Easy Script Notes

Easy Script is a way to use systematic abbreviations to speed your writing. This is done by using individual letters to represent prefixes and suffixes. This approach helped me switch to hand-writing notes in law school; a change that allowed me to be more productive in class.

I have found that the best way to implement such a solution is to pick one suffix or prefix and start using it's shortened form. Once you are in the habit of using that new form, add another. I started by dropping both "-ment" and "-shun"-related endings. For the former I used "m" and for the latter I used "x," since few words end in that letter. I also use "X" for "sh" sounds, which would probably confuse some people reading my notes.

1.  Word Categories

1.1  simple

Simple words are those lacking prefix or suffix. They come in two types, short and long:

• short
  • 1 or 2 syllables
  • abbreviate with the simple/alphabetical or simple/phonic technique
• long
  • 2 or more syllables
  • abbreviate with the simple/positional technique
  • A high-frequency long simple word may be abbreviated with the simple/alphabetical technique.

1.2  prefix

• has prefix + root
• Abbreviate using prefix abbreviation + SCR or OVR

1.3  suffix

• has root + suffix
• Abbreviate using SCR or OVR + suffix abbreviation

1.4  prefix-suffix

• has prefix + root + suffix
• Abbreviate using prefix abbreviation + SCR or OVR + suffix abbreviation
• Reduce the ROOT abbreviation to 3 letters as much as possible

1.5  compound

• Any word that comprising two or more words.

  • types
    • simple compound
      • Use first letter of first word + "/" or "\" + up-to-3 SCR or OVR letters of second word
    • suffix compound
      • Use first letter of first word + "/" or "\" + 2 SCR or OVR letters of second word + the suffix symbol
    • prefix compound
      • Use the first letter of the first word + "/" or "\" + prefix symbol + 2 SCR or OVR letters
    • prefix-suffix compound
      • Use the first letter of the first word + "/" or "\" + prefix symbol + one root letter + suffix symbol

2.  Rules

2.1  simple

• alphabetical technique
  • 1, 2, or 3 letter code made up of letters which are part of a word
    • Use 1 or 2 letter codes for higher-frequency words.
    • Use 3 letter codes for lower frequency words.
  • Leave out all or some of the vowels.
• positional technique
  • first 4 - the first 4 letters of the word
    • Use as your main option
  • two + 2 - the first 2 letters plus the last 2 letters
  • three + 1 - the first 3 letters plus the last letter
• phonic technique
  • Uses sounds associated with the word
  • EX: z=as, k=can