Carrying Drill No. 2

for Class or a Dictation Tape

By Stephen Shastay

Purpose: To reduce the number of words that you normally carry.

Drop all words each time the speaker reaches the end of a sentence. Do this until you can write smoothly.

If you are using a dictation tape, choose a slow, easy drill and drill for no more than one minute at a time.

When you have reached a rhythm for Step 1, write one extra word when the speaker reaches the end of a sentence. In other words, if you are three words behind the speaker by the end of the sentence, write one of them, but drop the other two words.
Resist the temptation to carry the extra words. Carrying is the fault that you are trying to correct.
When you have reached a rhythm for Step 2, write two extra words when the speaker reaches the end of a sentence. In other words, if you are three words behind the speaker by the end of the sentence, write two of them, but drop the third word.
Write for a minute using the pattern in Step 4. This forces you to drop words on purpose before you begin carrying needlessly. This is the training. Learn to do it now. You will need this skill on the test.
Write for a minute without dropping on purpose. Carry words if you must, but try to stay close to the speaker. This is not training. This is performance. Step 5 was training.
Step 5 teaches you what to do when you begin to fall behind. Step 6 teaches you not to fall behind. Neither step, by itself, is enough. In combination, they give you the tools to succeed.

Eventually, you want Step 5 and Step 6 to be virtually the same. In other words, you want to stay so close to the speaker that you never have to carry and/or drop. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until you have graduated.