Handwriting and Its Physiological Basis

Handwriting and Writing

• Handwriting is the visible result of unconscious muscle habits reacting from fixed mental impressions.
• Writing is a visible result of a complex series of acts combining mental and muscular habits.
• Cursive writing joins most letters together.
• Hand lettering is any disconnected block capitals, also called manuscript writing or letter printing.
• Disguise writing is deliberate alteration of writing habits, often done to hide identity.
• Natural writing executes writing without conscious control or alteration.

Physiological Basis of Handwriting

• Writing impulses begin in the brain’s writing center, the motor cortex.
• Agraphia is the loss of ability to write, but the ability to grasp a writing instrument is retained.
• Extensor muscles push the pen upwards in a stroke.
• Flexor muscles pull the pen downwards.
• Flexor and extensor muscles work together with the lumbrical muscle to produce a lateral stroke.
• Motor coordination combines the work of various muscles to create a legible stroke.

Development of Writing

• The first stage of learning to write involves imitating illustrations and focussing on the form of the letters.
• The second stage focuses on mastering the particular execution of letter patterns.
• The third stage of writing process becomes less conscious and more automatic through habit.

Writing Characteristics

• Form refers to the shape or design of individual letters.
  • Arc or Arch: Rounded inner part of an upper curve.
  • Beard: An introductory up and down curve, also known as a "double hitch."
  • Blunt: Abrupt beginning and ending stroke.
  • Buckle Knot: Horizontal loop to complete a letter.
  • Central Part or Body: Small circle lying on the baseline.
  • Dactus Broken/ Junction Broken: Disconnected, non-continuous stroke.
  • Eyeloop/ Eyelet: Small oblong stroke.
  • Foot of the Letter or Oval: The bottom part of a letter lying on the baseline.
  • Diacritic: An element added to complete a letter.
  • Hitch: A backward introductory or ending stroke.
  • Hook/ Through: A minute, involuntary talon-like formation, often found at the beginning of an initial stroke.
  • Hump: Rounded outside top of the bend in small letters.
  • Spur: A lone running initial or terminal stroke
  • Knob: Rounded appearance at the beginning or end of a stroke
  • Main Stroke/ Shank Stem: Long downward stroke (backbone of the letter)
  • Whirl: Long upward stroke.
  • Space Filler/ Terminal Spur: Long downward, followed by upward terminal stroke
• System: Refers to the particular style or system of writing practiced or learned in childhood.
  • Old English Round Hand (1849)
  • Modified Round Hand (1960)
  • Spencerian System (1865-1890)
  • Modern Vertical System (1890-1900)
  • Angular System
• Muscular Habits or Coordination: How muscles used to make a letter
• Movement: How the pen moves to form the letter, whether it is light or heavy, smooth or jerky.
• Spacing: How the space between letters and words is used
• Alignment: How letters sit in relation to the baseline
• Size: How big or small the letter is
• Slant: How the letters are tilted in relation to the baseline
• Pressure: Whether the writing stroke has strong or light pressure.
• Line Quality: Whether writing is smooth or shaky

Writing and Handwriting (Recognition & Analysis)

• Recognition: The process of interpreting and understanding writing and handwriting.
• Analysis: Examining details of writing to identify characteristics.
• Comparison: Comparing known writing samples with suspected writing samples.
• Evaluation: Assessing the findings of comparison for a decision.

Writing Styles

• Cursive writing is where the letters are mostly joined together.
• Hand Lettering is any disconnected writing, sometimes referred to as manuscript writing or letter printing.
• Disguise Writing is the deliberate alteration of writing habits to hide identity.
• Natural Writing is any writing done without attempts to control or alter identifiable habits or quality.

Physiological Basis of Handwriting

• The brain's writing center in the motor cortex initiates the impulses to form letters.
• Agraphia is the loss of the ability to write, but still allows the person to grasp a writing instrument.
• Extensor muscles push the pen upward.
• Flexor muscles draw the pen downward.
• Flexor and extensor muscles, along with the lumbrical muscle, work together to create lateral strokes.
• Motor Coordination is achieved by the various muscles working together.

