How to Improve Your Handwriting

By eHow Education Editor

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For some people, good penmanship comes naturally. For others, it's a struggle just to make it legible. If you fall into the latter category, there are ways you can go about improving your handwriting. Follow these steps to enhance your handwriting.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

Pencils
Lined Notebook Papers
Writing Pens

Step1

Find an example of handwriting you like and might want to imitate. This will give you a goal.

Step2

Buy some lined paper in a rule you're comfortable with, whether that's wide-, college- or narrow-ruled.

Step3

Choose a pen or pencil you like using. Keep in mind that this writing instrument doesn't have to be a Mont Blanc to be the right one for you.

Step4

Realize that practicing and perfecting will be an ongoing process. To truly improve your handwriting, you must work on it enough that the improvements become natural behavior.

Step5

Develop a test sentence for yourself and write it at the top of your first practice page. At the beginning of each new week, write this sentence at the top of a new page to help you gauge your progress.

Step6

Begin with individual letters and practice writing at least one letter per day, incorporating the improvements that will help you reach your goal. Concentrate on overall letter formation, the size of ascenders and descenders, the slant of each letter, and beginning and ending strokes.

Step7

Move on to complete words once you've made it all the way through the alphabet. Pay attention to character spacing, the way your letters flow from one into the next, and the spacing you place between words.

Step8

Practice, practice, practice until your handwriting looks the way you want it to.

Tips & Warnings

Utilize downtime during boring meetings, seminars, lectures, doctor's office visits and so on to practice your handwriting. This will be far more useful in the long run than your usual doodles.
Don't set unrealistic goals for yourself.

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Comments

Saimon said

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on 7/14/2008 I have downloaded this file free without registration at http://megaupload.name/

MexicanWritter said

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on 5/24/2007 My best tip: Use the whole arm. Do not "draw" the prints. And pleae... hold the pen lightly; don’t squeeze it. Pretend the barrel is soft rubber and squeezing will get you a big, fat blot. (If you were using a quill, you’d hold it so lightly that the actual act of drawing the quill along the paper would create the proper contact.)

groklord said

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on 11/5/2006 Try looking for an adress book that does not have designated places for everything, that simply have alphabetical order and blank row pages. Write the desired end product on top of each letter-section, and use it as sudjested! I found it really helpful! (if you can't find an adress book, take a small (non-spiral) notebook and cut parts of the right side, so that you'll have the entire abc on the side showing!)

groklord said

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Anonymous said

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on 8/30/2006 I found that my penmanship has improved by leaps and bounds using this highly effective, but obscure training technique. If you happen to be one of the many people who have illegible handwriting, try writing with your feet. John Hancock used to write with his feet and look how beautiful he writes his name. It's a lot harder than it sounds. Give it a try and after a few months of writing like this, your regular penmanship will look like a Rembrandt.

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