The Educator (Volume 45) - IAMPETH

The ability to write a plain business
hand should be acquired by
everyone. There is a very great demand
for good handwriting today,
especially in the schools and business
offices. At some time or other everyone
is required to do some writing,
and to not be able to write so that
others can read it, is a mark of carelessness
or lack of ability, for the
average person can acquire a legible
style of writing with a little systematic,
well-directed effort.
The lessons in The Educator are
planning to assist everyone who so
desires to improve his writing. They
are also presented with the view of
aiding teachers to teach handwriting.
Good business writing still has commercial
value and we predict that
more attention will have to be given
to penmanship by those who seek
positions.
A good position showing the right
hand in action. Notice the evenness of
the shoulders due to the fact that the
elbows are on the desk. Notice how
the head is held upright.
Neatness
One of the characteristics of good
writing is neatness. Any student can
cultivate the habit of neatness and
care. Always endeavor to make your
writing look neat,—this means nice
margins, no corrections, blots or
smeared places. It also means
smooth clean lines. A blotter under
the hand will help keep the paper
clean. Care in dipping ink will also
avoid ink blots. Dip so that the eye
of the pen is covered but do not get
any ink on the holder.
Business Writing
By E. A. Lupfer
No. 1
The Angle of the Paper
The paper should be held in front
of you with the top slanting slightly
towards the left (for right-handed
persons). The lines on the paper
should be parallel to an imaginary
line drawn from the lower left to the
upper right hand corners of the desk.
The paper should be shifted as often
as necessary in order to keep the
writing directly in front of the body.
When writing at the top of the page
the paper should be slid down, and
when writing at the bottom of the
page the paper should be moved up
in order to keep the writing directly
in front of the body. The left-handed
writer should slant his paper toward
the right just the opposite to that of
a right-handed writer.
Movement
A combination of movements is desirable.
A pure finger movement
produces slow writing. Whole arm
movement tends to carelessness. The
arm rolls on the muscles below the
elbow in making letters. The hand
glides on the little finger freely on
the upward stroke but rests on the
downward stroke. In some places the
fingers may assist in guiding the pen.
To develop free movement and get
the idea of how the muscles act, place
the arm on the desk in the writing
position, close the hand tightly and
while pressing on the muscles roll
the arm around quickly forming an
oval exercise. In a few minutes you
will discover the set of muscles used
in making most of the capitals. At
first one may write slowly while
gaining a knowledge of form, but it
is a good plan to work form and
movement together.
Position
It is important to study position
in acquiring any skill. This is especially
true in penmanship. We should
consider position from the standpoint
of the health of the writer and also
from the standpoint of efficiency.
Sit well back in the chair, leaning
forward from the hips. Keep the
back comparatively straight and not
touching the desk. Hold the head up
which never should be turned sideways.
The elbows should be on the
edge of the desk. They should be
even. That is, do not shove one
elbow forward on the desk and the
other one off the desk. By keeping
the elbows evenly on or off the desk,
you keep the shoulders even and
therefore, maintain a more healthful
position. The eyes should not be too
close to the work. By having a natural
easy position, with the shoulders
even, the head up and the back
straight, you will get better circulation
of the blood and find this will
enable you to work at a desk for
many hours without injury to health.
The arm should rest on the muscle
below the elbow. The knuckle should
point towards the ceiling. It is a
good thing to keep the wrist comparatively
flat. It may slope slightly,
but be sure not to let the hand turn
on the side. The weight of the hand
should rest on the third and fourth
fingers. The fingers should be curved
naturally. The first finger should rest
on top of the holder and the second
finger should rest underneath the
holder which should cross the finger
at the base of the nail. The first and
second fingers and thumb should be
about evenly distributed around the
holder. The first finger should always
extend down lower than the end of
the thumb. If the first finger is
pulled back of the thumb a cramped
position will result. The main thing
to keep in mind in regard to the
hand is to have an easy natural position
with no part of the hand tight.
The penholder should point somewhere
between the shoulder and
elbow.
This side view shows the proper position
of the body. Notice that the body
is held in healthy position — not
cramped over.