Handwriting Styles to Learn: Techniques for Beautiful Penmanship
Written letters and forms of communication have been around for centuries and have been a crucial part of ensuring that ideas are expressed and recorded properly. Poems, books, novels, and historical records would be non-existent today if people did not develop a way of writing everything down. While technology has welcomed electronic communication via e-mails and other messaging platforms, handwritten communication is still very much alive. Aside from this, people still love to take notes, journal how their day went by, and keep track of their schedules on their planners.
There is still a special touch when it comes to taking notes or putting your thoughts in writing. If you love writing things down and would love to improve your penmanship even more, then here are some of the different handwriting styles to learn.
Print Handwriting
The first type of handwriting that children learn at an early age is print handwriting. Also known as “block lettering”, this type of handwriting is an easy style to teach and in turn, one of the easiest handwriting styles to learn. Since the letters are not connected via loops with each other, children can easily write the letters down on their own without the fear of messing up the whole word that they are trying to write. This type of handwriting is what most adults also use when taking notes or writing on their journals as the letters and words are straightforward and legible.
Cursive Handwriting
In comparison with print handwriting where the letters “stand-alone” from each other, cursive letters in a word are joined up with each other. While this is harder to learn for children who are still getting used to writing, once they learn writing in cursive, it will be easier and faster to use especially when taking down notes in a hurry. Accordingly, the main purpose of cursive handwriting is that it allows people to write down words faster because you won’t have to lift your pen when writing a single word.
While formal cursive handwriting has all the letters joined together through loops and slants, casual cursive is much looser and allows for pen lifts. This is why casual cursive is among the favorite handwriting styles to learn by people since it is not too strict but still allows for faster handwriting. 
Easy Techniques to Improve Your Penmanship
1. Practice Every Day
In the same way that you have to consistently keep on doing one thing to improve your skill, becoming better at penmanship needs a lot of practice. You don’t need to spend hours a day writing letters–you just need to dedicate a few minutes a day so you can become more familiar with the letter strokes. With consistent practice, your hand will become more comfortable in holding the pen, and exhibiting the pen strokes will be very easy.
2. Use Handwriting Worksheets
There are a lot of handwriting sheets available online that you can download and print to help you with practicing your handwriting. What’s great about using handwriting worksheets is that they provide guidelines that you can trace along with for practice. Most worksheets also include diagrams on what direction each stroke should go so it will be easier for you to apply.
3. Choose the Right Pen
If you are still getting used to a handwriting style, it is important to practice with the right pen that fits your hand perfectly. Pens that are difficult to use or are uncomfortable for your hand wouldn’t help you improve your handwriting since they can affect how you write your letters and can even cause you discomfort. The YSTUDIO Classic Revolve Pen has been a crowd favorite by both professionals and those who are practicing different handwriting styles since it is aesthetically pleasing but has the right weight and body for better balance while writing. This simple but solid fountain pen would be great for practice and day-to-day use.
4. Maintain Good Posture
Having proper posture while sitting down and writing has a huge effect on the quality of your handwriting. Practicing proper posture by sitting up straight with your feet flat on the floor would be the best position. This would ensure that your hands are placed properly on the table and would allow for steadier hand movement.
By applying these simple and easy techniques to improve your handwriting, you can be assured that you can excel in perfecting your penmanship in no time. Take things slowly and be consistent with your practice so you will enjoy writing while learning a new skill!