We first discussed the New General Service List (NGSL) on our Teeline Resources Page.

The NGSL is a (big) list of high-frequency words published by Browne, Culligan and Phillips in 2013. For more information please refer to the New General Service List Project.

The 2,800 words on the list represent less than 0.4% of the total English language yet cover 92% of the words students will likely meet in their daily lives.

As we pointed out, shorthand students may wish to take note that while technically any word may show up on an exam, or in your everyday writing life, the reality is, high-frequency words are called that for a reason. They are more likely (statistically) to show up, so it makes sense to know them well before spending time on "random" words.

To this end, from time to time, we are going to publish a certain amount of them in Word Cloud format.

The word cloud below includes about 129 words from the Top 200 words on the NGSL.

A quick way to incorporate something like this into your study would be to devote five minutes per day looking at the word cloud and mentally writing out the outlines for as many words as you can in that timeframe.

Alternatively, grab a steno pad and physically write out the outlines for whatever grabs your eye. You will probably find you know most of the words on this list. Wonderful! If you don't, you can spend some time working out the Teeline. If you get stuck or need help with one, please use our Contact Form on the home page and we'll be happy to assist.