Clickable dictation at various speeds is available at the bottom of this page. The transcript of the dictation appears here as well.
We continue with the review book: ""The ten letters in this booklet contain all the brief forms and other contractions in Gregg Shorthand as well as 400 of the most common words employing analogical word beginnings and word endings.
"Because of their high shorthand content value, these letters may be used again and again as repetition practice until students can write them at a rapid rate of speed."
This was published during the height of the Anniversary edition of Gregg. The memory load of this version of Gregg was heavy. There were hundreds of brief forms, tons of special forms, the abbreviating principle was applied to more words than you can shake a stick at, and then there were scores of word beginning and word endings, both joined and disjoined. Some of you may find the vocabularly a bit rich but it's well worth that repetion practice mentioned above. Hang in there!
Remember, the dictation pieces must be a minimum of three minutes to be a valid test. Anything under three minutes is therefore not acceptable for testing purposes. Keep in mind that before Diamond Jubilee Gregg, all shorthand tests were five minutes. If you go back far enough, tests were ten minutes or longer.
Gregg Shorthand Review Letters, The Gregg Publishing Company, 1940, Letter 6
Dear Mr. McKenzie: Here is your first copy of “Electrical Engineer,” the grandfather of all electricians' periodicals. Its constructive contributions to the field of electricity have multiplied its circulation so that now it has the widest geographical distribution of any magazine in its class. We know you are going to enjoy “Electrical Engineer’s” instructive articles with regularity.
The special features this month include diagrams on electric wiring and also on interior and exterior wire insulation. Some features have been included, too, which are not strictly in our field but are closely connected with it. There is an article on self-starters, for instance, and a short write-up on telegraphy. In response to many requests, the editors agreed to the inclusion of an article on antenna construction. Radio interference caused by huge electric lights in amusement centers have been a subject of much controversy during the past few years. We have, therefore, called on Mr. Harry L. Smith, a well-known authority in the radio and electrical world, to give us his views in the matter and to discuss the legality of their use in unrestricted and heavily concentrated districts.
Don’t neglect to read the short biography of the noted inventor Williams, written by his grandson who is well known in public utilities. The editorial on page 3 gives the interesting circumstances connected with the writing of this biography.
You will be interested to know that the majority of our readers have asked to be put on the mailing list to receive “Electrical Engineer’s” counterpart, “The Electrician.” In the event that you have not already been introduced to this publication, we are forwarding you a copy of the current number. We cannot send you more than one issue at this time, as there is a scarsity of back numbers. This magazine is circulated free of charge, and we shall be glad to send it to you each month if you wish. It contains a multitude of ideas that are well worth the sacrifice of an evening’s time. The current issue shows transmitters photographed under a powerful magnifying lens. This magazine will arrive after your copy of “Electrical Engineer” each month, as it goes under the classification of second-class matter. Note that it is not postmarked.
Neither magazine is sold over the counter in your neighborhood, but we can supply single issues at 25 cents each.
We state emphatically in all our publications that we are an enterprise organized to serve the electrical field, so please do not feel that it is any intrusion to write us whenever we can be of help. Yours truly,
For more information on shorthand speed building, click here.
Instructions for Self-Dictation Practice:
Copy and paste the above article into a word-processing document, using double or triple spacing and 12- or 14-pitch type.
As always, be sure to check your shorthand dictionary for correct outlines before "drilling"!
Dictation Practice:
Note that the material was counted and recorded for dictation at 100; all other speeds were copied from the 100 take and electronically adjusted and may therefore sound unusual.
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