How to Get Better Handwriting (For All Ages!)

We’ve all been there: you’re trying to read something you wrote and simply have no idea what it says. Yep, your handwriting is bad. But is there a way to improve it? Luckily, there are many ways you can improve your handwriting (no matter what age you are)! We talked to modern calligraphy & watercolor artist Swetha Shenoy and elementary school teacher Courtney Copriviza to bring you the best advice on how to make your handwriting better, so keep scrolling to learn more!

How can you improve your handwriting?

Modern calligraphy & watercolor artist Swetha Shenoy says that handwriting can be improved by slowing down, maintaining proper hand positioning, and practicing consistently. She advises practicing with practice sheets or directional charts. Along with this, handwriting can be improved by:

Tracing basic letters
Handwriting things whenever you can
Experimenting with how you hold a pen or pencil

Section 1 of 3:

The Best Ways to Improve Your Handwriting

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Writing involves your hand, arm, and shoulder muscles. So, to write neatly and consistently, you need to train and develop them. To work out your writing muscles, write sentences in the air using your finger. This forces you to use the muscle groups in your arm and shoulder that help stabilize your hand and improve the shape and form of your letters.^{[1]
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Meet the wikiHow Experts

Courtney Copriviza is an elementary school teacher who specializes in teaching children life and social skills.

Swetha Shenoy is a modern calligraphy artist and watercolor artist who teaches lettering techniques.
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Find a comfortable grip on your pen or pencil. A firm yet relaxed grip can prevent your hand from cramping and help your letters come out neater. Find a comfortable grip by holding your pen or pencil between your thumb and index finger about ⅓ of the way from the tip. Then, use your other fingers to support the pen and your index finger. Let the end of the writing utensil rest against either the web of your hand or against the knuckle of your index finger.^{[2]
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- Your general posture can help improve your writing, too. Wiggle your wrist to loosen it and relax your shoulders as you write.
- Shenoy agrees that maintaining proper hand positioning is key to improving your handwriting.^{[3]
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Practice basic letter shapes. All of the letters in the alphabet are made up of straight lines, circles, and semicircles, so take time to draw out these shapes. Fill an entire sheet of paper with parallel vertical lines and parallel diagonal lines. Then, do the same with a sheet of “o” and “c” shapes as well. Practice your loops and squiggles too, which form the letters “e” and “s,” says Shenoy.^{[4]
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Swetha Shenoy
Modern Calligraphy & Watercolor Artist

Expert Interview} Making the same lines and shapes over and over helps your letters come out regular and consistent.^{[5]
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- To help you practice, Shenoy recommends using handwriting worksheets.^{[6]
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Swetha Shenoy
Modern Calligraphy & Watercolor Artist
Swetha Shenoy is a Modern Calligraphy & Watercolor Artist based in New Jersey. She is the founder of The Paisley Corner, a creative hub that provides art workshops & team-building activities for individuals and corporate teams alike. Swetha created The Paisley Corner to spread the joy of creating through her art workshops. She teaches multiple lettering techniques, including hand lettering, brush lettering, and watercolor lettering. Since founding The Paisley Corner 5 years ago, she has taught 2500+ students (adults and kids) at over 200 workshops. Notable corporate clients include Adobe, Shapeways, Rituals, Confetti, MixLife & the New York tri-state area public libraries. Prior to her career as an artist and small business owner, Swetha worked as a Software Engineer at multiple companies. She received a BS in Computer Science from Visvesvaraya Technological University and a MS in Computer Science from University of Illinois, Chicago.

Swetha Shenoy
Modern Calligraphy & Watercolor Artist

Take it slow. Remember, practice makes perfect. Be mindful and slow when practicing your handwriting. Even practicing one letter at a time can make a big difference.
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Practice your alphabet. Yes, just like in first grade, fill up a piece of paper with each letter of the alphabet in lower and uppercase. For example, if you want to improve your slanting, practice making your letters vertical, advises Shenoy.^{[7]
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Swetha Shenoy
Modern Calligraphy & Watercolor Artist

