View source for Handwriting

{{About|personal style of writing|the technique of writing with the hand|Penmanship|generic style of handwriting|Handwriting script}}
{{Other uses|Handwriting (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Handwritten}}

{{short description|Writing created by a person with a writing implement}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2011}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=300
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| footer = Various examples of different handwritings in different languages throughout history; clockwise from top left: [[Isaiah Scroll]], a breviary, [[Voynich manuscript]], [[The Communist Manifesto]], [[Constitution of the United States]], [[Description of Greece]]
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[[file:Corsivo- come scriverlo a mano in italiano, schede didattiche con alcuni esempi di Paolo Villa (prima edizione commons wikimedia org)-Letters-characters in italics-cursive- how to write it by hand in Italian.pdf|thumb|Handwriting in Italian schools (20th–21st century)]]
'''Handwriting''' is the personal and unique style of [[Writing process|writing]] with a writing instrument, such as a [[pen]] or [[pencil]] in the [[hand]]. Handwriting includes both [[block letters|block]] and [[cursive]] styles and is separate from generic and formal [[handwriting script]]/style, [[calligraphy]] or [[typeface]]. Because each person's handwriting is unique and different, it can be used to [[Questioned document examination|verify a document's writer]].<ref name="huber_note1">{{Citation
  | last1 = Huber
  | first1 = Roy A.
  | last2 = Headrick
  | first2 = A.M.
  | title = Handwriting Identification: Facts and Fundamentals
  | place = New York
  | publisher = CRC Press
  | date = April 1999
  | page = 84
  | url = http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9780849312854
  | isbn = 978-0-8493-1285-4
  | access-date = 2015-12-27
  | archive-date = 2011-09-28
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110928120821/http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9780849312854
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref> The deterioration of a person's handwriting is also a symptom or result of several different diseases. The inability to produce clear and coherent handwriting is also known as [[dysgraphia]].

==Uniqueness==
Each person has their own unique style of handwriting, whether it be everyday handwriting or their personal signature. Cultural environment and the characteristics of the written form of the first language that one learns to write are the primary influences on the development of one's own unique handwriting style.<ref name="Srihari">Sargur Srihari, Chen Huang and Harish Srinivasan (March 2008). [https://cedar.buffalo.edu/~srihari/papers/JFS2008-color.pdf "On the Discriminability of the Handwriting of Twins"]. ''J Forensic Sci.''; 53(2):430–46.</ref> Even identical twins who share appearance and genetics do not have the same handwriting.<ref name="Dziedzic">Tomasz Dziedzic, Ewa Fabianska, and Zuzanna Toeplitz (2007). [https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/handwriting-monozygotic-and-dizygotic-twins Handwriting of Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twins]. ''Problems of Forensic Sciences.'' </ref>

Characteristics of handwriting include:
* the specific shape of letters, e.g. their roundness or sharpness
* regular or irregular spacing between letters
* the slope of the letters
* the rhythmic repetition of the elements or arrhythmia
* the pressure to the paper
* the average size of letters
* the thickness of letters
* the spacing between letters, words and sentences

==Medical conditions==
{{more citations|section|date=October 2021}}
{{See also|Dyslexia|Dysgraphia#Classification}}

Developmental dysgraphia is very often accompanied by other learning and/or neurodevelopmental disorder<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0237575| issn = 1932-6203| volume = 15| issue = 9| pages = –0237575| last1 = Gargot| first1 = Thomas| last2 = Asselborn| first2 = Thibault| last3 = Pellerin| first3 = Hugues| last4 = Zammouri| first4 = Ingrid| last5 = Anzalone| first5 = Salvatore M.| last6 = Casteran| first6 = Laurence| last7 = Johal| first7 = Wafa| last8 = Dillenbourg| first8 = Pierre| last9 = Cohen| first9 = David| last10 = Jolly| first10 = Caroline| title = Acquisition of handwriting in children with and without dysgraphia: A computational approach| journal = PLOS ONE| date = 2020-09-11| pmid = 32915793| pmc = 7485885| bibcode = 2020PLoSO..1537575G| doi-access = free}}</ref> like ADHD. Similarly, people with ADD/ADHD have higher rates of [[dyslexia]].{{medcn|date=October 2021}} It is unknown how many individuals with ADD/ADHD who also struggle with penmanship actually have undiagnosed specific learning disabilities like developmental dyslexia or developmental dysgraphia causing their handwriting difficulties.{{medcn|date=October 2021}}

