Long Live Pitman's Shorthand! Lessons 

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Lessons
Notepad

Pen/Pencil
Shorthand Dictionary

Posture

Pen Hold

Study & Practice
Shorthand at Work

About Me
 

  • Overview page gives a brief account of how the system is constructed and works.

  • Sitemap page is the quickest way to navigate to the Lessons and Exercises pages.

NEW Links to my Youtube shorthand writing demos www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk/videos.htm of items from the Reading website. Demos for Lessons material will follow in due course.

 

LESSONS

These graded lessons will take you through the entire system. Each lesson has example outlines using only the principles learned so far. There is an Extra Vocabulary section at the end of each lesson, these are not used in the exercises but are for later use once the system is learned, to vary or create new exercises.

As you are working through and practising, please ensure that you only use words that are shown here and avoid creating further outlines for apparently similar words, as those may use other principles that are introduced later on, or may have special outlines that avoid clashes. Spend your time consolidating knowledge of the vocabulary given.

Once you have completed all the lessons, it is a good habit to always look up a new outline in the shorthand dictionary, to check it is correct. This will save the future frustration of unlearning an incorrect one, and is also an opportunity to learn or revise the derivatives as well.

NOTEPAD

Lined paper is necessary because Pitman’s Shorthand outlines are written in different positions relative to the notepad line. The ideal is a top-bound spiral notepad so that the pages can be flipped over rapidly. When taking down from a speaker, the flipped pages are left where they fall and not tucked under. Before starting a new notebook, bend and fan the three edges to separate the pages, and flip over enough pages for the assignment, so there is no sticking at the holes and spirals - essential for an exam or work meeting situation.


A minimum of 8mm between the printed lines. Narrower than that will produce cramped outlines which will be more difficult to write neatly.

Draw a 2cm margin on the left side, for extra notes and corrections. If using shorthand for work, the margin is helpful for subheadings, for quick reference and for the names of different speakers at a meeting.

A notepad used only for outline repetition and facility drills can omit the margin.

A central line on the notepad page is not recommended, as this doubles the interruptions to the flow of writing, incurs travelling back to the top of the page, and prevents good phrasing because of the very short line length of each column. If you have to use A4 paper, then ruling in half would be necessary, to get the column size down to a manageable size, or rule off two-thirds for writing continuous matter, so that the line length remains the same as in purchased pads, and use the other third for outline drills.

  • Whilst writing, with the other hand get hold of the bottom corner of the page, ready to flip it over rapidly.

  • Work through the pad only using one side of the sheets, then turn the pad over and work back through.

  • Keep a rubber band around the used pages, so that the pad always opens at the next blank page. It is alarming to turn the page only to find it has already been written on.

  • Draw a vertical line through pages that have been read/transcribed and are no longer needed.

Transfer marginal notes, such as corrections or items that need further practising, to a more permanent notepad, so that they are available for revision.

 

With a very thick pad arrange it so that only a small wad of the sheets is under the hand.

 

PAPER


Good quality smooth paper will prevent bleed-through of ink, which means you can use both sides, and the pencil will make a clearer black line without having to use too much pressure. Ink bleed-through may also reach the sheet underneath, producing marks and dots which may lead to a misreading of the shorthand.

 

See Print Your Own Notepad PDF on the Downloads General page.

 

It may be helpful to keep separate pads, one for outline repetition and facility drills, and another for dictations, so that you can discard the former once filled, but keep the dictations pad for repeated re-reading of your shorthand. A drill pad once filled could be reused by writing over the outlines again in a red pencil, or a very hard pencil that makes no mark, as long as the outlines being overwritten are correct and well written.

PEN/PENCIL

An ink fountain pen with a flexible nib is the ideal implement for writing Pitman’s Shorthand, but a pencil is recommended for beginners, so that entire concentration is on the shorthand and not on the implement.

Flexible nibbed fountain pen The shorthand on this site, and the other sites, was written with a Noodler's flex pen. These pens are not expensive and are designed to be easily taken apart for cleaning and adjusting the nib position for flex and ink flow - all the parts are either friction fit or screw thread. The Ahab version holds much more ink than the average fountain pen, although it is a little larger in the hand. The pen needs to be as lightweight as possible when writing, so I advise that the cap is not posted on the pen.

 

Be aware that some pens sold as "shorthand pens" may be for Gregg or Teeline which do not need a flexible nib.

HB or F pencil  The pencil must be able to make thick and thin strokes without denting the paper. If you can see indentations on the reverse of the paper, you are pressing too hard, the pencil is too hard or the paper is too low quality and soft. A very soft lead will rapidly become too blunt to form the finer details of the outlines. Have several pencils to hand, ready to swap over, so you always have a good point right through the shorthand session. It is helpful to also have a red pencil, which is clearer for circling errors without obscuring the other outlines.

 

Normal hexagonal pencils are fine for the learner, but a professional taking notes for long periods may find a shorthand pencil preferable, with a circular section, as being more comfortable in the hand.

 

Ball points and gel pens are not recommended for Pitman's Shorthand, as they do not produce the necessary distinction in stroke line width.

Propelling pencils are not suitable for shorthand learning or for writing at speed, as the thin leads are too likely to break and they encourage you to write more slowly as you to try to avoid that happening. There is no time during writing at speed to advance the lead, even with a side click mechanism. A propelling pencil may be useful for leisurely shorthand such as composing a report or diary, although again they will still encourage the habit of slow writing, which will have to be overcome if you are aiming to be a faster writer.

