If you prefer to listen to the audio-only dictation, you can find it here on Soundcloud.
This Teeline shorthand passage at 80 words per minute will be more challenging than a traditional 80 word a minute passage for two reasons. First of all, it is full of lists of three items. In a normal examination, you would only get one list of three items. However, this one has been purposely loaded with lists of three items to get you to keep going while you are recording these lists. You need to be with the speaker, or very close behind the speaker when the list is dictated because if the dictation has gone on to item two when you have not yet recorded item one then it is going to be challenging to remember the two items, knowing that the speaker will probably be going on to dictate a third item. If you miss words at that point in the dictation, it is virtually impossible at the end to remember the item or items you have missed because there is no context to help you. Therefore in this passage we have included list after list to give you that practice.
Secondly, the words in the passage are quite lengthy, meaning the syllabic count is high, but it's always good to take a more challenging exam before you take your at exam. See how you get on.
Theory
In addition to many new Teeline outlines and word groupings, careful study of this mock should reveal several highly useful theory points.
As an example, consider the following grouping for "victims require." At first, it might appear that upward "R" stroke appears to be a mistake, or an attempt at a cross-out, but it is actually a valuable tool in your shorthand arsenal.
As we discussed in The R Intersection, in the Pitman system of shorthand, the letter "R" is written exactly the same way as in Teeline. Further, it is often used for the word "require" and derivatives (required, requiring) of the word. It works equally well with Teeline and, as demonstrated above, is written through the preceding outline.
You can find another example of this "shortcut" in the mock examination "Secretary Welcomes Attendees At The Annual General Meeting Of Society" where "and requires" is used.
Vowel -NCE Endings
An example in this mock is "violence". With words ending in -ANCE, -ENCE and/or -UNCE, use a disjoined C written close to the preceding outline.
The PL Blend
Let's look at the outline for "grappling." There are two things to remember with a PL blend:
1. When P and L appear together in a word with no intervening vowel between them, the “L” is written “through the writing line” in the P position.
2. If PL is in the middle (or at the end) of a word (Complain, Grappling), the “PL” is written through the preceding letter.
The astute Teeline reader will note this word is also an example of The R Principle (not to be confused with The R Intersection noted above!).
The R Principle is used when BR, CR, or GR come together in a word. It can also be used with AR, OR, UR and PR and was discussed in Beginner's Video Six. In the case of GR, when the letter R immediately follows after a G , it is NOT necessary to write the R. Instead, write the letter which follows (through the G).
If you like this type of analysis, LLTT has a lot more coming very soon. Stay tuned.
