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Right your writing

Customer Reviews (1)

Best book around for improving handwriting
First of all, this is not a calligraphy book. It is a great resource for anyone who wants to improve their handwriting to make it readable and appealing. What you won't find here are exercises of the sort from those old Palmer Handwriting manuals. This is a much more practical approach.

For anyone who has to do a lot of note-taking, or who just wants to pen a handwritten note or letter, this book provides plenty of exercises to help to make your handwriting legible. There's a sample alphabet to learn the sequence of strokes and to adapt to your own hand. What I also found most useful was an exercisespecifically to help join letters together. That alone was worth the price of the book.

All in all, putting these exercises to use over a period of time will help make your handwriting attractive and help to perpetuate a lost art/skill. ... Read more

Product Description
This practical and informative book will help readers improve their handwriting and develop their own mature and individual style. Teach Yourself Better Handwriting includes self-diagnosis tests to identify problems, "before-and-after" examples illustrating common faults, and a detailed section on holding the pen. It also offers advice to those with special circumstances that may affect their handwriting, such as being left-handed or having a medical condition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Outstanding if you are serious about improving your legibility
I have purchased books from four different authors to improve my handwriting as well as my childrens' handwriting.This is one of the best.Aimed at the adult, it leaves no stone unturned in diagnosing and treating bad handwriting (I'm physician, so I could not resist that analogy).It covers selecting the right writing instrument, the impact of different hand and wrist positions and implements to help holding the pen or pencil.It covers issues for lefties.It even covers briefly problems for people with tremors; it is that thorough.There are numerous exercises to improve your strokes.It covers the strokes to clearly create each letter in great detail.Joining of letters has its own problems and this is well covered.Capital letters get a chapter.Finally for the ambitous (not me for sure), a more formal scripted hand is briefly introduced.I highly recommend this book for other handwriting impaired adults.I have been able to greatly improve my handwriting, which I use daily in hospital charts.

I do wish to state that the book is written at the high school or adult level.I should not be purchased and handed to a preteen.As a parent, I read it and had the children do exercises.I also recommend an iPhone app called Better Letters and a book called Write Now by Getty & Dubay.

I highly recommend this book.These two books and the iphone app have really helped me and kids.

P.S. It has even made writing by hand kinda fun.

Awesome book
This book goes step by step.I've started working on it and am trying to devote some time every day to it though that is proving difficult.I liked the discussion on changing the pen grip from the pincer grip I was taught in school because modern pens and our handwriting requirements don't allow for some of the problems with the pincer grip.The section on troubles left-handers run in to and how to fix them was very interesting.

A good place to start
As others have noted, this book is a good reference for those wishing to improve their penmanship.I also suggest giving a good fountain pen a try to aid your efforts.

Thorough and helpful
Like most purchasers here, I bought this book because my handwriting was swiftly becoming illegible--even to me! And I've already (in a week) seen marked improvement.

What this book does well:
It covers every possible issue that might affect your penmanship.They give an alternate penhold (which *works!*) which is, of course, optional. They discuss the type of pen you're using, the type of writing surface, everything that can go into making your handwriting good (or bad).

They demonstrate a 'training alphabet' based on Italic that will help retrain most grievous issues--I had a hard time closing my a's, for example, but their training alphabet has cured me of it.This alphabet, they tell you right off, isn't very sexy, but it IS useful.They also don't expect you to become a mere copyist of this alphabet.

They then discuss 'joining up,' not your standard Palmer method cursive script.Instead of teaching you how they think you should join letters, they give you common combinations. By writing and rewriting, you will find your OWN way of joining.Most freeing, they in fact tell you you don't HAVE to join up every letter in a word!

Then they push you to make your own modifications to the training alphabet, and this is where your own favorite letter forms can come marching back in, so you end up with handwriting that is neat, readable, but still looks like *you*.

What I wish it did more:
The authors will suggest exercises--the warmup exercises alone are wonderful--but they don't give much guidance as to how much, how long, or how often you should do them.I did a page a day of whatever letter family I was working with for a while, and that brought me great results.

