Hints for Better Handwriting

(such as the joins out of g/j/y or the joins into h/k/l)

and

Joins which require moving upwards from the writing-line into a curved shape

(such as the joins in combinations like “ma” or “sc” or “ng”)

The curves required by these troublesome joins are difficult to do well. For most people, the only way to do these joins well is to slow them down so far that they are actually slower than just picking up the pen. So simplify your script — and speed your handwriting — by letting your pen leave the paper wherever this is convenient in the move from the end of one letter to the beginning of the next.

3. When a letter will need a dot (i or j) or a cross-bar (t or x), cross or dot the letter as soon as you have finished writing it: write the letter, pick up your pen, add the dot or the cross-bar, and keep on writing. (Note that the cross-bar of t can usually become the join to the next letter.) Crossing and dotting “on the go” in this way makes sure that the dot or cross-bar is placed accurately, and it avoids the lengthy back-and-forth detour that you would otherwise need to make at the end of every word to locate every t/i/j/x and insert the dots and cross-bars in the proper places before continuing to write.

To see for yourself how this technique speeds and clarifies handwriting,

write each of the following words 5 times,

following the suggestion above.

Then write the word  5 times in your old way

(waiting till the end of the word to dot and cross) —

then write the same word 5 times in the new way

(dotting and crossing as you go, picking up the pen as necessary to do so).

Remember that the cross-bar of t can usually become the join to the next letter.

PRACTICE WORDS:

imitation

mixture

titanium

minimize

jujube

injection

taxation

tomatoes

excitement

juxtaposition

4. When a letter has two different shapes in printed and cursive writing (for example, the capitals and the lower-case letters b/f/k/r/s/z), use a print-style formation of that letter even if you are connecting into and/or out of that letter. This will make the letter more clearly legible and less accident-prone

5. Eliminate loops wherever possible. (Note that you have already eliminated a lot of loops in Hint #2, above.) Simply retrace your initial stroke on ascenders, or lift the pen without looping on descenders. (Most adults who write fast but legibly normally eliminate some or many loops and joiners in their handwriting.)

6. Join letters with straight lines, not curves. For examply, join o to n with a straight, short horizontal line instead of a wavy curl.

7. Learn to self-monitor your handwriting as you write. Every time you finish an alphabet-letter and begin the movement into the next letter, ask yourself: “Is the alphabet-letter that I have just written unmistakably clear — so that people could not possibly misread it even if they tried to?” If you can honestly answer “Yes,” require yourself to write the next alphabet-letter slightly faster — but if you must honestly answer “No,” require yourself to write the next alphabet-letter slightly slower. Within just a few weeks, your speed and your legibility will reach new heights.

Practicing these tips for 15 – 20 minutes a day (a few minutes at a time, several times a day) will help you build these new habits in your daily writing.

OTHER RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR HANDWRITING DEVELOPMENT

(please tell the resource-provider that you were referred by Kate Gladstone)

BETTER LETTERS (multimedia iPhone/iPad app) – http://www.deeppocketseries.com/Better_Letters.php

HANDWRITING REPAIR/HANDWRITING THAT WORKS – http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com

POOR PHYSICIAN PENMANSHIP (medical journal article with tips for doctors) – JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (PULSE section), October 1, 1997, pp. 1116-7

TWELVE RULES FOR GOOD HANDWRITING – http://quilljar.users.btopenworld.com/rules.html

G. BRIEM HANDWRITING REPAIR free multimedia kit – http://www.tinyURL.com/BriemWritingInfo

WRITE NOW  (self-instruction manual) – http://allport.com/Catalog_Product.aspx?catid=128&prodid=1769

BFH HANDWRITING (self-instruction manual/CD-ROM) – http://www.BFHhandwriting.com