It’s something that has gone into the shadows today, what with the dependence on electronic mail and printed documents; however, handwriting is still an essential part of the schooling process. College students may take notes on their laptops or even their smartphones, but they still have to write their exams with pen on paper. And as long as you’re in school, the gadgets are minimized and handwriting is maximized, so it’s best to work on making it neat and legible.  There’s much that teachers and parents can do to help students improve their handwriting, starting with this list of ideas:

Start emphasizing the importance of neat writing when they’re at a young age, preferably when they’re learning cursive writing.  Get them to practice their handwriting every day using the special notebooks that are designed for this purpose.

Once they develop their own style of writing, correct aspects that need to undergo change – for instance, if they write neatly but the writing is not legible, ask them to increase the size of the font; or if they leave very little space between words, get them to work consciously on including more space so the words can be differentiated.  Award prizes for essays that feature the best handwriting.  Ask for rewrites when handwriting is slipshod and haphazard.

Insist on students with poor handwriting practicing every day – they may not like it, but they’ll thank you when their grades go up because their handwriting has improved.  If students still have trouble writing neatly, get them to try changing the way they grip the pen or ask them to write more slowly.

Some students write better on lined paper while others prefer unlined sheets – ask them to choose what’s best for their writing.

They say your handwriting reveals much of your character, but what’s more important for students is that their writing must be neat and legible, with well ordered lines and spacing so that teachers are able to grade their exams and assignments without any difficulty.

This guest post is contributed by Paula Dierkins, who writes on the topic of PhD Degree Online . Paula can be reached at her email id: paula.dierkins[@]gmail[.]com