All in all, a good resource for training your handwriting for increased legibility and speed.While it presents an Italic alphabet the best part (to me) is that it doesn't insist that good penmanship is merely mechanical reproduction of the alphabet. What more could you want (other than more set exercises?)?

Good Book
This book explains how to correct handwritng difficulties. There are many examples which makes understanding much easier. It's not entertaining and needs some commitment but I'm seeing improvement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Handwriting in a high tech world
Despite all the hoopla surrounding the paperless society, I (and everyone I know that I have informally polled) find myself writing plenty for business and for pleasure. In fact, my motivation for purchasing and reading this book came from my children. They told me with that innocent honesty that they couldn't read the letters that I sent to camp for them. When I offered to type the letters, they told me that they would rather keep it the way it was, because they liked to get them even though they couldn't (save the oldest, who was recruited as translator) read them. I was struck with the truth; you give something extra of yourself when you write your own words in your own hand.
I found this to be the only book on the subject for adults at the local bookstore at that time. I read the introductory chapters with scepticism as it tried to point out the characteristics of handwriting that have been related to personality type, but that's my bias. It was entertaining enough otherwise, and there were some signatures of famous people that were interesting. The meat was next: 1)a discussion of why handwriting is generally done poorly in this country 2) a plan to improve handwriting by a combination of exercises. This book leaves you to design your own exercises within a general overall framework provided by the author. I was highly motivated, so that was enough for me. Others might have preferred a more step-by-step approach. I was introduced to an economical form of cursive writing and invited to incorporate aspects of it into my own style.
The result of my 30 day exploration was significant. Others at work who saw me doing the exercises on my free time became interested in the process. My handwriting improved in readability and style because of better small muscle function in my hand, but more because my perception of what constituted readable script had changed. My eye was interpreted my own handwriting differently. In the last 3 years, my handwriting remains much different and more easily read than before. The quality of my work in healthcare has improved because people read my handwriting without difficulty, and more of it gets read. And the kids can read what comes to camp.

Wonderful Book that Really Works
This is a wonderful book that really works. Every since I was an elementary school child I had been plagued by feelings of inferiority because of my atrocious handwriting. In my late teens, in an effort to solve this problem, I gave up cursive writing all together and tried block printing. This was slow and tedious and the results were scarcely more legible. My handwriting was still a joke, so bad that even I found it impossible to read.

Beautiful handwiting has always held a fascination with me and I love the simplicity of pencil or pen on paper. After frequent attempts to write more neatly however,Iassumed that this was a skill that was beyond me: my poor handwriting was something I would have to live with. I did so - for many years.

In my late 30's I found this book in a second hand book shop and purchased it immediately.Improving my handwriting took longer than 30 days, but after half a year of practise I suddenly began to recieve compliments on my penmanship. The high point came when a student approached me after a class (I am a teacher) and mentioned how much she admired my writing.

Rather than stressing individual letters, Paula breaks down handwriting into a series of basic shapes and stresses rhythm instead. Students work at writing down a series of patterns such as "waves" or "hoops." I found performing these exercises to be enjoyable and relaxing and did most of my practise, about 10 minutes every day, during a series of tedious staff meetings. After 30 days there was definately some improvement but in my case several months were necessary before I could feel confident going public with my new skill.*

I wanted to buy a copy of this book for a friend and was shocked to see it was no longer in print. Someone should reprint it. I would like to use this message board to publicly thank Paula and commend her for being an excellent teacher.

(*Unfortunately my happiness was short lived. A year later I developed RSI from excessive computer use and this, of course, desroyed my ability to write.) ... Read more

Product Description
Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting is cutting-edge! One complete program for all ages! Economical! It s a one-time purchase. There are no consumable workbooks to purchase every year for every child! Included is everything you will ever need to learn and teach, from the youngest child to the oldest student.

The sound base of the program rests on more than thirty years of teaching experience. Observation of the fine motor strengths and weaknesses of children in elementary classrooms has been invaluable to the development of Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting. Now former, adult students prove the success of the program.