Children with [[ADHD]] have been found to be more likely to have less legible handwriting, make more spelling errors, more insertions and/or deletions of letters and more corrections. In children with these difficulties, the letters tend to be larger with wide variability of letters, letter spacing, word spacing, and the alignment of letters on the baseline. Variability of handwriting increases with longer texts. Fluency of the movement is normal but children with ADHD were more likely to make slower movements during the handwriting task and hold the pen longer in the air between movements, especially when they had to write complex letters, implying that planning the movement may take longer.  Children who have ADHD were more likely to have difficulty parameterising movements in a consistent way. This has been explained with motor skill impairment either due to lack of attention or lack of inhibition. To anticipate a change of direction between strokes, constant visual attention is essential. With inattention, changes will occur too late, resulting in higher letters and poor alignment of letters on the baseline.  The influence of medication on the quality of handwriting is not clear.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=M.L. |last1=Kaiser |first2=M.M. |last2=Schoemaker |first3=J.M. |last3=Albaret |first4=R.H. |last4=Geuze |title=What is the evidence of impaired motor skills and motor control among children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Systematic review of the literature. |journal=Research in Developmental Disabilities |volume=36 |date=January 2015 |pages=338–357 |doi=10.1016/j.ridd.2014.09.023|pmid=25462494 }}</ref>

==Graphology==
[[Graphology]] is the [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]]<ref name='Graph_Beyer_PBS'>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna/3282_bbeyerstein.html |title=Barry Beyerstein Q&A |access-date=2008-02-22 |work=Ask the Scientists |publisher=Scientific American Frontiers |archive-date=2007-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220080111/https://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna/3282_bbeyerstein.html |url-status=dead }} "they simply interpret the way we form these various features on the page in much the same way ancient oracles interpreted the entrails of oxen or smoke in the air. I.e., it's a kind of magical divination or fortune telling where 'like begets like.'"</ref><ref name="NYT1">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/03/news/03iht-grapho.html?pagewanted=1|title=Graphology Is Serious Business in France : You Are What You Write?|last=James|first=Barry|date=3 August 1993|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=18 September 2010}}</ref><ref name=ps>{{cite book |last=Goodwin|first= C. James |title=Research in Psychology: Methods and Design |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNsVUGTMcDoC&pg=PA36 |year=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-52278-3 |page=36}}</ref> study and analysis of handwriting in relation to human psychology. Graphology is primarily used as a recruiting tool in the applicant screening process for predicting personality traits and job performance, despite research showing consistently null [[correlation]]s for these uses.<ref name="kingkoehler">{{Citation|title=Illusory Correlations in Graphological Inference|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied|year=2000|volume=6|issue=4|pages=336&ndash;348|author=Roy N. King and Derek J. Koehler|doi=10.1037/1076-898X.6.4.336|pmid=11218342 |postscript=.|citeseerx=10.1.1.135.8305}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Lockowandte, Oskar Present status of the investigation of handwriting psychology as a diagnostic method|journal=Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology|year=1976|issue=6|pages=4&ndash;5|author=Lockowandte, Oskar|postscript=.
}}</ref><ref name="nevo1986">Nevo, B ''Scientific Aspects of Graphology: A Handbook'' Springfield, IL: Thomas: 1986</ref>

