Anyone who examines the Shorthand textbooks of the last three centuries will be impressed with the fact that they have reflected the uses to which shorthand was put at the time the books were written.
     The pedagogy of shorthand has changed as radically as the content of the textbooks. Up to the time Gregg Shorthand was introduced, the conventional pedagogy was to teach the theory of a system as a whole before attempting to apply the theory in the actual writing of connected matter. While the system would undoubtedly have made its way into public favor by its own inherent strength, we believe that its success and progress throughout the world have been hastened enormously by the teachability of its textbooks
     In keeping with the progress in business and in education, the Gregg Manual was revised in 1893, 1901, and 1916, this latter edition being the one used at present. Each revision marked a step forward in simplifying and popularizing the study of shorthand. Each revision has placed increasing emphasis upon the desirability of teaching shorthand as a skill subject from the beginning and throughout the entire course. This method enables the teacher to direct the maximum of effort toward the training of the student in actual facility in writing and the minimum of effort to expositions of rules and principles.
     When it became known that a revision of the Manual was in preparation, hundreds of protests were received from teachers Many of them declared emphatically that the 1916 edition was entirely adequate. A great many said that they “love it” (this expression occurs again and again in their letters) and that they “know it by heart.” The sentiments expressed are thoroughly appreciated, and all these good friends are assured that it will still be possible to obtain the 1916 edition as long as there is any demand for it.
     In this new edition no changes have been made in the basic principles of the system. Long experience in the classroom, in the office, in general and court reporting, and the results of speed contests of the National Shorthand Reporters’ Association have proved conclusively that changes in the basic principles of Gregg Shorthand are neither necessary nor desirable.
     Much has been learned in the last few years concerning the basic content of the vocabulary in common use. The scientific data now available have made it possible to arrange the principles and practice content of the Manual so chat the efforts of teacher and student may be more economically and profitably directed, and the development of a writing vocabulary rendered more rapid.
     One of the first steps in planning the Anniversary Edition, therefore, was an exhaustive analysis of the words contained in the Horn* and the Harvard† studies of the comparative frequency of words. As one example of what this analysis showed, it was found that the learning of the twenty most common words- in our language was spread through seven lessons in the 1916 Manual. In the Anniversary Edition these twenty words are presented in the first chapter. Moreover, the matter presented in this chapter gives the student a writing power that will enable him to write 42 per cent of the running words in non-technical English, as well as many hundreds of other words.
     In this edition three devices have been used to hasten the building of a useful vocabulary and to assist the teacher in using the correct method of developing a skill subject:
     1. The short words of high frequency are introduced in the first chapter in the order of their frequency, even though this means that in a few instances they are given in advance of the principles that govern their writing.
     2. Some of the principles have been developed earlier than they were in the old text. Examples of this are: the letter s has been introduced in the second chapter and included with the other downward characters; some of the rules for expressing r have been introduced in the third chapter; the frequently recurring prefixes and suffixes have been introduced in the order of frequency
     3. Analogy, one of the most helpful of teaching devices, has been employed to a greater extent than it was in the 1916 Manual. Examples: the useful ted-ded, men-mem blends are presented in Chapter I, after the student has learned t, d, n, rn, the letters of which the blends are composed; the ses blend is taught along with the s in Chapter II.
     Other salient features of the Anniversary Edition may be described as follows:
     1. In order that the student may be impressed at the outset with the importance of phrase writing and have a longer period in which to acquire the habit of joining words, many of the phrasing principles have been moved forward to Chapters I and II.
     2. The rules have been simplified and stated more clearly,, and minor changes have been made in a few outlines’ for the purpose of facilitating rapid and accurate transcription.
     3. The principles are presented in twelve chapters, instead of the twenty lessons in the 1916 Manual. Each of these chapters has been subdivided into three short teaching units, with a page of graded dictation material written in shorthand at the end of each unit. This short-unit plan encourages immediate practical application of the theory and simplifies the assignment of work by the teacher.
     4. The wordsigns (now known as Brief Forms) are distributed equally among the first six chapters, and are introduced in the order of their frequency.
     5. The quantity of reading and dictation material has been more than doubled. The scientific distribution of the principles and the introduction of the common words early have so greatly increased writing power that business letters can be introduced as early as the second chapter.
     6. The pedagogical value of the Manual is greatly enhanced by the use of larger type and a bolder style of shorthand than was employed in the 1916 edition.
It was the intention of the author to have the Anniversary Edition of the system published last year the fortieth anniversary of the publication of the system but, unfortunately, many things contributed to delay its appearance.
     In sending forth this book he desires to express his warm appreciation of the many suggestions received from writers, from reporters, and from teachers who are using the system in all parts of the world. In particular, he wishes to record his deep sense of gratitude to Mr. Rupert P. SoRelle and to the executive, managerial, and editorial staffs of The Gregg Publishing Company for the many valuable services they have rendered in the preparation of this edition.

JOHN ROBERT GREGG.

*"Basic Writing Vocabulary," Ernest Horn, Ph.D., University of Iowa Monograph in Education.
†"Harvard Studies in Education," Volume IV.

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