Expert Interview} If you’re changing the style of your letters, concentrate on simulating the shapes you see in your handwriting inspiration.^{[8]
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- Shenoy says that this technique helps build muscle memory, which in turn can help improve your handwriting.^{[9]
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When you were first learning to write in kindergarten, you likely used a directional chart to learn the correct way to form your letters. Going back to the basics can help you nail down your letters and keep them consistent as you write, says Copriviza.^{[10]
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Courtney Copriviza
Elementary School Teacher

Expert Interview} So, just follow one of these guidelines and fill up a sheet with the correct downwards and upwards strokes. For example, rather than starting a lowercase ‘a’ with the tail, begin at the top of the loop.
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Practice writing sentences. Once you’ve nailed the shapes of your letters, write them into full words and sentences. To practice using all of the letters of the alphabet at once, write the phrase “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” over and over again. The adage “Practice makes perfect” certainly applies here, so be patient with your progress, says Copriviza. It can take several days to weeks to see improvement in your writing.^{[11]
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Courtney Copriviza
Elementary School Teacher

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- If writing the same phrase over again gets tiring, write down some of your favorite quotes and song lyrics, or practice your own name.
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Handwrite things whenever you can. Instead of typing up your essay outline or sending an email to a friend, write your homework or a letter by hand. Writing things whenever it’s possible is the best way to practice and improve your handwriting. It might take a bit longer than typing, but you’ll help build up the muscles that are necessary for easy, smooth, and neat handwriting.^{[12]
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- To practice your writing every day, start a journal, make your to-do lists by hand, or complete handwriting practice sheets.
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Experiment with different writing utensils to find what works for you. Pens and pencils aren’t one-size-fits-all. Different sizes and styles might fit in your hand more comfortably, which can change how you write, says Shenoy.^{[13]
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Swetha Shenoy
Modern Calligraphy & Watercolor Artist

Expert Interview} Choose a pen based on how you like the flow of ink as you write; some pens to try are ballpoint, roll-on, and felt tip. Or, see if you prefer the movement of a traditional or mechanical pencil.^{[14]
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- When you find the type of pen or pencil you like, experiment with different lead sizes and pen tips to find what thickness makes your handwriting pop, too.
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Look at other handwriting styles to get inspiration. Sometimes, all you need is a little motivation! Shenoy recommends finding a handwriting style you hope to be able to achieve one day by searching “fonts” or “handwriting” online.^{[15]
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Swetha Shenoy
Modern Calligraphy & Watercolor Artist

Expert Interview} Then, use these samples to develop your own style.^{[16]
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- You don’t have to adopt an entirely new style or copy someone else’s handwriting word-for-word. Just pick and choose certain aspects of different styles to incorporate the shapes and letters into your writing and make them your own.
- Print out a sample of the alphabet or a sentence with your chosen font, then trace over it to get a feel for the style.

Section 2 of 3:

What causes bad handwriting?

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Poor fine motor skills or hand-eye coordination can cause bad handwriting. Poor handwriting isn’t uncommon, especially because it’s perceived as a “dying art” in a technological world; however, ensuring your handwriting is legible is still important. For many, messy handwriting is simply a case of poor motor skills or coordination. Check out these common causes of bad handwriting:^{[17]
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- Poor fine motor skills (difficulty doing small tasks with your hands)
- Poor visual motor integration (unable to write or copy what the mind sees)
- Orthographic coding issues (the inability to remember what words or letters look like)
- Autism
- Dyslexia
- Shenoy adds that bad handwriting can be caused by incorrect pen grip, poor posture, and/or lack of practice. Luckily, these are easy to fix!^{[18]
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- If you have bad handwriting, don’t worry! Poor handwriting is common and isn’t something to be self-conscious about. After all, there are plenty of ways to improve it, no matter your age.

Section 3 of 3:

