Golden State College of Court Reporting & Captioning
MACHINE SHORTHAND SPEEDBUILDING
SYLLABUS
COURSE MS 120
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
** 225 Hours
Speedbuilding MS 120 is a sequential course in the court reporting program. It is a transitional
course between MS 100 and MS 140. Emphasis is placed on the mastery of increasingly difficult 2-voice
testimony, both in courtroom and deposition format.
Four-voice dictation, along with the identification for multiple speakers, is introduced.
Increasingly difficult jury charge and literary material is introduced. Readback of numbers,
names, retention drills, and reinforcement of briefs and phrases is provided.
Legal opinion, colloquy, opening statements and closing arguments are introduced. The use of
the hyphen for compound nouns and verbs is also introduced, with emphasis on readback of sentences
containing these compound structures.
Students participate in weekly assignments in school or online through RealTime Coach to
reinforce vocabulary, machine, and research skills.
Emphasis is placed on the mastery of increasingly difficult 2-voice testimony, literary and jury
charge.
Student passes MS 120 writing 120 words per minute at a minimum of 95% accuracy.
Co-requisite: MS 100, MS 140
**Machine Shorthand Hours total 3010 Hours.
**Because each person acquires this unique skill at a different pace, it is impossible
to predict the length of time each person will find necessary to meet the
requirements for course completion.
**These hours may be reduced if a student is able to pass the qualifier exam defined
in CCR Section 2412 before having completed these 3010 hours.
Students should realize from the beginning that success will only come with
discipline and practice. They should expect to take as much time as needed –
at home and in the lab – to master the lessons covered in class.
INSTRUCTORS:
Names:
Office Hours:
E-Mail Address:
Chris Spievak
Angel Anguiano
M-F: 9:30AM - 2:30PM
[email protected]
Brian O'Connor
TEXTBOOK and OTHER MATERIALS:
Recommended Study Materials:
 Realtime Professional Dictionary – StenEd
 Theory Reinforcement Takes – StenEd
 The Ultimate Finger Drill Book – StenEd
 Briefs & Phrases - StenEd
 RealTime Coach
Golden State College - MS 120 SYLLABUS
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COURSE OUTLINE:
Machine shorthand classes shall include:
1. Instruction in writing the spoken word with punctuation by means of a realtime translation theory
as approved by NCRA to provide instantaneous translation.
2. Speed and accuracy development.
3. Dictation, but shall not be limited to two-voice and multi-voice testimony (including medical and
technical material), literary, jury charge, and current events. Two-voice dictation will be
delivered by two people; multi-voice will be delivered by multiple people.
4. Testing on unfamiliar material. The same test shall not be dictated more than once every six (6)
months to the same student.
5. Read back and analysis of shorthand notes.
6. 3x/week transcription by all students from their shorthand notes. This may include homework
notes, projects, and so forth.
7. Course exit speed tests transcribed, monitored, and timed with an institutionally approved
supervisor. All copies (hard disk, RAM, etc.) of the tests shall be deleted immediately in order to
maintain test integrity.
8. A minimum grading criteria using the RPR guide, “What Is an Error?” (See attached.)
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Instruction shall include vocabulary development.
Each week the student shall be required to transcribe dictation of varying difficulty and subject
matter of a length equal to five minutes at the student’s current speed.
Individual dictation classes, other than theory classes, shall include only students whose tested
writing speeds are within the same 20-30 words per minute range on similar dictation material.
Students will be provided the opportunity to read back from their stenographic notes a minimum
of one time each day to his or her instructor.
OBJECTIVES:
The successful student should be able to:
1. Write a realtime translation theory system.
2. Read aloud from shorthand notes, quickly locating portions to be read, maintaining composure while
reading, reading distinctly and with authority.
3. Transcribe a minimum of three 5-minute tests (one each of Literary, Jury Charge, and 2-voice testimony)
with a minimum of 95% accuracy dictated at a minimum of 120 wpm.
EVALUATION:
Mastery of machine shorthand is evaluated by the accurate transcription of dictation given at increasing
speeds. 95% accuracy is the standard on all tests.
All tests used to qualify students to sit for the CSR exam shall be transcribed on campus under
supervision
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120
Transcribe three 5-minute tests @ 120 wpm.
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ATTENDANCE/CLASS PARTICIPATION and ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS:
Students are expected to be in the classroom for at least 70 percent of the time of any course or term.
Students who have been absent from all of their scheduled classes for 14 consecutive calendar days, not
including scheduled school holidays, may be dropped from the program. (See “Scholastic Regulations”
in the college catalog.)
Absences due to illness, injury or quarantine should be reported to instructor.
The student’s ability to read aloud from their stenotype notes and active participation in other oral
classroom activities are an integral part of classroom participation. It is, therefore, extremely important
that the student attend class on a regular basis, arriving on time and remaining until dismissed.
It is the student’s responsibility to attend class for purposes of receiving, correcting and turning in all
assignments. Every absence prolongs the length of time required in school. If there are continuing issues
of absence, please consult with the faculty.
HOMEWORK:
Golden State College will provide students with the opportunity to record class dictation and practice with
a school-approved speedbuilding tape, or other assigned material, a minimum of one hour per day after
school hours as a homework assignment and provide the notes from this tape or lesson, keyed correctly,
to their instructor the following day for review.
TESTS:
Test opportunities will be announced and/or posted in class.
All tests, including those used to qualify students to sit for the CSR exam, shall be transcribed on campus
under supervision.
(Typing Credit) One 5-minute timed writing 3x per week shall be typed and corrected from tape.
Minimum: Three (3) transcriptions per week. One must be at goal speed.
Five-minute tests must be typed and completed within 1 Hour and 15 Minutes.
Ten-minute tests must be typed and completed within 2 Hours and 30 Minutes.
Qualifiers must be typed and completed within 3 Hours.
Test Rules: All speed test notes are to be turned in to the instructor. All test notes must bear an
instructor’s signature to be considered valid for a pass. Please refer to “Academic Honesty/Dishonesty
Policy” listed under Student Conduct in College Catalog.
CLASS TIME:
Golden State College is officially open Monday through Friday, 8:30am – 3:30pm, during which times
labs are open for independent work/study.
Last reviewed – January 21, 2015
Last Modified – January 13, 2015
Golden State College - MS 120 SYLLABUS
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