Tips for Using Shorthand

•    Developing shortcuts in your writing is not a new idea, of course. Students have been using this method for as long as they've been taking class notes. The trick is to develop a good system and to do it well. To do that, you have to practice.
•  Develop shortcuts for the most commonly used words and make shortcuts for them.
•   At the beginning of a term look through the textbooks for each course. Find the common terms that you'll see over and over and develop shortcuts for them.
• For example, words that might appear frequently in a literature class are character (ch), allegory (alg), allusion (allu), figure of speech (fos), and so on.
• Practice your course-specific shorthand at the beginning of the term, while your text is still new and you're curious and excited about the information. Find a few interesting passages and practice writing them in shorthand. 
•  If possible, find a study partner (or ask a parent) to read the passages to you. This will give you experience. 
•  Time yourself for each passage you practice. Pretty soon you'll start to build up speed.