Development of Writing

• The first step in learning to write is imitation of illustrations, focusing on the form of the letter.
• The second step is mastering the execution of the letters (mastery of the pattern of execution), while the form becomes less important.
• The third step is when writing becomes automatic, unconscious, and the focus shifts to the subject matter.

Writing Characteristics

• Form: refers to the letter's shape or design.
  • Arc or Arch: rounded inner part of an upper curve
  • Beard: an introductory up and down curve
  • Blunt: Abrupt beginning and ending stroke
  • Buckle Knot: horizontal loop to complete a letter
  • Central part or body: a small circle on the baseline
  • Dactus broken/junction broken: disconnected stroke
  • Eyeloop/eyelet: small oblong stroke
  • Foot of the letter or oval: the bottom part of the letter on the baseline
  • Diacritic: elements added to complete a letter
  • Hitch: a backward introductory or ending stroke
  • Hook/through: a small talon-like formation at the beginning of an initial stroke
  • Hump: the rounded outside top of the bend in small letters
  • Spur: lone running initial or terminal strokes
  • Knob: rounded appearance at the beginning and ending stroke
  • Main stroke/shank stem: long downward stroke
  • Whirl: long upward stroke
  • Space filler/terminal spur: long downward and upward terminal stroke
• System: refers to the writing style or system learned in childhood.
  • Old English Round Hand of 1849
  • Modified Round Hand of 1960
  • Spencerian System of 1865-1890
  • Modern Vertical System 1890-1900
  • Angular System
• Muscular Habits or Coordination: muscles that coordinate to create continuous letters and words.
• Retracing: any strokes that go back over another writing stroke.
• Connections, Connecting Stroke or Links: strokes or links connecting letters.
• Size: the relative height of one letter to another letter
• Slant: the slope of writing in relation to the baseline.
• Spacing: the distance between letters in words, depending on the length of the connecting strokes.
• Proportion: the relative height of one part of a letter to another
• Movement: the motion of the writing instrument.
  • Finger Movement
  • Hand Movement
  • Forearm or Muscular Movement
  • Whole-arm Movement
• Line Quality: the visible record of movement and manner of holding the writing instrument.
• Tremor: an irregular, shaky stroke.
  • Genuine Tremor: Tremor of Age, Illiteracy and Weakness.
  • Tremor of Fraud
• Skills: proficiency in the art of writing, typically perceived as manual dexterity and legibility.
• Rhythm: recurring elements of the writing movement.
• Speed: slow, moderate, or rapid.
• Shading: widening of the ink stroke due to added pressure.
  • Shading Considerations:
    • Intensity
• Pen Pressure: the usual or average force used in writing.
• Pen Lifts: an interruption in a stroke caused by removing the writing instrument from the paper.
  • Hiatus: Interruption in strokes produced without lifting the writing instrument
• Pen Stops: momentary stops in a written stroke while the pen point is at rest
• Pen Scope: the reach of the hand while writing
• Terminal and Initial Strokes: terminal strokes are the last element; initial strokes are the first element of a letter.
• Alignment: The relation of letters or characters to an actual or imaginary baseline.
• Arrangement
• Rubric or Embellishment: additional, unnecessary strokes for decorative purposes.

Classification of Writing Characteristics

• Writing Characteristics: any property or mark that distinguishes a writing.
• Habits: repeated elements that serve to individualize writing
• Class Characteristics: those which conform to a general style learned when learning to write, such as the fashionable style at a particular time and place.
• Individual Characteristics: those introduced into handwriting consciously or unconsciously by the writer, they are highly peculiar and unlikely to occur in other instances.

Kinds of Individual Characteristics

• Conspicuous Characteristics: those that can be seen by the naked eye.
• Inconspicuous Characteristics: those that can't be seen by the naked eye and need special instruments to locate.

3 Main Principles Of Handwriting Identification

• Examination of the writing
• Complete comparison (standards)
• Correct interpretation (evaluation)

This quiz explores the intricacies of handwriting and writing, distinguishing between various styles and forms. It also delves into the physiological aspects, including brain activity and muscle coordination involved in the writing process. Test your knowledge on agraphia and the physiological functions behind our ability to write.