Improving Handwriting Speed, For High School Students

[ac12]

@nija

Let's just say that my handwriting is pretty nice, when I take my time. But as I increase the speed it becomes sloppier and harder to read, until at max speed it become almost unreadable. In college, I had to rewrite my notes at the end of the day, while I could still remember the class. Or I would not be able to read my class notes a week later. Even today, I cannot read many of my college class notes, because they are so scratchy.

 

The beauty of using phrases and outlines to answer a question, is that it is easy to review it to see if you got all the important points.

 

And I will say it again. When I graded in college, much of the words on the written exams, quizzes and homework that I graded were unnecessary words. IOW they were padding to make the answer look impressive, when in reality there was very little content. I found that IF you KNEW the material, you could answer the question clearly and to the point without writing an essay. There is an old saying in college, "if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull sh*t." Well graders will ignore the BS, so all those words were wasted.

 

@Brian

I never learned how to properly take notes, so even today, I am not a good note taker.

 

After undergrad, I had to PAY to take a CPA review class where a significant part of the class was devoted to how to take the exam. IOW exam taking techniques. And to me that stuff was enlightening. I wish I knew some of that seemingly basic stuff in junior high school, it would have made some things so much easier.

 

Heck, even studying techniques is important; what is important to study, how to study (not with the stereo or TV going), how to organize your notes, flash cards or note cards, etc. How to link things together so you learn them as a group rather than a bunch of individual subjects. Some of us got through school the hard way, brute force, rather than technique.

 

Thanks for taking care of your students. I'm sure they will appreciate it.

[Tresconik]

I did not read all of the replies.

As a fellow student who got into fountain pens to improve my writing speed and legibility, what I did was learned how to use my arm to write, and focused on little things that made my handwriting illegible.
For example, the loop on my "e" kept closing, so I had to focus on keeping it open while writing quickly.
My "r" started to look like a v, so I changed that..

As for your hand cramping up, use a pen with a thicker section, ideally one with a thicker nib. Like a 1.0 mm point. And don't press down while writing.

[ac12]

As for your hand cramping up, use a pen with a thicker section, ideally one with a thicker nib. Like a 1.0 mm point. And don't press down while writing.

 

I used slim pens in college. But the real killer was I gripped the pen TIGHT. That is what caused my hand to cramp.

Today I can use the same pens that I used in college (Parker 45 and 180) and I can write for hours without cramping my hand. I switched to a very light grip and I write with my arm (rather than my fingers).

But a hand cramp is like RSI. I think, the key is to also take breaks every 30-45 minutes, and switch to different size pens every so often.

[Anne-Sophie]

I think pens with a wide grip and an assortment of rollerballs, gel pens, even ballpoints which you switch every couple of hours will help with cramps.

 

The ultimate instrument for relaxed handwriting is a fountain pen.

 

I think the key to speedy words per minute is to outline or use a computer.