How To: Theory Review
Updated 07/08/26
Long story short, the transition from theory to speed building was rough.
I started to see some gaps in my theory competency and knew that was going to hold me back in speed. So I set out to figure out how to push through.
So much of the theory review advice I read and was given said "review one chapter a day" or "drill a chapter until you can write it perfectly." Unfortunately, with my brain and the theory I learned, this just wasn't clicking. After several frustrating months, I learned a review strategy that immediately made sense:
one chapter at a time
start in the back of the book
use real sentences
do it with a friend
I already had a practice group so dragged them in. I picked a chapter from the middle of the book, put together some practice sentences, plugged them in to a text-to-speech (TTS) generator at my target speed, and off we went. It was terrible. It was too much too fast. We adjusted and kept going. Every day was better than the day before.
Over the next several weeks and months, I fine-tuned this theory review.
There are some things that have really worked for me and what you'll find in the Weekly Guided Practice lessons.
Short sentences with three target words
It is not a secret that I’ve used ChatGPT to generate the majority of this practice material. At the time, that was the best tool available to me with the time I had. It was quick! I supplied it with a list of words and instructions to create sentences with three words from the list in each. If the sentences were too rambling, I ask ChatGPT to shorten them. I combed each result to make sure it had followed my instructions, and many times it did not. I tried to catch and correct as much of that as possible. I’m imperfect.
Sentences that repeat three times
To me, this is what makes it work. Repetition is good for your brain, and allows you to make corrections right away instead of the "in one ear, out the other" that happens in speed takes. It is still important to remember that you will not get every word every time. My goal is always to learn a few new briefs or phrases each day. Again, ChatGPT made formatting the sentences easy.
A TTS generator at accuracy speed
Theory review is about accuracy, not speed. There are several good text-to-speech generators out there, but I found Natural Readers pretty user-friendly and have stuck with it. (My dream is to redo all of this someday without the help of ChatGPT and Davis!) Most of the videos are recorded with Davis, because he can read the fingerspelling and numbers clearly, at about 120wpm. You can use a browser extension to adjust the speed if needed. With the repetitions, you can write three times OR you can fumble once, write once, and read back once. Make it work for you at whatever speed you're at. Davis still makes plenty of pronunciation mistakes, and sometimes you’ll see funny punctuation or even spellings because that helps him read it. Try not to get too hung up on those mistakes; write through it.
A balance of name/number drills, theory, vocab/briefs, and write-it-out words
After we got the hang of straight theory review, I started adding in other vocabulary topics, finger spelling, number drills, RHPEs, etc. Each lesson plan includes drills, theory sentences, vocab sentences, and one other writing concept.
Repeat the same lesson every day for a week(ish)
I started reviewing theory daily with a small group of students. Consistency is key. We’d comment that Tuesdays were better than Mondays, and Fridays were better than Tuesdays. You start to hear the things you just practiced in your speed building practice! Reviewing the same content daily allows stuff to really stick. It does get kind of boring by Friday, so you can try switching the order of the exercises to keep it fresh.
Making it work for you
I hope the lessons I've put together are just as helpful to you as they are to me. I prefer to practice with the videos; I like to see how much is left! I’m also less likely to get distracted. I hit play and just keep writing. If hard copy may be more your style, you’ll be able to access a document with all the drills formatted for easier reading. Don’t forget to take quick breaks to roll your shoulders, flex your wrists, stare out the window, and take a deep breath and a sip of water.
If you want to use this material to host a practice group with a small group of students, I fully support that! Pick a time that works for you, share a Zoom (free for 40min) or Google Meet (free for 60min) link, and use the chat to share briefs and ask questions. Practice groups provide community, accountability, and motivation.
I’m (still) a student and doing the best I can. There are for sure going to be typos in the sentences. There may be a sneaky sentence or two without the expected target concept. I try to remove really obscure words so we can focus on the target concept, so just drop or write it out depending on your level. This theory review is “theory neutral;” as long as you can write steno, you can write these sentences. The drills are organized around the theory that I learned, and that means things sometimes feel very random or hyper-specific. Just go with it!
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!
HAEP PRAG!