Tip of the week: How to improve your penmanship
Advice on how to perfect an increasingly lost art
Loosen your grip. “Penmanship is something of a lost art,” but if you have the pen in a “death grip,” you’ll never learn. A tight hold makes handwriting “smaller and harder to read.”
Don’t get loopy. People get “unnecessarily loopy and tangled” when writing in cursive. “Aim for clean lines” and avoid “excessive flourishes” that seem fancy but actually are inscrutable.
Perfect your print. If your script is a “complete disaster,” printing works fine, as long as it’s kept clean. Keep ascenders (l, h, b, d) and descenders (g, j, y) short and lift the pen from the paper between letters.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Slow down. The faster you write, the less control you have over the pen. “Slowing down helps keep the shape, slope, size, and space of the lettering consistent—and consistency is the key to good penmanship.”
Source: Allure
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published