Practice And Improve Your Handwriting With These Resources
There is something about neat handwriting that makes it aesthetic and pleasant to look at.
Unfortunately, not all of us have the innate talent and luck to quickly pick up neat cursive handwriting while in primary school.
But it’s never too late! It is totally possible to improve your penmanship even at a later point in your life.
Below is a collection of resources that might help improve your handwriting; ranging from simple handwriting worksheets for adults to elaborate books and course material. The resources are categorized by medium so you can easily find what matches your learning style.
There is no need to go through all of this material before getting started. Rather, it would be best to pick one and practice your handwriting as you go.
Handwriting Course Books
Books and the print medium is the most traditional and preferred medium by many. There are plenty of books out that that can give you a great start. Many books teach one specific writing style or font so make sure to choose a book that matches the style you are looking for.
If you are looking for a comprehensive take on learning and teaching handwriting, then the American Cursive Handwriting. It comes as loose leafs so you can place the book in a 3-hole binder and take out one page at a time during practice. It includes explanations on writing position, paper movement, how to use a fountain pen etc. Although it targets an audience from grade 5 and up, it is by no means too easy or too simplistic to function as step by step guide on how to improve handwriting. Plenty of copybook sheets and handwriting worksheet with model lines and blank lines are included.
The Spencerian writing style was popular in the mid-1800’s and was characterized by its elegance and flair. If that’s what you are going for, you might want to check out the book called Spencerian Penmanship. There is a theory book and a copybook that you can buy as a package or separate. If you practice the Spencerian style you will definitely be able to make your handwriting neater over time. But keep in mind that the required way of holding and using the pen for this style can be very counterintuitive, so prepare yourself for some challenges along the way.
If you are more looking for a modern approach to handwriting than Improve Your Handwriting might be a good fit. It focuses on identifying the weak spots in your writing and retraining the bad habits you might have developed over the years. The authors promote a way of writing that emphasizes ergonomics and legibility, while at the same time encouraging the reader to develop their own personal writing style.
Useful Websites for Penmanship Practice
Consistent and daily practice is the most effective and important tool to improve your writing. Even without following any handwriting courses for adults, you can get many of the benefits by practicing by yourself using some of the printable handwriting worksheets for adults you can easily find on the internet.
For example, the site handwritingworksheets.com offers a wide variety of worksheets. A good place to start might be the tracing worksheets on D’Nealian handwriting. Or you might want to check out there print style worksheets or cursive writing worksheets
As always, Google can be your friend as well. Simply type in the style and the word “worksheet” in google images and you will be supplied with an almost limitless supply of printable worksheets. For example, Google images might give you the following results for blank handwriting worksheets or cursive handwriting worksheets.
Another good resource it the iampeth.com website that offers a variety of lessons and videos on improving penmanship. They even have a section on handwriting for left-handed people, which is an often overlooked problem.
Finally, you might enjoy some articles on our own website as well. Although many different kinds of pens can be used for handwriting and penmanship, the commonly preferred option is the fountain pen.
Instructional Videos on Writing
Penmanship is all about pen and paper. But when you are learning and working to improve your handwriting, seeing how professionals write can be very helpful. As always Youtube is a true blessing here. There are many excellent stand-alone videos addressing individual topic or problems you might face.
This playlist on Handwriting Lessons contains 8 different videos that go over the basics of handwriting such as fine motor movement and personalizing your handwriting. The Youtube channel called The HEV Project also provides a short cursive writing course that comes with printable handwriting worksheets. The course exists out of 33 short videos that can form a good start for beginners.
Online Penmanship Courses And Classes
If you want to attend some classes to improve your handwriting but don’t have much spare time, you can always follow calligraphy classes online. Udemy is a great platform to learn almost anything online. We have selected 3 great courses you can take on Udemy at your own pace when every you want.
1 Cursive Penmanship: Learn the art, improve your handwriting
This class focusses on cursive writing. It contains 55 short lectures on how to use writing utensils and how to write every single letter.
The instructor will show you have to write a single letter after which you can practice yourself by tracing letters and eventually do it entirely by yourself.
In total you can finish everything in under an hour. But you can practice as much as you want with the handwriting worksheets that are provided.
Click Here to check out this course
Improve your Handwriting – Improve your life
If you want to know how to practice better handwriting and how it might influence your life, this is the course for you. According to the course creator, improving your handwriting will also increase your confidence and success in business and school.
Going through all 54 lectures will take you about 3.5 hours and you will get to learn the keys of legible handwriting, new handwriting habits and how to increase your confidence.
Calligraphy for Beginners: Creating Strong Lines
This class will teach you how to write calligraphy using a Pilot Parallel pen. The lectures will teach you proper pen angle and the right rhythm you will need for strong lines.
The end goal of this course is to come up with a tattoo or ornamental design. The skills you will learn in this course will be useful not only for calligraphy but also for other areas such as illustration, design, typography and handwriting.
In total there are 13 lectures that you can finish in around 1 hour.
Click Here to sign up for this class
Mobile Applications for Handwriting
Computers and smartphones might be the biggest reason why so many people have difficulty with their handwriting nowadays. It’s time to put that technology to slightly better use!
If you have some short moment of free time in your day to day life, such as waiting in line or during your commute, then spending some time on this Cursive Word app might be a good idea. Of course, to get the most out of these applications you want to be using a phone stylus and hold it as a pen rather than using your finger.
Motivation
Although practice might make perfect, a good chunk of motivation is necessary to keep up the daily practice. If you need some additional motivation, you might want to check out the #bulletjournal on Instagram or follow one of your favorite boards on neat handwriting on Pinterest.
