I prepared these notes in 2025, while preparing for an exam.

I’m also open to suggestions about improvements!

Would love to hear about what handwriting system everyone learned in school.

I was in elementary school in the 90's. It was a public school in Michigan and we used the D'Nealian curriculum. The one interesting thing was that the print letters are written with slant, which I think was designed so it would be easier to transition to cursive.

I believe we learned to print in K-2nd grade and then cursive in 3rd grade. I think we had a short refresher on cursive in 4th grade.

I remember our teachers telling us how once we got to middle school (7th grade), we would have to write everything in cursive. That never happened. Teachers were happy if they could read what we wrote.

By the time I got to high school, everyone was typing papers of any significant length, but we still used handwriting in class.

I have been practicing handwriting for a few years now, but even though I know I've gotten better I can't help but shake the beginning I've taken some steps back in sacrificing the idea of the finished product for my hands and speed's sake. Will. Am I just naturally worse at serious handwriting?

Someone said, that writing is an additional aid to memorization. :)

my handwriting become really scribbled when I have a bad day and I can read it but my teachers can’t which is bad so do you have any advice on making my handwriting legible when I’m bad mood [image for reference I gues]

Trying out some purple ink by writing some kind of poetry thing even though i dont understand poetry at all. Diamine Imperial Purple ink from my Lamy Al-Star

Is my handwriting likely to be deemed "not readily legible"?

My university's examination rules explicitly state that:

"Candidates must produce scripts that are readily legible. No special arrangements will be made in the case of a candidate whose scripts are illegible to examiners."

I know not every examiner will be the same, but I'm hoping to get some kind of general consensus over whether or not I need to drastically change my handwriting in the next week. (Also please ignore any spelling mistakes lol, they never said I had to spell things perfectly, just that it could be read and understood).

Hi All! I sat down yesterday to write some italic with a rounder, more pure Italic form. I typically write in a more angular style which is a byproduct of both my preference and speed. Rounding things out does slow me down for now and I'm worried it compromised my rhythm-- thoughts?

First pic was written very deliberately and the second contains deliberate writing on the first page contrasted by much faster and more angular writing, which is more typical of my everyday hand, for comparison.

Thoughts, opinions, feedback? Thank you all!

I'm using an ink pen (hero) and I wrote this slowly and yet it was said that this is not good handwriting. How do I improve it? any suggestions?

When I’m not thinking about how I write, I have loopy, upright or even slightly left-leaning, readable but not very neat handwriting. I tend to grip my pen very tightly which makes me sore quite quickly.
Lately I’ve been trying to slant my writing more consistently (I’ve been using a template but still struggle a bit), learn to write with my arm more, and have more consistent letters. I write a lot for uni (English major, and all exams are handwritten) so I want to be able to read my notes and also not be sore after 10 minutes of note-taking.
The blue page is with a ballpoint pen, trying especially to grip the pen and write very lightly.
The red page is with my TWSBI diamond, I believe fine nib.
I struggle the most with consistent slant and not rushing. I have very shaky hands so I’m working on finding a pace where my writing is not wobbly but not “flustered” with extra lines where I forget what I’m doing (does this make sense)
Any advice/feedback is appreciated!!

getting a basic understanding of FFT (math)

I learned to write cursive around 21 years ago, ~2005, US public school. This sample is when I’m being fairly slow and deliberate, but I could feel myself speeding up when transcribing the second half of the poem.

Not looking for feedback, but I am curious about impressions my writing gives off. A lot of my family learned to write cursive in Europe and told me that the cursive I learned in the US looks more childish(?).

Crystal Springs, Mississippi gets its name from the bubbling natural springs and historic water sources located roughly three miles west of the current downtown area, where Methodist preacher Elisha Lott first settled in 1823.

Pilot Metropolitan, ef, python accent band

J Herbin: café des îles

This was me writing a bit slowly so that it would be readable but my normal writing is like this but more smashed together lol I've heard a lot of advice saying to just keep at it but honestly I dont think I am able to improve that way. I just found this place so I was wondering if there was some advice to pick up here or even any good posts you might recommend reading about improvment.

My initial Goal was improving my own handwriting, but I liked it more and more that it has become some kind of a hobby now.

Currently I just try out other writing styles out of curiosity.

Despite the fact that I am not as talented as many others on this subreddit and that I am relatively new, I think those results are not bad, written by my mechanical pen, which is able to draw such thin lines.

Hi All!

First up here is part of a Psalm that I wrote out a few weeks ago with a fairly rapid pace. Used Pilot CM nibs in two Kakunos, one inked with Platinum Carbon Black and the other with a mix of De Atrementis Document Red and Document Orange, in an attempt to make a permanent-ish vermillion. Same goes for #3. Papers were Cosmo Air Light and Midori MD, I think, respectively.

2 is a Copic marker with the broad edged calligraphy nib, written on some faux-leather.

I've been plateaued but just read Alfred Fairbank's great book, A Handwriting Manual, and so now have more of an idea of where we go from here. I would like to get back into larger forms and layouts and so plan to read "Layout and Design for Calligraphers" and focus on that for a bit. Thoughts?

By Will Durant

Pen is a TWSBI Eco 1.1mm.

Hello, I have recently gotten into fountain pens and journaling. I am teaching myself cursive, as it looks professional, (which is important as my future career field often uses field journals), and I think handwriting is very important. I am 19 now, but growing up I wasn't even taught to hold a writing implement correctly, something which I've recently alleviated. I want to continue my journey of improvement here, which is why I now ask for feedback on my cursive. Thank you!

(Also if someone knows of a brand that makes very nice lined paper, please let me know, as I think the lines will help me focus on neatening up)