Maintains that graphic skills may reveal a dementia process in progress. Describes a simple, nonverbal screening method, tested on 1,500 aged subjects, which uses geometric copying, handwriting, and freehand figure drawing to screen for social and/or cognitive disorders. Shows that these graphic skills drop in a prescribed order with decreasing…

According to a survey of 160 of 265 business professionals, most create memos more frequently than other documents; use word processing on micro, mini, or mainframe computers; learned word processing on their own; and believe that electronic mail and voice input will increase and secretarial support will decrease. (SK)

Discusses the pros and cons of using copying as a means for English-as-a-Second-Language students to improve their handwriting skills. The use of chalkboards, plastic slates, and newsprint with felt markers is described. (LB)

A secondary school for children with Moderate Learning Difficulties had requested assistance from psychological services for pupils that the school felt were experiencing poor motor-coordination and in some cases low self-esteem. An intervention programme for children with dyspraxic type difficulties (Portwood, 1999) was proposed as a suitable…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: the effectiveness of media presentations in teaching research skills; language as a means of increasing perception; language arts curriculum planning and execution…

This review of research on handwriting and the legibility of print suggests that: (1) teachers' handwriting is less legible today than in the past, (2) manuscript should replace cursive writing in the classroom, and (3) letter size and case, leading, line length, and spacing between letters are the critical factors for legibility. (JMB)

Argues that allowing information processing to proceed in adaptive stages will result in writing skills that are more accurate, complete, and individualized. (RB)

Children become frustrated in learning cursive writing, says the author, who offers some helpful suggestions. (Editor/RK)

THIS WORKBOOK IS DESIGNED TO INTRODUCE THE SOUND SYSTEM AND WRITING SYSTEM OF LITERARY ARABIC. THE MATERIAL IS LINGUISTICALLY ORIENTED, BASED ON A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND ARABIC. ACCOMPANYING TAPES FOR EACH UNIT PROVIDE THE STUDENT WITH PRACTICE IN LISTENING COMPREHENSION AND ORAL PRODUCTION. READING, WRITING, AND HOMEWORK EXERCISES…

THE POSITION TAKEN IS THAT A PREWRITING PROGRAM OF FROM APPROXIMATELY 4 TO 6 WEEKS WILL AID CHILDREN IN DEVELOPING THE NEURO-MUSCULAR COORDINATION NECESSARY IN LEARNING TO WRITE. CHILDREN ARE TAUGHT TO TRACE AND THEN REPRODUCE VARIOUS FIGURES INVOLVING ALL OF THE BASIC STROKES OF MANUSCRIPT. EXAMPLES ARE INCLUDED. IT HAS BEEN FOUND THAT SUCCESS OF…

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,…

Concludes that handwriting instruction improves writing ability because students who have mastered the basic skills of handwriting are able to concentrate on the process of composition rather than transcription. (SRT)

Uses evidence of common writings found in the Rosenthal Collection of North Italian Documents at the University of Chicago to determine that the type of hand written script most popular in sixteenth century Verona was not the "cancellaresca" found in most copy books, but rather the italic and mercantilist scripts. (SKC)

Offers suggestions based on research that can assist teachers in providing their students with more legible handwriting. (FL)

The effectiveness of a self-instructional procedure in improving and maintaining the letter-formation skills of three students (10.4 to 11.7 years old) who were learning disabled and had handwriting deficiencies was investigated. (SW)