Handwriting - Good vs Bad

Handwriting is unique to each individual, unlike typing. A person's handwriting style, and signature, stands out as permanent statements. Mastering good handwriting can help make that statement strong, beautiful, and most importantly, legible. Unfortunately, not everybody has 'good' handwriting. 

What is 'good' handwriting?

In order for a person's writing to be called 'good', it has to be legible. The letters have to be well shaped and evenly spaced from each other. The sizes of all the letters in a word have to be uniform and balanced. 

Each word should again be evenly spaced from the next. All letters and words should have the same slant orientation (usually to the right) and uniform degree of slant. This doesn't mean writing in a straight orientation is wrong or qualifies as bad handwriting, but just that the entire sentence or passage should be of the same orientation. 

Handwriting need not be artistic to qualify for legibility, but it has to be free flowing and effortless. The writing pressure on the pen/pencil and the paper should be adequate, and not something that may leave embossed impressions of the writing on the back of the page or on following pages. When the writing pressure is balanced, handwriting becomes efficient and fatigue-free.

                                Picture courtesy: Google                                           

                                                   Prakriti Malla and a sample of her handwriting which was chosen as the world's best handwriting in 2019

What is 'messy' handwriting?

I would like to call it 'messy' as opposed to 'bad'. To very simply put it, messy handwriting is anything that is not the way 'good' handwriting is described, in the paragraph above. When letters are not correctly formed, when letters within words, and words within sentences are not uniformly spaced, it makes reading difficult and effortful. Words don't fall in line and sometimes sentences slant upwards or downwards on the page. There can even be marks of untidy erasing or striking off or wrongly spelt words. On the whole, messy handwriting is not a pleasure to read.

Is bad handwriting a sign of poor intelligence?

Well, that is not true! Neither does good handwriting signify intelligence, nor messy handwriting, poor intelligence. 

.......a light moment, at our doctors' expense

If that were the case, (with all due respect) doctors would have been the least intelligent people in our society. Doctors are notoriously famous for their sloppy handwriting, but we all agree that they are exceptionally brilliant, and that poor handwriting has no correlation with the medical acumen or expertise of a doctor. The truth is that they always have a large number of patients to be seen, notes to be written and prescriptions given, in a short time. Therefore, as research suggests, majority of the poor handwriting of doctors is attributed to the times when doctors are in a rush when writing prescriptions, during their rounds or peak hours, or when they experience fatigue. 

Why do people have messy handwriting?

Handwriting is the end product of a whole lot of skills and motor abilities that form a firm foundation. Not all children develop at the same pace, or at the same time. Some children may take much longer than others of the same age. 

Did the child start 'writing' too early for his age, when his little hands were not ready?

Is the child sitting comfortably on his chair while writing? 

Is his body position, paper placement and pencil pressure all accurate and adequate? 

Has he developed adequate fine motor skills and strength to hold a pencil correctly and write with coordinated muscle movements?

Does he have good visual perceptual skills?

Is he familiar with letter formation? Has he had the necessary practice in order to learn the letter shapes proficiently?

Does he know that letter/words or 'script' in general represent something, or have a meaning?

The answers to all of the above questions will give you the answer to why the child may have messy handwriting. There are also challenges that don’t seem related to motor skills but that can make handwriting difficult. For example, if kids are impulsive or have an upcoming playtime they are eagerly expecting, they may rush through their writing. That can result in messy handwriting. Children with diagnoses like ADHD, Dysgraphia, developmental Coordination Disorder, etc. have writing difficulties which are not directly related to poor motor skills.

Can handwriting be improved?

Yes! handwriting can be improved, not only in children but also in adults, thanks to neuroplasticity. However it may take more time and effort for adults to come up with good results compared to children.

Just as handwriting is unique to each person, so is the reason for bad handwriting. The cause for messy writing needs to be identified before a remedy can be suggested. An Occupational Therapist or a trained handwriting expert may be able to give proper guidance in this regard.

In some cases, children with certain diagnoses may not be able to use traditional handwriting due to their physical or intellectual challenges. In such cases, alternative communication methods like typing, voice typing devices, eye typing software, etc. can be used. Children and adults with dyslexia may find it liberating and empowering to use a keyboard as there is no chance of letter and numeral reversals, which they otherwise may have when writing by hand.

V's mother (V, the boy with poor handwriting, from the previous post) was of the opinion that writing by hand is outdated, and the present generation doesn't need it anymore. However, we now know that writing is not a thing of the past, it is a part of daily life. Building good handwriting helps children improve their academic performance and be self confident. Writing is a strong mode of communication just like speaking, and good handwriting is an  important asset a person can have.

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