The updated manual is your reference for alphanumeric formations. You will find help for right and left-handers, remedies for common problems, words and sentences to practice and much more.

The CD-ROM has 280 lessons. It also has a full explanation of how to navigate the CD. Movies on the CD-ROM illustrate teaching and learning tips. Chose from the five levels of exemplars to print out and use. Edit the default text on many of the pages. Practice becomes relevant to students. It is so much easier and effective to write text that entertains!

Concept is a section with several categories. Lessons are grouped for specific instruction. Perhaps you need extra help with uppercase formations, joining letters, or maybe you want some fun and different ideas for practice.

My Pages on the CD-ROM provides a file for your favorite lessons, so you can easily find them to use again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Teaching Handwriting
Have begun to use this writing curriculum and so far so good.I like that I can use the disk and print out what I need.I can also create my own handwriting worksheets, using information from other areas we are learning. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Sloppy writers take heart!
This book is designed to let adults withless-than-perfect (i.e. illegible) handwriting analyze and correct their own worst habits. Rather than forcing a return to strict third-grade, Palmer-method cursive, Ms.Ernst's book encourages the student to develop a clear, yet distinctive,handwriting style. ... Read more

Product Description
A considerable proportion of pupils leave primary school unable to write well enough to deal with the demands of secondary school.

This innovative new book aims to help teachers and SENCOs to work alongside pupils to help them address their own difficulties.The book has three parts:

Part one explores the various issues which underpin any discussion of handwriting:letterforms; the pros and cons of handwriting models; how to help children write at speed; writing posture; pens and pen hold; left-handedness;talking to parents; and some of the common causes of handwriting problems.

Part two presents a series of examples of handwriting in photocopiable form, aimed principally at the pupils but with full teacher support, designed to show pupils a range of handwriting problems, helping them them to self-diagnose and work towards improvement.Each page offers practical tips and help for pupils with difficulties.All of the photocopiable material is also provided in electronic format on the companion website.

Part three sets out a diagnostic technique for teachers to follow, outlining three approaches to tackling handwriting problems: a quick, small-group assessment; providing one-to-one help; and working with a whole class. Each approach is outlined in detail, offering advice on effective observation, procedures to follow in giving appropriate practical help to pupils, and how to assess progress.Part three also offers guidelines for designing checklists, and the role of surveys and research.

Authoritative, wide-ranging and full of practical help, this book will be particularly useful for secondary teachers, secondary SENCOs and teaching support staff.

Rosemary Sassoon is an independent consultant and lecturer, based in Sevenoaks, Kent.She is the author of Handwriting: The Way to Teach it, Paul Chapman Publishing, 2003. ... Read more

Product Description
The Preventing Academic Failure (PAF) Handwriting Program can be used in conjunction with the PAF curriculum or independently as a classroom penmanship program. The techniques were designed to accommodate all students, including those with graphomotor weaknesses, and are derived from the latest research on how children learn to write. The Handwriting Program for Print workbook provides large models for tracing that allow students to use arm muscles to learn letters. Small models are provided on 1 1/2-inch lined practice paper to facilitate the transition to regular writing paper. Authors: Phyllis Bertin and Eileen Perlman Format: 112 pages, paperback Publisher: Educators Publishing Service ISBN: 9780838851258 ... Read more

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Help is here!

Customer Reviews (1)

Good practice for older children
I like the set-up of this book. However, for this to be for Grade K, it is much too small to allow for writing practice. Younger kids tend to start out writing big and this book is pretty small for little hands to get where they need to be. It was a good price and we will hang on to it for more practice in the future, but a little to small for the K set in my opinion. ... Read more

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Help is here!

