SPEED STUDY XI
ELEVENTH LESSON
Phrase-Writing—Elementary.—Phrase-writing has been well described as an art within an art." There is no doubt that a great saving of time and effort is effected by judicious phrase-writing. The purpose of joining words is to eliminate the loss of time occasioned by lifting the pen and in passing from one shorthand form to another. The theory is that each pen-lift is equal to a stroke, and therefore that every word joined saves time equivalent to writing a stroke.
Limitations of Phrase-Writing.—This theory, however, is true only where there is no hesitancy in joining the words. Furthermore, it is not true of very long phrases, because such phrases destroy the rhythm of shorthand writing. There is no question about this: that a great saving of time is effected by joining the commonly occurring expressions.
The Kind of Phrases to Practice.—Phrases are of three kinds: (1) those which have been memorized and can be written fluently without conscious attention; (2) those which are devised from well-understood principles, such as "to-be," "as-well-as," "have-been," "you-do-not," etc.; (3) those which are improvised on the spur of the moment.
As phrase writing is an art, it is only by much experience that the student will gain a knowledge of just what words can be joined with safety and advantage, but this knowledge will be more quickly acquired through a close study of the examples given in the textbook than in any other way. At first it will
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