and to make these, rather than vocalization, the

factors on which reliance is placed for accurate

reading. When a fair speed in writing has been
reached the student should avail himself of oppor-
tunities of reporting public speakers, vocalizing
but little even when there is ample time, so that the
ability to dispense with vowels may be cultivated.

Practising the Rules. 193. Since perfect famil-

iarity with the rules is essential to rapid writing,
the aspirant for speed is advised to vary his dicta-
tion practice by writing from dictation the exercises
which appear in ordinary type in the pages of the
Manual or first part of the Instructor, Pitman’s
shorthand is a connected system, and the most
elementary rules have been formulated with the
needs of the fast writer in view all the time. There
is an orderly development throughout the whole
system, so that the advanced principles of abbrevia-
tion cannot be properly understood and instantane-
ously apphed imless the elementary rules are imder-
stood and can be applied without hesitation.
Practice in the writing of the exercises which illus-
trate the various rules has upon the shorthand
student much the same effect as practising the
scales has upon the advanced student of music.
The more thoroughly the scales are studied and
practised, the more easily will the musician play
the most intricate passages in any musical composi-
tion. Similarly, the more familiar the speed writer
is with, the exercises given in illustration of the
fundamental rules of the system, by means of
repeated practice in writing exercises from dictation,
the more easily and quickly will he become a fast
and accurate writer of any matter he may be called
upon to take in shorthand. It is well known that

156 NOTE-TAKING, TRANSCRIPTION, ETC. Tf 194-195

the most accomplished pianists are the most persistent

and regular in their practice of difficult scales.
The shorthand writer cannot do better than follow
their example and apply their methods to his own
subject.

Knowledge of Outlines. 194. The reading of

printed shorthand in the advanced style is as import-
ant as writing practice, and should be practised
daily. It gradually gives an extensive knowledge
of outhnes, and the power of reading unvocalized
shorthand, as well as trains the student in the selec-
tion of the best outlines, and also considerably
expedites the arrival of the time when the omission
of practically all vowels may be ventured upon.
When unvocalized shorthand can be read with
facihty, speed and self-reliance will be greatly
increased. The student in reading his notes should
observe whether he has omitted essential vowels or
inserted unnecessary ones. The latter is as important
as the former, because the loss of time occasioned by
the insertion of unnecessary vowels may render the
writer unable to keep pace with the speaker. An
outline which has caused difficulty in writing or
reading should be written in position several times,
the word being repeated aloud simultaneously with
the writing.

Knowledge of Contracted Forms. 195. It is im-

possible to lay too much stress upon the importance
Df an absolutely perfect knowledge of the gramma-
logues and contractions. It will be found that any
ordinary piece of matter consists of about sixty per
cent — and sometimes more — of words which are
included in the lists of grammalogues and contrac-
tions given in this book. Easily written signs have
been given to those words for the very reason that.

^ 196 NOTE-TAKING, TRANSCRIPTION, ETC. 157

they are words in common use, and the student

should know them with such thoroughness that he
can write them at almost any speed at which they
can be dictated. This familiar knowledge can only
be obtained by repeated practice in writing from
dictation the exercises which have been compiled
for the purpose. The student cannot know these
special word -forms too well. Fluency in writing and
neatness in the formation of the forms will increase
in proportion as his knowledge grows, and the
general style of his shorthand notes will be improved
as a result.

Method of Practice. 196. To a great extent the

student must judge for himself as to his method of
practice, but the following is recommended — Begin
by taking down from dictation, well within your
powers, for periods of five minutes, and with the
insertion of none but necessary vowels. After half-
an-hour’s practice, read back to the dictator a
passage chosen by yourself, and also one other, the
choice of which should be left to him. Resume
practice at an increased speed of ten words
per minute, the same method of reading being
pursued at the end of each half-hour. Continue
the same speeds each evening until the higher
becomes moderately easy, both in writing and
reading. Then begin at the higher speed, and at
the end of half-an-hour increase it by ten words a
minute. Read a portion of the notes which were
taken a day or two previously, to test your powers
unaided by memory. Aim at keeping not more
than two or three words behind the reader. After
a time you should occasionally practise writing
ten or a dozen words behind the reader, so as to
acquire the power of doing so in emergencies. Ear

158 NOTE-TAKING, TRANSCRIPTION, ETC. ^ 197-198

and hand should work practically simultaneously

in order to secure the best results. When a wrong
outline has been written, ignore the fact and go
on. You may correct it afterwards at your leisure.
If several outlines are wrongly written, reduce the
speed. The policy of hastening slowly was never
more justified than it is in learning to take a note.

Regular Practice. 197. At first, particular atten-

tion should be given to the outlines, but imperceptibly
the writing will become instinctive by practice,
which should be regular and systematic. Practice
of an hour a day is better than two, or even three,
hours every second day. Practice in writing, and
practice in reading both printed shorthand and your
own notes will quickly give you confidence, which
has its root in conscious ability to do the work
required.

Varied Dictation. 198. The subject-matter taken

down should be as varied as possible so that the
writer’s vocabulary may be extended, but special
regard should be had to the object for which the art
is being acquired. As to the size of the shorthand,
that which is natural to the individual is the best
for him ; but the writing should not be cramped. A
free style is necessary and should be cultivated. It
will add greatly to the legibility of the notes if the
large circles, loops and hooks are exaggerated in
size. The pen should be held with only moderate
pressure, and the whole hand, poised lightly on
the little finger, should move with it. The
common tendency to write sprawling outlines
when writing at a high speed is distinctly bad. The
immediate cause is mental stress, partly induced
by anxiety lest a word should be omitted. It is
obviously preferable to omit a few outlines rather

199-200 NOTE-TAKING, TRANSCRIPTION, ETC. 159

than to risk the legibility of many. If the possibility

of an occasional omission is not a source of fear, and
if there is confidence in the ability to record, at all
events the essential words of the speaker, the best
chance is secured of recording everything. Even if
something important has been left out, confidence
must be maintained, or the rest of the note will
suffer.

Concentration. 199. Concentration upon the work

in hand is necessary even when the art of note-
taking has been acquired, for \mless the general trend
of the discourse is followed, together with the
grammatical construction of the sentences, the
transcript, owing to looseness of speech met with
everywhere, will sometimes be indifferent and possibly
misleading. Special attention should be paid to the
speaker’s tone of voice and any peculiarities of
speech or manner which may render his meaning
clear, though he may not express himself properly.
Any habit persevered in becomes automatic,
and the mechanical writing of the shorthand
characters is fortunately no exception to the rule.
When experience has been gained, attention can
be concentrated almost entirely on the matter ;
but as in writing an important letter in longhand
some portion of the attention, slight, but never-
theless valuable, is devoted to the calligraphy
and punctuation, so should this be the case in
writing shorthand.

Punctuation in Note-taking. 200. Pull stops should

always be written if at all possible because of the
great assistance it gives the note-taker in the tran-
scription of his notes. Dashes should also be inserted
where possible in order to indicate where the speaker
drops the principal sentence and goes off at a tangent,