My handwriting is utterly terrible--illegible in most cases. Best way to improve it?

I can write neat and all but the problem is, in exams, it's near illegible. It's not that I can't write neat--I can--but when it comes to exams, I can't answer the questions without scrawling it down with messy letters. Basically, when I try write naturally without focusing on my handwriting, it turns out bad. How do I make my natural handwriting, where I don't think about neatness, good? Are there any easy ways? Is the only way to just practise writing letters clearly and structured until it gets added to my muscle memory?

Help would be much appreciated. I don't want to utterly fail my GCSEs because of this.

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Reply 1

Muffinz

Try printing letters instead of joining them up.

Reply 2

ShinyT

Hey, i kind of have a similar problem but i can sort of control it lol :tongue:

because with me if i write small and curly no one understands but if i write big and ease some of the curls people seem to understand, though i like the small and curly one, i'm scared that examiners won't understand my handwriting so i use the big one in exams. So, maybe try writing big, but describe your handwriting or post a pic of it, so then it's easier to help you ! :tongue:

Reply 3

member520746

Print them, write slower. Writing slower could be impractical in an exam situation though obviously.

Reply 4

Sadian

My letters are jumbled and sometimes my hands shake when I write. This may have to do with the fact that I often press too hard when I write to try and steady my writing. :/

Here's a pic of my handwriting when I don't give a care at all about how it looks, just trying to get everything down: http://i49.tinypic.com/300qn3k.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/20uo6t0.jpg

This picture is quite old and it's gotten slightly more legible than that but the gist is the same: my letters don't stay on the line, some are bigger and some are smaller, some are rotated at weird angles and in general, I can't keep a structured format.

I've also been terrible at art and anything that involves hand co-ordination like food technology, graphics, simply using scissors etc.

Reply 5

OceanInTheSky

Keep the letters on the line, that's what they are there for..

Reply 6

Sadian

What do you guys mean by 'print them'? Also, I generally have no problem with writing if I take my sweet time. I am capable of writing neat but the problem is exams. I'm under a time limit and I usually can't get down all my thoughts unless I write naturally. And my natural handwriting is what I want to make better. It's terrible!

Reply 7

AdamsStudios

Original post by Sadian

Print them means writing without joining them up, this typing is in printed letters.

Reply 8

Sadian

Original post by OceanInTheSky

Keep the letters on the line, that's what they are there for..

Yes, I know! I try to keep the letters on the line but when in an exam, I can't be constantly conscious on whether or not they're on the lines otherwise I waste too much time and can't concentrate on the exam itself! It's not that I don't use the lines, it's that my hands start getting off of them lines when I'm not trying to consciously force them onto the lines.

Reply 9

kingkev

Original post by Sadian

Don't join the letters up.

Reply 10

Sadian

Oh, generally, I do write in print form.

Reply 11

ily_em

Original post by Sadian

Don't join up letters. Also possibly just write in capital letters - this is what my dad has to do for people to be able to read his :P You could try and and see if it's any clearer.

Though tbh, I don't think your writing is as bad as you think it is - I've seen lots worse. Examiners are probably used to deciphering 16 year old guy (sorry) handwriting.

'ever again. A smile slowly started to appear, which was soon shortlived. I looked at (something) beat ahead of of me. I tried to stop,, but I was too late.'

i didn't try very hard to work it out and it was fine, apart from that one bit :dontknow:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 12

ellie-wellie

I can totally relate to this. In normal life, lessons etc, my handwriting is fine- but when it comes to exams that goes out of the window. It's been like it since GCSE and I get fine results, so don't worry about it.

There are plenty of people in my classes whose normal life handwriting is illegible, so I can't imagine what their exam writing is like. And they're fine too. The examiners know that kid's handwriting is awful.

Reply 13

Aaron.F

Possibly go to a doctor to see if you have a disorder? My handwriting and other fine skills were really quite bad but then I was diagnosed with dyspraxia at 15 and I'm allowed to use laptops in exams to curb the illegibility.

Reply 14

Sadian

Original post by ily_em

Examiners are probably used to deciphering 16 year old guy (sorry) handwriting.:

Wait, really? You mean, if a handwriting is bad, they actually try to decipher it? I've been told on and on that an examiner has lots of papers to mark and if he sees yours and sees that the handwriting is utterly bad, then he'll only mark the parts he can easily read. My teachers have told me on and on that the examiner won't mark anything that would take him a while to read. Was this just something they told me to try and get me to try harder to improve my handwriting? Because it's really made me worry about all my results and if the examiner was able to read it or not.

Original post by ellie-wellie

Same to you! I mean, I've been told on and on that if your handwriting is bad, the examiners won't try any harder to read yours than they did for others.

Reply 15

ily_em

Original post by Sadian

Well if it's really bad of course they won't bother, but as I said I don't think it's as bad as you think it is. I managed to read it fine and examiners will probably find it easier as they're more used to it :P

Obviously you can still improve your writing though. have you tried my idea of writing in all capitals yet?

Reply 16

tom181

I agree with the capitals, my dad does that.
Also, make sure you hold the pen correctly, not too high up or low down, if you really need to you could get one of those pens that is designed to help you learn how to write, they make you hold it right.
Try doing some painting or something in your spare time, it will improve if you keep up with the special effort.

Reply 17

Sadian

Original post by ily_em

Yeah, I did that for some particular application forms and it's clearer but it gets a bit rocky. But if I improve on it, I think it'd turn out neater than my normal handwriting. It's a bit too slow to be practical now, though. :/

Reply 18

Sadian

Original post by Eragon.

pics or gtfo.

I already gave pics. They're somewhere up there!

Reply 19

SHABANA

Original post by Sadian

Yeah they do decipher it I think. Even if you didn't write on the line and started writing up the side and all the way around the page (as long as it's in the rectangle thing) they have to mark it in case your answer is in there lol. I could read the writing in the pics so don't worry too much about it. A good way to improve it is to have a paragraph written out slowly and neatly. Then keep writing that random paragraph and try to do it in less time. Keep doing that. And also practice common words that you use a lot like "and", "then" etc. etc.