Speed Writing, the 21st Century Alternative to Shorthand, A Training Course with Easy Exercises to Learn Faster Writing in Just 6 Hours with the Innovative Bakerwrite System and Internet Links

Heather Baker's "Speed Writing: The 21st Century Alternative to Shorthand" is a very good learning tool for effective note-taking. The book is indeed part of a series of necessary books and could have been compiled into one volume very easily, making it more accessible and affordable for everyone involved. So, all put together, they are just under $100 collectively, and for books that have been in print for years, though they offer a great product, could have been made more affordable, in my opinion. Of course, you can struggle without all the books, and I do recommend this book to those seeking to take better, faster notes.

This method of speed writing is easy to learn, so you will use it! Even if you learn only some of the methods included, you will be able to take faster notes and understand them. This method of speed writing uses short cuts to write words, it does not use symbols like short hand. Because the short cuts are logical, you will be able to understand your notes when you need to refer to them later. Also, you will not need to finish the entire course before you can start using the skills. I incorporate what I have already learned in my note taking, so notes are easier and faster to write, but I still have several lessons to finish in the book. In other words, you will begin benefiting from the course after the first lesson!

This book has been helpful when I use it with "Get Started In Shorthand: Pitman 2000". It take awhile to organize my time and lessons using both books but they compliment each other. Amazon.com, the people process my orders, put together the shipment and move the product do a great job. No complaints here. Thanks

This book has proven extremely helpful in some classes I've been taking. I could only write fast enough in the past to get the basic jist of the lecture, but with this system, I have the option of taking down the entire lecture word for word. The system is easy, intuitive and effective above all.

There are a few versions of shorthand based on the English alphabet. I’ve tried learning Speedwriting, Quickhand and EasyScript. I found them all to be too cumbersome, with too many rules to remember and a considerable number of ambiguities. This version is easier to learn (though a bit clumsy, with the use of superscripts and subscripts), but after using it for a while, I found there are too many situations not addressed, and understanding your writing can be quite difficult.

I enjoyed reading the steps of precise and concise speed writing. This will be particularly helpful to me in future educational exams when answering questions and or writing a short essay on topics as required. Key points being the importance of communicating an objective, proof reading and grammar. The themes of describing, evaluating and debate followed by persuasion are all worth using as structures for writing from note taking. I recommend the read as worthwhile and refreshing, a good confidence builder for the crucial workplace skill of business writing and personal use necessities, especially for formal letter writing. The topics covered will be put to valuable use in my future processing and note taking of information.

I am a 'career' student and since I take classes at 3 different schools, time management is very important. I decided to buy this book and teach myself speed writing. This book is AWESOME! i LOVE how Ms. Baker has it set up by the 'hour' of training. Their online website said there was printable material available with purchase, but after buying the book on amazon I was not able to find it on their site. I emailed the company and they got back to me within 24 hours. Very friendly and told me exactly how to access the online information. I LOVE the printable workbook because it saves me from writing in the actual book and I can make as many copies as I need until I master each hour. I looked through other books this European company offers, and have a list of more books I am purchasing, This is a GREAT book and they offer many more great books too!

It seemed like a decent method until I saw how word prefixes and suffixes are handled. Using subscripts and superscripts is hard to understand and confusing. Subscripts and superscripts are best used for mathematical notation not for shorthand in my opinion. I am using the EasyScript speedwriting system and it seems to work better for me.

Learning any shorthand system takes considerable investment of time it can be frustrating just deciding which system is best for your needs considering that all systems have pros and cons and this is a new system without many reviews so I've decided to write quite a long review to try to help others work out if this system is right for their needs. The speed writing course given in this book is very quick to learn. Even if you don't practice all the exercises you will pick up enough to make your life a bit easier when writing notes. Most people who will use this for work or school will have to practice though. It's a well thought out system which has endless uses for writing anything from a shopping list to longer notes such as dictated letters. For writing out dictation at top speed you will definitely have to practice and even then you will not be as fast as if you write something designed for speed and accuracy (Pitmans for example). This alphabetical system is useful however, if you are interested in learning a system for now and think you will likely progress to Teeline or (better IMO Pitman's) later. This system uses only the alphabet - there are no squiggles or lines to have to memorize. Words are abbreviated to the consonants that you hear most, vowels are removed unless absolutely necessary. Some letters can be written super or subscript to symbolize different common groups of lettering, I would say this is really the most handy thing - to learn a repertoire of short versions for prefixes and suffixes represented by a letter. It's very easy to learn how to do this and quite fun too. Be aware that this system is not going to be any good for writing a secret diary! If you learn this system of short hand, it isn't like writing in a code and the big benefit is how easy it is to read back. So it's quite good for quick diary entries if you want others to be able to understand, if they are fairly intelligent, they will get the gist of it. To sum up - I would say that this system suits someone who takes regular, short notes or needs to make regular notations on documents. I've not used this system for taking prolonged notes like hours of verbatim notes for meetings or lectures. I think that Pitmans would be better for these situations. And another bonus this system has over other systems of short hand is that you can write on blank paper - Teeline etc need lined paper. So, this form of shorthand is an extremely useful system to use in the margin of hard copy texts or over documents or if you need to rewrite the odd paragraph in margins of texts. I found after reading this book that suddenly the penny dropped about what I had learned nearly a decade ago when trying to learn both Teeline and Pitman (at different times and failing to grasp either). I have now learned Teeline and am learning Pitman. I think this book actually is a good 'warm up' for people who might be interested in learning these two other systems but feel a trifle overwhelmed. You will see some similarities like the prefix/suffix and the 'phonetic' way of writing uses the letters which are translated to the corresponding sound outlines, in Teeline in particular.

Easy to follow

Excellent strategies that anyone can implement. No need for knowledge of shorthand. Great for students, persons taking notes and for writers - anyone who needs to get those words down, fast and furious. Writing speed gets better with practice of these techniques.

BakerWrite really cuts the mustard. Also, it is so, so, so easy to learn. For most of us it is all we shall ever need. Lots of us would find it useful: students, researchers, academics anyone in a commercial office anyone who regularly drafts letters or reports professionals such as engineers, lawyers, doctors, nurses anyone who regularly attends meetings or conferences etc Speedwriting is faster than longhand. The second virtue is worth considering too: it lets you reduce your 'writing miles' by more than 50 percent. Imagine Friday afternoon at the end of a really busy week, which has been jam-packed with lectures or meetings. You have made your notes using less than a half of the writing you would have required when using longhand. Imagine your satisfaction! Because your hand does not need to write so quickly (when compared to longhand) you can lay down a neater copy as well. So, speedwriting gives you wings and it lightens your load. Because of its simplicity and serviceability BakerWrite is one of the best systems you will find. Highly recommended. [ Heather Baker has written 2 books - 'Easy 4 me 2 Learn Speed Writing' and 'Speed Writing Skills Training Course'. The first book has cartoons and the second has photographs. The text in both is the same; this report can be applied to both books, therefore ]

Having been reduced to tears trying to learn Pitman 2000 as a trainee secretary I was intrigued to discover that the BakerWrite system for speedwriting is recognised and promoted by the Pitman company. As with many things, it takes certain abilities to grasp and use 'proper' shorthand and it takes hours of tedious repetition to become proficient. While the skill is valuable where verbatim recording is required (and digital voice recorders are not available/permitted) the advent of computers has replaced many secretaries with their shorthand note pads. However, team working is widespread and making notes for minutes can be delagated to any team member. So to discover a note taking system that is both recognised (useful for CPD) and easy to learn is a blessing. As with any skill it takes practice to master, but far easier than more artistic shorthand systems.