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Steno Question No. 3

Your absolute best. No more; no less. Barb DeWitt

The Situation: Your writing is fairly clear, your speed is acceptable, and you do not carry many words. The problem is that you are writing the wrong outlines on easy words, such as, the/a, these/those, this/that/the, and from/for.

The Question: Why are you making errors on basic patterns?

The Solution: The answer is contained in the question. You are making these errors because they are basic. You are focused on the harder strokes. The basic strokes are not receiving any attention because you conquered them long ago.

Drilling on lists of these words will not work. You already know how to write them. The problem is that you are practically ignoring these words.

Okay, how does one correct this? Good question. We have a great answer and, surprise, another epiphany.

Drill this way. Don't modify any part of it.

1) Your major objective is to write every small word with absolute accuracy. From now on, you will not write a wrong outline for these small words. Your drill is successful only if you get 100% of these easy strokes correct. Drop anything else that you have to, but make sure you always get every small word correct.

2) You must read back your work. Your problem is inaccuracy. The solution includes checking to make sure that you are getting the first step correct. Read it all. You can stop when you graduate.

That's all there is to it. What it breaks down to is you are making it your goal to solidify the theory strokes that you have been ignoring. As a bonus, many people report increased smoothness to their writing. This is probably because they are not carrying as many words now that their mind is more fully focused on the dictation.

Hey, we promised you another epiphany. Here it is. The "special" instructions that we just gave you apply to everyone who is a student. Always get the basics right. Always check your work.

You should always perform well on strokes that you have practiced since theory. You should always perform well on easy strokes. You should always perform well on all small words.

Always.