==Handwriting recognition==
{{excerpt|Handwriting recognition}}

== Pedagogy ==

=== Significance in education ===
[[File:Übungen in deutscher Schrift in einem Schulheft des ersten Schuljahres (1953).jpg|thumb|First exercises in German handwriting ([[Sütterlin]]) in a school notebook (1953)]]
As pen-and-paper assignments remain common throughout the century, handwriting practice exercises are still issued by instructors worldwide because handwriting is recognized as a primary tool for the [[communication]] of ideas. In order for handwriting to be efficiently utilized by students, it is ideal for the process to be familiar and automatic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sassoon |first=Rosemary |date=1986 |title=A handwriting for life |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/026565908600200102 |journal=Child Language Teaching and Therapy |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=20–30 |doi=10.1177/026565908600200102 |issn=0265-6590 |via=SAGE Publications|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The letter-writing skill can reflect the beginnings of orthographic knowledge well, and this knowledge has been shown to be important to spelling in older children.<ref>Puranik, Cynthia S.; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Kim, Young-Suk (2011-10-01). "Contributions of emergent literacy skills to name writing, letter writing, and spelling in preschool children". ''Early Childhood Research Quarterly''. '''26''' (4): 465–474. [[Doi (identifier)|doi]]:10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.03.002. [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] 0885-2006. [[PMC (identifier)|PMC]] 3172137. [[PMID (identifier)|PMID]] 21927537.</ref> Better letter recognition can be facilitated by practicing handwriting in late preschool, as studies suggest that elementary students benefit from explicit handwriting instruction. With sufficient practice, legibility tends to improve over time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fancher |first=Lee Ann |last2=Priestley-Hopkins |first2=Deborah A. |last3=Jeffries |first3=Lynn M. |date=2018-10-02 |title=Handwriting Acquisition and Intervention: A Systematic Review |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19411243.2018.1534634 |journal=Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=454–473 |doi=10.1080/19411243.2018.1534634 |issn=1941-1243|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Additionally, research indicates that handwriting production is more cognitively costly and challenging for children than oral language production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grabowski |first=Joachim |date=2009-11-12 |title=Speaking, writing, and memory span in children: Output modality affects cognitive performance |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00207590902914051 |journal=International Journal of Psychology |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=28–39 |doi=10.1080/00207590902914051 |issn=0020-7594|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Poor handwriting skills and autonomy have been shown to often impair higher-level cognition and [[Creativity|creative thinking]] in children, leading them to become labelled by their instructors as dysgraphic or clumsy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rosenblum |first=Sara |last2=Weiss |first2=Patrice L. |last3=Parush |first3=Shula |date=2003 |title=Product and Process Evaluation of Handwriting Difficulties |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23361534 |journal=Educational Psychology Review |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=41–81 |issn=1040-726X}}</ref> [[Meta-analysis]] of classroom assignments also found that the legibility of handwriting affects the grading of work as clearer handwriting tends to receive better marks than illegible or messier handwriting, the phenomenon of which has been coined "the presentation effect."<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Santangelo |first=Tanya |last2=Graham |first2=Steve |date=2016 |title=A Comprehensive Meta-analysis of Handwriting Instruction |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24761232 |journal=Educational Psychology Review |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=225–265 |issn=1040-726X}}</ref> 

Also, it was found that movements through handwriting help children organize their perceptions and improve their ability to recognize letters by shaping their spatial understanding.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Longcamp |first=Marieke |last2=Zerbato-Poudou |first2=Marie-Thérèse |last3=Velay |first3=Jean-Luc |date=May 2005 |title=The influence of writing practice on letter recognition in preschool children: A comparison between handwriting and typing |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0001691804001167 |journal=Acta Psychologica |language=en |volume=119 |issue=1 |pages=67–79 |doi=10.1016/j.actpsy.2004.10.019|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In further study, because of the implied importance of handwriting to academic success, considerable research has been conducted into the efficacy of a variety of [[teaching]] methods. When quantifying writing [[fluency]] through parameters such as writing speed and duration of intermissions, teaching handwriting through digital tablets/technology, individualized instruction, and rote motor practice produced statistically significant increases in legibility and writing [[fluency]] which were able to be quantified.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Graham |first=Steve |last2=Weintraub |first2=Naomi |date=1996-03-01 |title=A review of handwriting research: Progress and prospects from 1980 to 1994 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01761831 |journal=Educational Psychology Review |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=7–87 |doi=10.1007/BF01761831 |issn=1573-336X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Students with different levels of handwriting ability, including those with physical challenges, showed greater improvements in manuscript handwriting after receiving instruction through a computer-based system, compared to traditional methods.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Graham |first=Steve |last2=Weintraub |first2=Naomi |date=March 1996 |title=A review of handwriting research: Progress and prospects from 1980 to 1994 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/BF01761831 |journal=Educational Psychology Review |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=7–87 |doi=10.1007/BF01761831 |issn=1040-726X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Cognitive processes in writers ===
Children with specific [[Learning disability|learning disorders]], such as poor/slow handwriting, have been observed in [[Psychology|psychological]] study to follow specific mental frameworks which instructors can use to help pinpoint weakness in linguistic skill and develop their students' fluency and writing composition. The Hayes & Berninger framework is a stratified web of interconnected thought processes which relate different cognitive processes to each other in their function of writing in general, and this framework has seen considerable use in pedagological research.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=O’Rourke |first=Lynsey |title=Understanding Writing Difficulties through a Model of the Cognitive Processes Involved in Writing |date=2018 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctv3znwkm.5 |work=Writing Development in Struggling Learners |volume=35 |pages=11–28 |editor-last=Connelly |editor-first=Vincent |access-date=2023-03-13 |series=Understanding the Needs of Writers across the Lifecourse |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/j.ctv3znwkm.5 |last2=Connelly |first2=Vincent |last3=Barnett |first3=Anna |editor2-last=Miller |editor2-first=Brett |editor3-last=McCardle |editor3-first=Peggy}}</ref> For example, underdevelopment of long-term memory, which is in the lower "resource level" of cognitive strata, can then be linked to underdeveloped [[motor planning]] for hand-writing individual letters, which bottleneck higher-order cognitive processes such as sentence structure and other [[critical thinking]].<ref name=":1" />

