What's Your Handwriting Style? 

Recently we looked at tips to improve your writing. This week we are looking at different styles of handwriting and for a little fun, we've included a video about graphology and what different styles of handwriting may say about you.

The thing to remember is that your handwriting is your own style - there is no one better style than another.

There are three major categories of writing styles: 

D’Nealian, Print and Cursive.

Print

Print style of handwriting is also known as block letters. Each letter is independent of the other and isn’t joined to another letter before or after. This is the writing taught to us as children before we are introduced to cursive handwriting. 

This type of handwriting is usually seen on official forms such as government documents. This is because it’s easier to read and each individual letter can fit neatly into a box or between lines on a form.

Print-style writing can also be seen in the following fonts: Times New Roman, Arial and Calibri.

Cursive

Another term for cursive writing is “running hand”. In cursive style writing the pen doesn’t normally leave the page. It is also known as longhand or script. Essentially it’s any style of writing where letters are joined together. The purpose of cursive style of writing is to make writing faster, especially compared to print.

Cursive writing style can be divided into more categories.

Looped Cursive Handwriting

This is where some letters are written using loops in order to join to other letters.

Italic Cursive Handwriting

This is where letters are joined but not by using loops. 

D’Nealian Style of Handwriting

D’Nealian handwriting incorporates both cursive and print. It became popular when it was realized that due to the increasing amount of paperwork required by bureaucracy, traditional cursive writing wasn’t practical but print style took too long. Never mind that cursive was also far more complicated to teach to children.

In order to solve the above problem, Austin Palmer, a handwriting analyst developed a style of writing that eliminated the fancy loops and flourishes. He also introduced moving the whole hand while writing as a way of reducing hand cramping and fatigue.

The actual style of D’Nealian handwriting was then developed by Donald Thurber to help children transition from print handwriting to a cursive style.  

Graphology

NO matter how you write - whether it’s true cursive or closer to printing, everyone has their own style. Graphologists also believe that your handwriting can say something about your personality…Watch this fun video to see more!