How to Write Faster
Make outlines., Use symbols., Learn a shorthand writing system., Learn boustrophedon., Practice.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Make outlines.
As long as you know how best you remember things, use keywords instead of trying to write word for word what your professor or interviewee is saying.
Make sure that you're using an outline that makes sense to you.
If you can't understand it later, then it won't be very useful., Make up some symbols for important concepts related to what you're doing.
You already probably do this to an extent – using "&" for "and," "+" for "plus," &c., &c.
Well, don't just stop there! No matter what you're doing, you will end up using some words and nouns much more often than others.
Symbols should be memorable, if you plan on writing notes for yourself.
Draw from your mental gallery of pictures to come up with symbols.
For example, use the symbol "θ" from the Greek alphabet to represent "cell" or "cellular" in your notes.
It's a circle, like a cell, but it has a horizontal line, which reminds one of cell division.
Symbols are like alphabets.
They should be fast to write.
Generally, if the making of the symbol takes more than half of the time it would take to write the word, you need to simplify it.
A great way to get symbols from the alphabets of other languages.
Look at them, and store them in your mental gallery for later on.
Who knows? Maybe they'll be useful someday! Symbols should be easy to read, if you are taking notes that will be used by others.
An arrow to demonstrate the verb "is" is easy to understand.
A circle with a diagonal slash like "/" going through it will usually mean "no," "not," or "impossible."
This is by far the best way to write faster.
Using shorthand, your written speed may be able to, if you work hard at it, reach 200 wpm – the speed of a court stenographer! Gregg shorthand is the fastest and most popular system in use in the United States; if you do not have enough time to learn a non-symbolic shorthand, however, a symbolic shorthand like Speedwriting can still increase your speed to 60-100 wpm.
Gregg shorthand is somewhat phonetic based and somewhat spelling based.
It uses differently squiggly lines to designate words.
It is often considered better than Pitman for taking dictation.Pitman shorthand is a line based shorthand technique that uses the sounds of speech rather than the spelling.
For instance the sound "f" is going to be written the same whether it's in "elephant," "find," or "tough." Pitman relies on a series of slashes, curves, and dots to stand in for the sounds of the language.Speedwriting is also a phonetic system which condenses words so that you don't write out the silent letters.
It uses certain symbols and letters to stand in for sounds (a "." for "the" or a "+" for "and").
Speedwriting is considered to be more than twice as fast than longhand writing.
Keyscript shorthand is also phonetic.
It uses only the lowercase letters of the alphabet, and allows you to write 2½ times as fast as longhand. , Boustrophedonis when you write from left to right for line 1, right to left for line 2, and you repeat that for each line.
If you can learn to effectively read and write in boustrophedon, you can eliminate the time it takes for your hand to reach the next line--something that really adds up over time. , Practice makes perfect! Write about anything that you think of, all the time.
Write in prose and poetry, long- and short-hand, in "note-taking" and "official document" form. (Practice is one of the few ways that you can increase longhand speed, too, as well as shorthand speed.) Shorthand is only useful if you have it memorized.
Otherwise you're taking more time to recall the shorthand than you would be simply writing in longhand. -
Step 2: Use symbols.
-
Step 3: Learn a shorthand writing system.
-
Step 4: Learn boustrophedon.
-
Step 5: Practice.
Detailed Guide
As long as you know how best you remember things, use keywords instead of trying to write word for word what your professor or interviewee is saying.
Make sure that you're using an outline that makes sense to you.
If you can't understand it later, then it won't be very useful., Make up some symbols for important concepts related to what you're doing.
You already probably do this to an extent – using "&" for "and," "+" for "plus," &c., &c.
Well, don't just stop there! No matter what you're doing, you will end up using some words and nouns much more often than others.
Symbols should be memorable, if you plan on writing notes for yourself.
Draw from your mental gallery of pictures to come up with symbols.
For example, use the symbol "θ" from the Greek alphabet to represent "cell" or "cellular" in your notes.
It's a circle, like a cell, but it has a horizontal line, which reminds one of cell division.
Symbols are like alphabets.
They should be fast to write.
Generally, if the making of the symbol takes more than half of the time it would take to write the word, you need to simplify it.
A great way to get symbols from the alphabets of other languages.
Look at them, and store them in your mental gallery for later on.
Who knows? Maybe they'll be useful someday! Symbols should be easy to read, if you are taking notes that will be used by others.
An arrow to demonstrate the verb "is" is easy to understand.
A circle with a diagonal slash like "/" going through it will usually mean "no," "not," or "impossible."
This is by far the best way to write faster.
Using shorthand, your written speed may be able to, if you work hard at it, reach 200 wpm – the speed of a court stenographer! Gregg shorthand is the fastest and most popular system in use in the United States; if you do not have enough time to learn a non-symbolic shorthand, however, a symbolic shorthand like Speedwriting can still increase your speed to 60-100 wpm.
Gregg shorthand is somewhat phonetic based and somewhat spelling based.
It uses differently squiggly lines to designate words.
It is often considered better than Pitman for taking dictation.Pitman shorthand is a line based shorthand technique that uses the sounds of speech rather than the spelling.
For instance the sound "f" is going to be written the same whether it's in "elephant," "find," or "tough." Pitman relies on a series of slashes, curves, and dots to stand in for the sounds of the language.Speedwriting is also a phonetic system which condenses words so that you don't write out the silent letters.
It uses certain symbols and letters to stand in for sounds (a "." for "the" or a "+" for "and").
Speedwriting is considered to be more than twice as fast than longhand writing.
Keyscript shorthand is also phonetic.
It uses only the lowercase letters of the alphabet, and allows you to write 2½ times as fast as longhand. , Boustrophedonis when you write from left to right for line 1, right to left for line 2, and you repeat that for each line.
If you can learn to effectively read and write in boustrophedon, you can eliminate the time it takes for your hand to reach the next line--something that really adds up over time. , Practice makes perfect! Write about anything that you think of, all the time.
Write in prose and poetry, long- and short-hand, in "note-taking" and "official document" form. (Practice is one of the few ways that you can increase longhand speed, too, as well as shorthand speed.) Shorthand is only useful if you have it memorized.
Otherwise you're taking more time to recall the shorthand than you would be simply writing in longhand.
About the Author
Larry Hayes
A passionate writer with expertise in hobbies topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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