== Phenomenology ==
For a wide variety of writers, writing by hand has been described as a process which enhances expressivity and the discovery of individuality. The act of writing has been described as more "intimate", and the physical manipulation of a writing utensil on another physical medium, such as paper and pen, has been asserted to be more effective in conveying personal experiences and creating writing as [[art]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Chandler |first=Daniel |date=1992-05-01 |title=The phenomenology of writing by hand |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14626269209408310 |journal=Intelligent Tutoring Media |volume=3 |issue=2-3 |pages=65–74 |doi=10.1080/14626269209408310 |issn=0957-9133|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In comparison to technological methods of printing writing, such as with a typewriter or a word processor, handwriting is said to be less impersonal and distancing by writers such as [[Pablo Neruda]] and [[William Barrett (philosopher)|William Barrett]]. Among many writers who agree with such viewpoints, the sensuality, touch, feel and materiality of handwriting seem to all contribute to a bodily experience which allegedly enhance creative writing.<ref name=":2" />

==See also==
{{commons}}
{{portal|Writing}}
{{div col}}

* {{Annotated link |Asemic writing}}
* {{Annotated link |Blackletter}}
* {{Annotated link |Block letters}}
* {{Annotated link |Cursive}}
* {{Annotated link |Handwriting movement analysis}}
* {{Annotated link |History of writing}}
* {{Annotated link |Literacy}}
* {{Annotated link |Manuscript}}
* {{Annotated link |Palaeography}}
* {{Annotated link |Shakespeare's handwriting}}
* {{Annotated link |Signature}}
* {{Annotated link |Handwriting script}}
** {{Annotated link |Calligraphy}}
** {{Annotated link |Bastarda}}
** {{Annotated link |Book hand}}
** {{Annotated link |Chancery hand}}
** {{Annotated link |Court hand}}
** {{Annotated link |Italic script}}
** {{Annotated link |Penmanship}}
** {{Annotated link |Rotunda (script)}}
** {{Annotated link |Round hand}}
** {{Annotated link |Secretary hand}}
** {{Annotated link |Ronde script (calligraphy)}}
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*Douglas, A. (2017). ''Work in hand: script, print, and writing, 1690-1840''. Oxford University Press.
*Gaze, T. & Jacobson, M. (editors), (2013). An Anthology of Asemic Handwriting. Uitgeverij. {{ISBN|978-9081709170}}
*{{cite journal | first= Josh | last= Giesbrecht | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/08/ballpoint-pens-object-lesson-history-handwriting/402205/ | title=How The Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive | journal= The Atlantic | date= 28 August 2015 | access-date= August 28, 2015 }}
*Hofer, Philip, and John Howard Benson. 1953. ''The art of handwriting: a loan exhibition of writing books and manuscripts from the collections of Philip Hofer, Harvard University, and John Howard Benson.'' [Providence]: Rhode Island School of Design, Museum of Art.
*{{cite journal | first1= M.-L. | last1=Kaiser | first2= M.M. | last2=Schoemaker | first3= J.-M. | last3=Albaret | first4= R.H. | last4= Geuze | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267927282 | title=What is the evidence of impaired motor skills and motor control among children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Systematic review of the literature | journal= Research in Developmental Disabilities | volume=36 | pages=338–357 |  access-date= January 1, 2015 | doi=10.1016/j.ridd.2014.09.023 | pmid=25462494 | year=2015 }}
*Thornton, Tamara Plakins (1998). ''Handwriting in America: A Cultural History''. Yale University Press.
*{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Handwriting |volume=12 |page=916 |short=1 |first=Alexander Wood |last=Renton |authorlink=Alexander Wood Renton}}

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[[Category:Graphology]]
[[Category:Penmanship]]
[[Category:Questioned document examination]]