When dealing with adult students' handwriting problems that have been diagnosed, teachers should recognize that students are sensitive and vulnerable and, therefore, it might be better to wait before criticizing their handwriting. Allowing learners to increase confidence with better command of spelling will help relax tensions and enable…

Students at the University of Edinburgh do almost all their work on computers, but at the end of the semester they are examined by handwritten essays. Intuitively it would be appealing to allow students the choice of handwriting or typing, but this raises a concern that perhaps this might not be "fair"--that the choice a student makes,…

The 25 entries in this annotated bibliography deal with the art of handwriting and with current practices in the teaching of handwriting. Among the topics covered in the citations are: factors to consider in assessing readiness for formal handwriting instruction; the effects of teaching cursive writing to first grade children; achievement…

THE PROCESS OF PERCEIVING LANGUAGE SYMBOLS AS CUES FOR MEANING, MODELS FOR SKILL PERFORMANCE, AND DEFINITIONS OF VALUE PERCEPTION WAS INVESTIGATED. THE OBJECTIVES WERE (1) TO COMPARE THE PERFORMANCE ON SELECTED PERCEPTUAL TASKS OF SAMPLING POPULATIONS OF MENTALLY RETARDED, AVERAGE, AND SUPERIOR CHILDREN, AND (2) TO ANALYZE THESE FINDINGS IN…

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE HANDWRITING, READING, AND SPELLING PERFORMANCE OF FOURTH- AND SIXTH-GRADE CHILDREN TO THE TRANSITION TIME FROM MANUSCRIPT TO CURSIVE WRITING WAS STUDIED. THE FOUR TRANSITION TIMES WERE EITHER THE FIRST OR SECOND SEMESTER IN GRADE 2 OR THE FIRST OR SECOND SEMESTER IN GRADE 3. HANDWRITING LEGIBILITY WAS MEASURED BY THE…

In this study, the effects of two kinds of letter formation practice and a form of letter discrimination training on the handwriting performance of approximately fifty kindergarten children were investigated. After being pretested, subjects were randomly assigned to the following four treatment groups: (1) copying only, (2) faded tracing only, (3)…

The many everyday needs for manuscript writing--signs, maps, graphs, and posters--and the fact that it retains its legibility better than does cursive writing suggest the need for the continued use of manuscript beyond grades 1 and 2. Also, manuscript writing is preferable to cursive writing for children with poor coordination or spelling…

This writing exercise book, designed to accompany the Defense Language Institute's Chinese-Mandarin Basic Course, consists of step-by-step illustrations for copying 825 characters in the Chinese writing system. [Not available in hard copy due to marginal legibility of original document.] (AMM)

The relationships among handwriting rate, academic achievement, and the completion of written assignments were investigated in a sample of 119 sixth-grade students. Each student completed instruments measuring rate of rapid and casual handwriting, legibility, copying rate, completion of written assignments, and self-concept. Results indicated that…

Proposes an approach to the design of certain portions of a machine for the analysis and recognition of handwriting. Measures the displacement, velocity, acceleration of handwriting movements, and the writing pressure of the pencil point. Appendix and references. (VJ)

Suggests a conceptual framework for the handwriting system, consisting of three elements: the hand, the writing instrument, and paper. Discusses the integration of these elements relative to handwriting performance, presents an overview of relevant research and a proposal for needed research, analyzes and compares writing instrument designs, and…

Gender differences in mean level of reading and writing skills were examined in 122 children (80 boys and 42 girls) and 200 adults (115 fathers and 85 mothers) who showed behavioral markers of dyslexia in a family genetics study. Gender differences were found in writing and replicated prior results for typically developing children: Boys and men…