The importance of English to students of Shorthand and Typewriting cannot be over-emphasized. Quite frequently errors made in transcriptions are the result not of deficiencies in Shorthand knowledge, but of inability to spell and punctuate correctly, and perhaps because of a limited vocabulary. The matter that is dictated to you in school is generally read from printed copy, but in an office the person dictating to you is usually composing the matter in his head as he hoes along. Extempore dictation of letters is much more difficult than most Shorthand-typists realize, and when the dictator is concentrating on the matter he is dictating, he cannot pay as much attention to the manner in which he is expressing himself as he would if he were writing it down. Now if you type back a letter, take it to your employer for signature, and he then points out a grammatical error, it will be more than useless for you to tell him that you typed exactly what he had dictated. You will have to re-type the letter, and your employer's opinion of you will fall. It is important to remember, however, that the alteration of the dictated matter must not be taken too far. Some employers would not like to have their letters "improved" by their typists, and in any case, when you reach the status of private secretary, you should ascertain your employer's views with regard to the editing of letters generally. In the meantime, it is a safe rule that all obvious faults, such as incorrect tense sequences, split infinitives, and ambiguity, should be put right by the typist. Later on in your business life, if you are successful, you will be required to compose your own letters, and if you are to express yourself with ease and clarity, the acquisition of a large working vocabulary is as necessary as a sound knowledge of English grammar. By "working" vocabulary is meant the words that you can actually use correctly in speech and writing.