Pencil sharpener Ensure the blade is very sharp, so there is no forcing, which may make an invisible break further up in the lead. Have enough pencils so that you do not need to sharpen during a study period, or for swapping to if a broken lead is encountered. Consider sharpening both ends.

NOT NEEDED Rubber/eraser, either loose or on the end of the pencil. Shorthand is never erased, corrected or scrubbed out, any error is circled and the correct outline written next to it or in the margin. Cut off and discard the eraser, and sharpen the second end of the pencil instead.

SHORTHAND DICTIONARY

A shorthand dictionary is essential. A pocket size dictionary is adequate for the learner. The serious speed aspirant should obtain the largest one they can. If it does not say “New Era” on the cover or title page, it will be an older version of the system, which will be of no use to you.

 

See Downloads General page for my 3000 Common Word Dictionary PDF, plus other more internet shorthand books download links on my other website https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/links.htm#shorthand-books

 

POSTURE

Arrange your study area so you can sit fairly upright with the upper arm vertical, so you are not carrying its weight when writing. Fingers and hand form the outlines, and the lower arm provides the horizontal travel across the notepad. The side of the little finger or palm should touch very lightly on the paper, to keep the hand steady, but not taking the weight of the arm.

 

If the desk is too low, it may be helpful to have a slightly sloping surface, using a board with the far end propped on a book, to help avoid stooping or leaning over the pad, as long as the notepad can remain stable on it, and there is room for the flipped pages to stay out of the way.

PEN HOLD

Hold the pen or pencil between the first two fingers and the thumb. A tight or clenched grip of the pen prevents the fine movements necessary to form the outlines, and you cannot make those small shapes just using the movement of the arm.

HOW TO STUDY AND PRACTISE

Read the section of the Lesson.

Write each outline several times, saying it out loud. Form the outline carefully and neatly, without stopping at any angles. Write each outline in one continuous movement, at the same speed as you would write a letter of the longhand alphabet. The aim is smooth writing with a light touch, not hesitant or heavy-handed drawing.

Read the exercises for that section. Repeat until they can be read at an even rate, with no hesitations. Keep the text below the screen, so there is no temptation to read the key too soon. Reading the shorthand out loud helps to maintain focus and avoids the temptation to skip any words.

Do the facility drills The Facility Drill PDFs have the sentences more spaced out vertically, so that they are easier to copy. Copy them into your notepad - 3 per page, leaving six blank lines after each. Once your pad is prepared, go back and fill in the blank lines, repeating one sentence six times before moving on to the next. The aim is to write neatly at an even speed, with no hesitations. When you are confident, you can leave out some of the vowel signs on obvious words as you copy the sentences - see Lesson 35 for advice on this.

 

If you prepare a facility drill pad in advance, you can use it at odd moments, outside of study times or away from home.

 

An additional method is to print out the drill PDF pages and write over the top of the outlines many times in a hard pencil that makes no mark, to further accustom the hand to writing the outlines.

Take from dictation Take down one 6-sentence exercise paragraph at a time. Read and/or type back your shorthand note. Ring round anything that needs checking or correcting, and transfer to your revision notebook. After practising the corrections, retake the dictation.


Start each study session with a warm-up by reading and writing some of the exercises from the previous session.

SHORTHAND AT WORK

When using a fountain pen, keep some sharpened pencils to hand, in case the ink runs out or the nib dries unexpectedly. A dry nib can be avoided by keeping a wet tissue handy to quickly push it into, to get the ink running again. For longer pauses at a meeting, keeping the cap close by, to put the nib into will help prevent drying. If the ink runs out when you are away from your ink supply, e.g. in a meeting, you can quickly half refill the pen with drinking water. An "empty" pen still has a good amount of ink hidden within, so the writing will still be readable. The pen should be cleaned as soon as possible afterwards, so that the water does not dry inside the pen, with possible limescale deposit problems.

Date and number pages for a particular assignment, and draw vertical line through when transcribed.

Treat your work notepad as you would other confidential papers, if necessary removing confidential pages and filing them with the other paperwork, and shredding when no longer required.

 

Keep a separate notepad for your own private notes on shorthand matters, such as words to look up and practise, so that you can take it home.

 

About Me

 

 

I learned shorthand on a one-year course at commercial college in South East London, UK, in 1972, leaving with certificates for 120 and 130 wpm and went into office employment, taking shorthand notes for various departments. Several years later I attended evening classes and gained certificates for 140 and 150 wpm.

 

Shorthand has different uses nowadays, for personal notes, diary, meetings and hobby, but I am sure that, once you have learned it to a reasonable level of skill, you will wonder how you managed without it, and longhand will seem insufferably slow!

 

Shorthand on your CV will make it stand out amongst scores of others and prove that you are a person with the determination to see a project through to completion.

 

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"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

All original text, images and downloads on the Lessons, Reading and Theory websites, as below, are copyright © Beryl L Pratt and are provided for personal non-commercial study use only, and may not be republished in any form, or reposted online, either in full or part or screenshots or edited. The sites below are the only download locations for the material permitted by the author and if you wish to share the content, please do so by a link to the appropriate page:

www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk

www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-lessons.org.uk

www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk

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