Key to Gregg Speed Studies (1929)

The key to the 2nd edition of Gregg Speed Studies is divided into two sections. The first is the longhand key to the reading and dictation drills, and the 2nd is the shorthand key to the writing drills.

There are also a few pages tucked away in the back with the outlines of frequent surnames and Christian names (it was okay to say that back then) for women and men.

With best wishes to Dr. Gregg’s new students!


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  1. Hi Phil,

    I just started into the Third Edition. (I went through the first 12 chapters of the 1929 edition last year.) My initial impression is that it's a definite improvement. But then most of the subsequent volumes were an improvement over those preceding—until around, say, 1948, but I won't start in on that. 😉

    The only thing I find a bit puzzling is why there are no writing exercises in the Third Edition. I've actually scanned those exercises from the 2nd ed., with the intention of making a separate PDF (with the key) to use as a stand-alone document. That way I can still easily print them out as "supplemental material" when studying the Third Edition.

    Some of the material from the 1929 edition was recycled into the Functional Method, and (if recollection serves) Direct-Method Materials.

  2. Thanks for this post… I'll save it in case I get a copy of the 2nd edition… (I have the 3rd ed. which is great reading practice!) Btw, speaking of the 3rd edition, there's an outline on p. 403 that I can't read. The first paragraph begins 'a-s-e-t' or 'a-sh-e-t', and then continues, "we have had no outstanding results that we can attribute, etc." What is that first outline? I looked in my phrase book, but no luck. Any help would be appreciated!

  3. Another noteworthy point about the 1929 edition is that there are other texts that refer to it by section as part of their curriculum. I'm thinking in particular of Teaching Gregg Shorthand by the Analytical Method by Minnie DeMotte Frick, but I believe there are others.

  4. Now I see what you mean. These are the isolated sentences at the end. I think it is because they replaced those with additional selections in the form of paragraphs and exchange letters.

  5. When the functional method was introduced, before the publication of the two-volume set, it was taught with a combination of the regular manual, this edition of the speed studies, the graded readings, and the fundamental drills. The introduction of the two-volume set replaced the need of the material in those separate books in a classroom setting. You can see remnants of this in volume 2 of the functional method, where the order of the disjoined prefixes and suffixes follows the order in which it was presented in the letters of this edition of the speed studies.

  6. Okay, that explains a few things. So the Functional Method got its start as a curriculum, so to speak, before it had its own materials.

    Two examples of how material from the 1929 Speed Studies was brought over into the Functional Method can be found in Chapter 11 of each:

    Gregg Speed Studies 1929Functional Method (Vol. 2)p.162, no. 74 ("Gentlemen, Everyone knows that today's automobiles…")p. 422, no. 327.p. 164, no. 76 (The Postal Service)p. 430, no. 338

    When I was going through Speed Studies for the first time I kept wondering—Haven't I read this already? 😉

  7. Another text which uses the 1929 Speed Studies as part of its course is Teaching Principles and Procedures for Gregg Shorthand(1932), by Skene, Walsh & Lomax. This volume presents elaborate lesson plans correlating with the Manual. It also makes use of Progressive Dictation, Dictation for Beginners, Word and Sentence Drills, and Graded Readings, while providing much relevant dictation material in its own right. Mr. Leslie recommended this book in the Functional Method: Teacher's Handbook for additional dictation material.

    So many methods, so many approaches and plans to choose from. For me there's no contest—I'll take them all!

    1. Great! If you haven't done so, you should also get and study the 3d edition of GSS. It is better laid out than the 2d edition and has much more material!

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