How to Improve Your Handwriting

For grade schoolers

“I can’t read your handwriting!”

That’s just one retort you might have heard from your teacher. As you look at your notes, you realize that even you can’t seem to decipher what you’ve written. Fortunately, there are a number of ways by which you can improve your handwriting, says AHEAD Interactive tutor Tine Tria. AHEAD Interactive provides real-time, face-to-face online tutorials.

Here are six ways how:

Get a great grasp. Imagine holding your pencil near the tip of the eraser. This is pretty tough. The better way is to let the pencil rest between the base of your thumb and your middle and index fingers. You can achieve a better grip this way.

Observe the lines on paper. They serve as guides to size and proportion. Not only will the lines lead you to write straight (instead of diagonal, downhill, or uphill), they will also help you create letters that are almost perfect—not too fat, not too thin. For example, your capital letter “A” should extend from the top of the line to the bottom. When writing on bond paper, use a ruler or draw light lines to help straighten out your letters.

Pace yourself. When you write too fast, your handwriting tends to get all muddled up. You may also end up making more mistakes, leading to unsightly erasures. This is a common problem among students, says Tutor Tine, who facilitates online English tutorials. Try going slower than your usual pace. Feel your hand writing each and every letter, making sure you come out with prettier scripts.

Easy on the pressure. When writing, don’t press too hard on the pencil. Loosen up.  Don’t grip the pencil too tightly either. Instead, let the pencil glide smoothly over the paper.

Play games. Lots of games require you to write or draw such as “Win, Lose, or Draw.” You can also pretend that you’re a movie star and you’re giving an autographed picture to a fan! You’ll be practicing your handwriting while having a bit of fun.

Observe proper posture. Sometimes, the way you sit can affect the way you write. Check your posture. Sit up straight so that the pressure rests on your hand and fingers. This also gives your hand more room to sweep across the table.

Practice, practice and practice! Pretty soon, you’d notice your handwriting getting better. Try doing this during your interactive tutorials to get the most effective guidance from your tutor.

For more information on online academic tutorials, e-mail aisupport@ahead.edu.ph or click here.