HANDWRITING REFERENCE

Handwriting features: size, slant, spacing and shape

Handwriting features (size, slant, spacing and shape) on one illustrated chart. Check your repeated letters, then pick a drill for the detail to change.

READING DESK

Reference, comparison & reading

Compare handwriting features

Feature	What to observe	Unit or record	Guide
Slant	Stem angle relative to the writing line	Degrees	Compare stems
Size	Height of ordinary lowercase bodies	Pixels, or millimeters with a scale	Measure body height
Spacing	Gaps between letters, words and lines	Distance or body-height ratio	Compare gaps
Baseline	Direction and local drift of body bottoms	Degrees or distance from a guide	Follow a line
Margins	Space around the writing block	Distance or page-width ratio	Check page edges
Connections	Bridges, touching shapes and gaps	A description of each boundary	Inspect joins
Shape and loops	Corners, curves and enclosed returns	Height, width and closure	Compare loops
Stroke appearance	Visible ink width and darkness	Pixels or calibrated width	Inspect the ink
Speed	Completed words over a timed interval	Words per minute	Time a passage
Legibility	Words recognized by a reader	Correctly transcribed words	Check readability

Slant and baseline

Left / backward slant
Stems lean backward in this model.

Upright stems
Stems remain near perpendicular in this model.

Right / forward slant
Stems lean forward in this model.

Stem lean and the direction of a line describe different geometry. Follow the body bottoms first, then compare the tall strokes against a perpendicular to that line.

Bodies, turns and loops

Upper loop
A return encloses space above the body band.

Lower loop
An enclosed tail sits below the writing line.

Open return
The return remains separated from its starting stroke.

Identify the body band before comparing extensions. A broad upper loop and a long lower tail occupy different parts of the same word. Record height and width separately.

Compare one sample at a time

Keep the pen, paper and task with your notes. Use the same image scale for repeated letters. For physical size, include a real ruler or known paper width; for pace, record the writing interval.

Open a feature guide

Pressure

Compare visible stroke width and darkness separately from recorded pen force.

Margins and page layout

Analyze margins in writing, paper edges and writing block layout.

Baseline

Follow rising, falling, level and uneven baseline writing lines.

Upper, middle and lower zones

Compare upper, middle and lower handwriting zones and proportions.

Connections

Inspect connected handwriting, joined letter bridges and pen lifts.

Angular and rounded letter shapes

Compare angular handwriting, pointed peaks and rounded letter forms.

Speed and rhythm

Measure a passage in words per minute from its word count and elapsed time.

Legibility

Examine handwriting legibility, clear word gaps and simplified shapes.

Print and cursive handwriting analysis

Compare printed, joined and mixed forms within ordinary handwriting.

Upper and lower loops

Compare upper and lower loops, loop width, inflation, and unlooped strokes.