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
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
June 23 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include an unauthorized war on Iran, the new White House flag, and Tulsi Gabbard's diminishing influence
-
Jack Draper: can Britain's Wimbledon hopeful unseat Carlos Alcaraz?
In the Spotlight 'Volcano of emotion' smashes his racket during defeat in Queen's semi-final but world No.4 shows 'fighting spirit'
-
Crossword: June 23, 2025
The Week's daily crossword