Characteristics of good handwriting is a lost art. In the age of texting and typing, sloppy penmanship seems to be on the rise again. But why are people so quick to forget how important characteristics of good handwriting can be? The following blog post will outline some helpful tips for improving your own characteristics of good handwriting skills. If you’re looking for something that will help you improve your characteristics of good handwriting then this is just what you need!
What are the characteristics of good handwriting?
Good writing habits start with practicing consistently, being conscientious about letter quality, and making sure to have an appropriate grip on one’s writing instrument. There are many ways in which you can practice these techniques, including using a pencil or marker with ample space for erasing mistakes or practicing calligraphy by hand instead of using a computer.
Best of all, what you’ll learn from having characteristics of good handwriting can be applied to any other artistic talent you may have as well. So what are the characteristics of good handwriting? In this post, we’ll discuss what makes for characteristics of good handwriting and how to make your characteristics of good handwriting more aesthetically appealing. Keep reading!
When it comes to what makes for good writing, there are eight characteristics that must be met: line quality, word, and letter spacing, size consistency, pen lifts, connecting strokes letters complete, cursive and printed letters, and legibility. We’ve outlined what each characteristic means below.
1 Use Line quality
Line quality entails using a pen or utensil with the right pressure so as to avoid what are known as “railroading” or what one might think of as “spidery lines.” Pressure is used when writing with a pen, so stroking the page at too fast of a rate can create what are essentially broken lines.
When your handwriting goes from what would be considered legible to spidery, this means that you’re no longer putting enough pressure on the paper to produce solid lines. Stroke rate is important not only because it’s what dictates whether or not your writing is legible, but also because it affects line quality. As outlined above, using proper pressure while laying down letters will make for much more aesthetically appealing letterforms over time.
The opposite holds true as well: If you press too hard against the paper, what will result is what’s known as railroading. This means that you’re putting down too much pressure and essentially drawing a line from what would be one letter to the next without lifting your writing instrument from the page. This again results in what would look like broken lines. The best way to avoid either of these two problems is by practicing consistency with regards to pen pressure.
2 Check Word and Letter spacing
Word and Letter spacing include making sure that letters are not touching one another when they don’t belong together, being careful so as not to have words or letters run into objects around them, and avoiding shapes such as ovals where possible. In order to achieve good word and letter spacing , it’s important that each letter has its own space in which to exist.
One should also be careful not to have letters run into objects around them, such as the edge of the paper or another character if it doesn’t belong there. Creating spaces between words is what helps with legibility. Also, making sure that each word has its own shape is just as important if not more so than what’s described above.
3 Size consistency matter
Size consistency means using a writing instrument that is comfortable for you and practicing what are known as “optimal viewing conditions.” You’ll never go wrong by choosing what most people refer to as an “easy writer” when it comes to your penmanship needs! Much like how various people choose different tools depending on what they’re most comfortable with, so too does their handwriting change based on what pen or utensil they use.
For those who are just starting out, using what’s known as what people refer an “easy writer” will ensure that you’re practicing characteristics of good handwriting techniques and not developing poor ones. People can develop what is known as muscle memory very quickly which could lead to habits that aren’t conducive to what we think of today as proper letterforms.
Size consistency also means working within optimal viewing conditions: You should always make sure that what you’re writing is easily legible (if not for yourself then for others). It’s even better if what you produce looks pleasing to the eye because this will encourage you to practice your penmanship even more!
Pen lifts entail making sure that there isn’t a break in what would be the flow of what you’re writing between letters, words, and lines. Pen lifts are what separate what appears to be one long line from what is actually a series of characters written one after another without stopping.
Making sure that your pen or utensil doesn’t break in between what would otherwise be considered different objects is integral towards producing what we think of as “good handwriting.” It’s said that bad handwriting essentially comes from an inability to properly space things between each other.
4 Connecting strokes
Connecting strokes entails making sure that what you’re writing looks mostly like a single form instead of a loose collection of broken-up pieces all being held together by a single string. Connecting what appear to be multiple parts with just a piece of string is what makes what you’re writing look unprofessional, sloppy, and unorganized. This creates what would be what most people consider to be an illegible piece of text.
Not only should what you’ve written look like a single cohesive form instead of appearing broken apart , it also needs to look like what you intend for it to look like. If there are multiple possible interpretations what could potentially come out the other-side when someone looks at your handwriting, then chances are what you produced isn’t easy to read.
Cursive letterforms should not be connected with printed letter formations but instead appear as two separate entities that either exist within their own realm or where one leads into the next forming a fluid motion between each character . Connecting what appear to be two separate lines of what most people consider “characteristics of good handwriting” with what they see as a completely foreign character is what creates what most people would classify as bad handwriting.
Helpful Video
Not only should what you’ve written look like a single cohesive form instead of appearing broken apart, it also needs to look like what you intend for it to look like. If there are multiple possible interpretations what could potentially come out the other-side when someone looks at your characteristics of good handwriting, then chances are what you produced isn’t easy to read.
