

 Arrive on time, and take a seat wherever you feel most comfortable.
 Separate main points from elaborations, instances, and repetition, restatement,
introduction, and "waffle" (no, not the one that you eat with butter or maple syrup. The
definition of “waffle” that were talking about is to speak or write in a wordy, vague, or
indecisive manner) of new points by:
- Paying attention to structural cues (which is the transition/signpost words, phases
(introduction, body, and conclusion)
- Search for nonverbal indicators (such as hand and body language).
- And look for visual clues (by copying any visual aids or content citations with names and
sources are used.)
 And lastly search for phonological clues (like how the voice volume changes, the speed
and the feeling). typically, with more important details the speaker will modulate their
voice and speak more slowly and/or louder to attract the audience's interest.

And lastly what to do after the lecture?

 Within the day, review your lecture notes. Clean up your writing and complete any gaps.
Reviewing helps you to remember the lectures much better.
 One paragraph should be written in your own words as a brief recap of the lesson.
  Last but not least, provide any handouts with your lecture notes.

Moving on to the use of symbols and abbreviations

For you to increase and improve your listening and/or reading comprehension and note-taking
create a system of personal and course-related symbols and abbreviations. And when using it,
be consistent.
Here are a few examples of symbols for efficient note-taking.

 /: Per (e.g., PHP50/day instead of ‘fifty pesos per day’)

 @: At
 ≠: Does not equal, is not the same as, does not result in
 ∴: Therefore, thus
 →: Leads on to, produces, causes
 x: No, not, incorrect

Furthermore, here are some examples of abbreviations:

1. Common abbreviations

 etc.: (et cetera) and so on

 approx.: Approximately
 w/o: Without
 esp.: Especially
 soc.: Social or society
2. Discipline-specific abbreviations
In chemistry:

 Au: Gold
 Mg: Magnesium

And in the case of quantities and concepts, these are represented by Greek letters in many
fields.

 A or a: Alpha
 B or b: Beta
3. Personal abbreviations
Here you can shorten any word that is commonly used in your lectures.

 Diff: Different
 Gov: Government
 NEC: Necessary
 Dr.: Doctor
 Hon.: Honorable