Pet peeve - bad handwriting

[LisaM]

Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, give me something with edits on it (which should be going to a secretary anyway, but that's a different issue) when your handwriting is illegible. That includes scratchy handwriting, childish handwriting, and hasty scribbles.

[kick-ass-bob]

1. it's not my fault you can't read!

:silly:

[henslee]

2. Ouch. I am a lefty who was forced to write cursive in grade school...

It made me neurotic. Needless to say, my handwriting is awful. It has plagued me my whole life and used to embarass me. I can print good enough but I usually type everything. Sigh... guess there's no future for us.

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. Are companies really hiring secretaries these days???

Mine is too damn cheap.

:shrug:

[tjwmason]

4. I have my own theory

That the page should look tasteful, with deep swirling loops and a graceful tilt. I don't care whether you can read it, but it looks splendid.

[Bok_Tukalo]

5. Does anyone have their own personal hand written fonts?

I have about 5.

[Droopy]

6. My hand writing is ugly, but legible

I have to print. I haven't written in cursive since grade school. The only thing I write in cursive is my signature. I would be hard pressed to write out a note in cursive and you probably wouldn't be able to read it.

[arcane1]

7. based upon an un-scientific survey of mine...

I've found that people who were adults when pc's and email became predominant, have all found their handwriting degenerated to pre-school levels

[LisaM]

8. I am also left-handed - and I skipped a grade and missed cursive

My handwriting is better than average, because I practiced it for hours and hours through high school - I wanted to have nice handwriting.

Alas, handwriting is becoming a lost art.

However, I still think it's rude to have so little respect for another person's time that you hand them something that is difficult to read. Heck, my boyfriend looks at stuff he wrote and even he can't read it. We got a postcard from his sister once, and we couldn't figure out who it was from, it was so illegible - we only learned later.

[funkybutt]

9. Is handwriting really something that can be taught?

I feel like it's more of a natural thing like a voice or your thought patterns. I write too small. It's a very distinct style of writing but I never could learn to write...well...like everyone else. Through all my years of school, various teachers would punish me for it.

My hands are very small and I write about 1/3 to 1/2 the height of a ruled line (college rule). Nothing I can do about it

but on the plus side, it conserves paper :D

[Book Lover]

12. Yes, absolutely

Practice, practice, practice; that's what it takes to learn how to scribe legibly. Punishing you for your small scribing was obviously counterproductive - you should have been taught a good strong book hand, and then allowed to write your notes in your own "natural" hand.

[BillZBubb]

10. My handwriting is atrocious

but only anal retentives seem to have a problem with it.

[LisaM]

11. Har har - but the real point is, do you expect others to transcribe it?

It's one thing to have bad handwriting, entirely another thing to expect people to type what you've written.

[johnnie]

13. I try

When I was in first grade they handed my parents pads of paper and pencils and I had to practice every night. When I was in 5th grade the teacher came back from lunch and placed a little bag on my desk. It had one of those things you put around the pencil in an attempt to make my handwriting better.
Years and years later it still is terrible. I do take a lot more time out if someone else has to read it though, but it still looks bad. I don't know if it is something you can teach someone to do. They tried with me..it just didn't work.