Customer Reviews (1)

Awesome...
This book is great! It goes through the alphabet twice and has your child/student practice more than just the letter. Very good buy! ... Read more

Product Description
While adults recite directions, children trace with their finger (Book 1) or crayon (Book 2) lowercase manuscript letters, developing letter recognition skills and readiness for formal handwriting instruction.Book 1. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great for preschoolers learning their letters.
This is a great book for preschoolers who are still learning to recognise their letters.The introduction explains that this workbook is not intended for handwriting exercises.My son knew his alphabet at two years old and started asking me to "write".I bought this workbook which instructs the parent how to give oral directions while the child traces the letters withtheir finger.The directions are silly (make a monkey tail, a fishhook, etc), so we both had fun, and he now knows the shapes of his letters.He is now three, and has moved into the next book which uses a crayon. To get more use out this, I put the pages in plastic page protectors and put them in a three ring binder so that they won't tear or get dirty.Now my daughter is two, and she is starting to trace the letters.For us, this has been something fun; however, I think that if your child is already using a pencil and starting to write this workbook would not be advanced enough.

A nice idea, but not well implemented.
I bought this book for my 5 year-old, who is in Kindergarten and working every day to practice her letters. The structure of the book is fine, but the overall size of the letters is much too large. Children at this stage are by now writing with pencils, and the size of these letters forces themback to crayons. This might work for younger children who are unused topencils, but I honestly don't think a 3 year old needs to worry aboutforming D'Nealian letters properly. Had the letters been smaller this wouldhave been fine. I felt the same way about Book 2 in this series as well. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume 2 of a 2 volume set includes photos, examples, history, anecdotes and lots of examples of early american handwriting. Chapters cover Penmanship of Platt R. Spencer; Letterforms; Correspondence Writing; Signature Writing; Novelty Styles; and Off-Hand Flourishing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Valuable Resource
This book has nearly 600 PAGES of examples of Spencerian Script. It is a super reference for those learning Spencerian. (Volume II has no instruction, just examples). First are six pages of penmanship of Platt R Spencer. Next are examples that display individual capital letterforms.These models exhibit both the classic structure of letters and the wide range of artistic variations of the master penman. The following section contains examples of social and business correspondence from the late 19th and early 20th century America. These everyday epistles range from unadorned script to elaborate penmanship. Next are ornamental signatures and monograms. The last section is off-hand flourishing with many variations of birds drawn with the same pointed pens used for Spencerian Script. For step-by-step instruction, you should instead purchase Sull's Learning to write Spencerian Script, a small, spiral-bound paperback which presents the essential teaching from Volume I of Spencerian Script and Ornamental Penmanship.

The Real Source
Michael Sull is a valued researcher and those who wish to go to the real source of American Handwriting development must have this book. It is available at http://www.johnnealbooks.com/ ... Read more

Product Description
Volume 1 of a 2 volume set includes photos, drawings, history, anecdotes and lots of examples of early american handwriting. Chapters cover 1-Penmanship in a New Land; 2-Styles of Penmanship; 3-Equipment and Tools; 4-Technique; 5-Lowercase Letters; 6-Capital Letters; 7-Signature Writing; and 8-Golden Age of Ornamental Penmanship. ... Read more

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Product Description

This book is an essential classroom guide to the teaching of handwriting. It covers all aspects of the subject, from whole school planning; to classroom management, and the teaching of letters in a highly illustrated and practical sequence, from initial letter forms through to joined writing.

The author presents many examples and imaginative ideas to make learning to write more effective and interesting for children and for teachers. This new edition includes a section on Special Needs. It deals with complex handwriting problems and how to understand and deal with them.

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Handwriting for Christian Schools, Bob Jones University Penmanship Teaching Cards (Large 6"x10" teaching cards, one for each letter of the alphabet) ... Read more

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Help is here!

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A comprehensive approach to reinforcing printing and handwriting skills! One practice sentence is included for each letter of the alphabet. In addition, students practice names, ending punctuation, and more. For added fun, the cover becomes a gameboard! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Enthusiastic and Systematic With Lots of Examples
French's love for this subject is palpable. After setting out general perspectives and philosophy in about 35 pages, he spends the rest of his time delving into specifics. Chapters include "Representative Men in the United States," "Detecting Dishonesty," "Criminality," "The Success of Favorite Movie Stars Explained in Their Handwriting," and "When Cupid Starts A-Laughing With His Pen and Ink" (!) Lots of examples, reproduced large and bold. ... Read more