How to Analyze Your Handwriting

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Choose a topic that you enjoy and write at least five sentences about it. If you’re not feeling too creative, simply copy a passage out of a book or newspaper. The goal is to get a general idea of what your handwriting looks like in your day-to-day life. The more you write, the more accurate your analysis will be.^{[19]
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Seeing what type of lines you tend to make can help you figure out your handwriting style. Are your letters full of loops and curves? Do you primarily make stiff, straight lines? Or maybe your letters all have hard corners and tend to blend together.
The angle at which you write your letters can change the look of your handwriting. Is your handwriting perpendicular to the lines under it? Does it fall to the left or to the right significantly? It’s okay to have a slight slant, but too much of one can make reading your writing difficult.^{[20]
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Generally, handwriting is the easiest to read when your words are written flush against the lines of the page. Do your letters tend to slant upwards or downwards on your paper? Do they overlap with the lines on the page? Then, check if your alignment is consistent, too. Is every word individually angled, or do entire lines of text head in a similar direction away from the line?^{[21]
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A good guide to follow is to make enough space to fit the letter “O” between each word. Using more or less space than this can change how easy it is to read your handwriting. Pay attention to the closeness of each individual letter, too. Your letters shouldn’t be so far apart that you don’t know what word they belong to, but not so squished together that they run into each other.^{[22]
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Pay attention to the size of your letters on your paper. You might find that your writing easily fills up 2 full lines. Or, you tend to write all your words cramped under the middle of a single line. Whatever size you generally write in, it needs to be legible to you.^{[23]
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- Look at the size of your letters in relation to each other, too. Capital letters should be larger than lowercase ones, while tall letters like “t” should extend past small letters like “a.”
Look at how you indent the page with your pen or pencil. Are the lines of your letters thick and dark, or are they faint and hard to read? Shenoy says to check how your pen or pencil moves across the page, too. Are your lines straight and sure, or are they kind of squiggly and uneven?^{[24]
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Swetha Shenoy
Modern Calligraphy & Watercolor Artist

Expert Interview}
Looking at how you tend to shape, slant, space, and align your letters, think about what you like and what you want to improve about your handwriting. You might love how you round and curve your letters, but want to straighten them against the page so they’re more legible. Or, there might be a letter that always comes out misshapen that you want to perfect. Honing in on certain areas tells you what you need to practice.

Handwriting Practice Page

Sample Handwriting Practice Page

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How do I improve my handwriting?

Swetha Shenoy
Modern Calligraphy & Watercolor Artist

Much like calligraphy or lettering, if one wants to improve their handwriting, it is about practicing. You can get handwriting worksheets on Etsy or for free online. Download a couple of worksheets that you like.

Start by tracing over the writing initially to build some muscle memory and to learn how to move your pen or your pencil in those shapes that you like. Then eventually, learn to let go of the tracing paper and try it on your own, really slowing down. Whether it's calligraphy or handwriting, I think it's important to be mindful, slow down, and focus on one letter at a time or a couple of letters at a time to improve your skill.

Practice does not mean you practice for 30 minutes every day. Start small by doing 5 to 10 minutes a day, working on a few sets of letters every day. Again, have a little bit of structure and just practice, practice, practice.

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Is it better to write with a pen or a pencil?

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Using a pen or pencil just comes down to your preference; one isn't better than the other. Try out different kinds of leads and pen tips to see what looks and feels the best to you.

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Why should you look at different styles if you are already having trouble with your own handwriting?

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Looking at different handwriting styles can inspire you to improve and help you develop your own style. As you practice making your letters and style more consistent, you can use your inspiration as a guide to help you form your letters.

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How can I learn to write fast and neatly in exams?

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Practice a lot, and you will get better. If you practice writing slowly, then increase the speed, it'll soon become your normal approach.

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Tips

Use lined paper to help keep your writing straight. Stay on the line, only taking the letters above or below it as required by the letter's shape (e.g., “q,” “y” and “g”).

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Aim to write at least one paragraph each day to help improve your handwriting.

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Keep copies of your favorite handwriting styles near your desk for inspiration.

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The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Instead of trying to completely change your writing into a different style, make small adjustments to get your handwriting how you want it to look. Trying to change your handwriting all at once can be frustrating, depending on how long you've been writing a particular way for, so it might be easier to make small changes over time.
Writing with a gel pen on smooth paper can make your lines flow better.
Try using a pencil gripper to change your grip.

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Warnings

Don't press the nib, or tip, of your pen hard on the paper as you write. Pressing down hard can cause your hand to cramp, so keep your pressure even.

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Don't throw away your templates or practice sheets. Use these as guidelines as you write to see how the letters should look and what you need to improve.

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To prevent writer's cramp, use your wrist and arm to support your hand. Then, relax your grip on your pen or pencil.

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Reuse your practice sheets and paper as much as you can to prevent excess waste. Use the front and back of each sheet and write in the margins.

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