A new method of continuous stroke manuscript print called D'Nealian Manuscript is challenging the traditional circle-stick method of teaching children how to write. The circle-stick uses component or splinter parts to form whole letters. Children are forced to form all writing with verticle lines and to learn a manuscript print that goes nowhere.…

This study was designed to compare the speed and legibility of intermediate grade pupils' handwriting who have been instructed in two different styles of handwriting, manuscript and cursive. The subjects consisted of 108 intermediate grade pupils, boys and girls. Raw score data from the Otis Quick-Scoring Mental Ability Test, Beta Test: Form A,…

In a longitudinal study comparing two different methods of handwriting instruction, the manuscript and cursive styles of D'Nealian and Zaner Bloser were compared. Subjects were 86 first and second graders, from four classrooms in a rural Illinois school district, taught according to only one or the other of these methods since kindergarten. A…

A study was conducted to establish a process for evaluating the difficulty of different handwritten letter forms. A criterion for calculating difficulty scores was delineated and four sets of letter forms were evaluated: manuscript, cursive, italic, and D'Nealian. Using the criterion, small letters were given a score of difficulty, the sum of…

Discusses the effects of variability in the shapes of letters on their legibility; summarizes experiments to compare the relative advantages of cursive and block capital writing, to determine the time taken to prepare handwriting movements, and to assess the variability of the timing of movements in handwriting. (Author/GT)

A study was conducted to determine the ability of kindergarten children to match manuscript, cursive, italic, and D'Nealian handwritten letters to typeset letters, their ability to read letters in these five styles, and the relationship of reading and matching abilities. Children were asked to match typeset distractors to lower case letters…