8 Fascinating Benefits of Good Handwriting
Do you know how important your handwriting is?
Let me share what led me to improve my handwriting.
‘This your handwriting looks like a chicken’s trail on a muddy floor’ says dad as he went through my secondary school notes.
Those words sunk into my heart as I realized that handwriting still forms an integral part of our education system.
I hurriedly went to analyze his own handwriting too, on the pages of his study notes in his room. Truth be told, it was lovely. It looked like well-placed calligraphy.
Right there and then, I had the desire to improve my handwriting. By the time I was done with my self-taught handwriting lessons, I got compliments everywhere my writing was seen.
It didn’t end there, when I got to the university, I copied my printed hand-outs into my personal notes, even if it will take me days to do that.
I found it easy because I had fallen in love with my writing and seem to read faster and assimilate better when I read it.
From choir notes to school notes to attendance sheets to complimentary cards to bank forms, my handwriting stood gallantly with arms crossed, taking pride in itself and smiling at each onlooker.
The truth is, if compliments came with a price, I’ll be in trillions by now (Lol).
See why your handwriting is not just a trivial skill, but as important as any training you could undergo to add value to yourself.
1. It increases or decreases your exam scores
Do you know one advantage of having good handwriting is better scoring?
You know when you were asked to write an essay back in grade ten, you thought your teacher was partial because he/she awards more marks to certain people even when you all wrote the same thing or even better.
I want you to look at your writing and ask yourself “if I were in my teacher’s shoes, would I be able to mark what I just wrote?
Do you know some exam papers are so hard to score simply because the written answers are not legible enough?
On the other hand, if your handwriting is so easy to read, the lecturer will more likely be impressed for making him read your scripts effortlessly and not straining his eyes as other writings would.
Every teacher knows that spending less time and energy to mark a particular student’s note is enough motivation to mark appropriately.
As long as the majority of your exams are handwritten, good handwriting will give you an edge amidst your peers.
Don’t let your examiner guess what you wrote. Let your writing be bold enough to speak for itself. This is especially important for writing tasks where examiners will give attention to your spellings.
Read: 15 Habits of highly successful students
2. It gives an impression – Whether false or real
Good handwriting can be the difference between you securing or losing a job and failing or passing an exam. The importance of good handwriting cannot be overemphasized.
While some people might say that your handwriting doesn’t matter as long as you are passing the message intended, I still think the message can be affected by the handwriting.
How do you intend to pass your message if you’re to write a drug to a patient as a doctor?
There was a day I went to the hospital to visit someone. I helped out to buy some drugs at the pharmacy, unfortunately, I couldn’t read what the doctor wrote on the drug prescription note. I stared hard at the note over and over again but couldn’t fully read the full words.
Then, I assumed the doctor must be unprofessional and maybe a bit reckless. I may be wrong, but wouldn’t you want people to see your handwriting and say ‘please I need to see who wrote this, he must be good-looking and neat’. Wouldn’t you?
So, having legible handwriting gives you a much better personality. The good news is, you can learn and practise it. So come on, it’s not rocket science.
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3. It creates opportunities
A friend, Bright, wrote a letter to one of the biggest secondary schools in Lagos, Nigeria to speak to the students and motivate them for excellence.
Days later, he was contacted. He realized that one basic reason he got called was that his handwriting compelled the receiver of the letter to read through.
Obviously, the recipient was a busy person and would have shoved the letter somewhere for the next few days. That’s the power of compelling handwriting. It could be easily used to make a judgement about us.
Besides, there is a strong link between handwriting and spelling, which can reinforce early writing skills.
Opportunities are created when your writing is nice and you can get a good job by having good handwriting. Some jobs like office and courtroom clerks require that you have good writing to prevent costly mistakes.
Hence, if you plan to work with any company, you can improve your writing. Alternatively, look for a service with good customer retention to help you make a good impression.
4. Enhances Accurate Communication
Do you know some of your friends will look at a note and say “this must be my friend’s writing” “She was here, I can see her writing on this sheet”?
So, would I be wrong to say, by your writing, we shall know you or we shall know yourr mark on the sand of time. Lol.
Imagine I wrote something for someone to see and the person gets there and cannot decipher what I have written. What happens to such information? It dies off, unfulfilled with no message passed.
As inconsequential as this may sound, it can be a saving grace in a life-threatening situation where the only option you have is to write a message to the person needing the information.
Read: Hidden consequences of exam malpractice
5. Cognitive benefits
While I was a student, I had a jotter where I poured my thoughts when I’m done reading the lecturer’s notes.
As I kept doing this, I realized it was very easy for me to remember things because I wrote them in my words.
Sometimes, the whole picture of my notes will appear in my head and that gives me a natural speed to answer questions.
Handwriting promotes clear thought and natural structure that will help you to re-evaluate and assimilate your notes.
This re-evaluation gives you the opportunity to add extra observations while maintaining speed, especially in time-bound examinations.
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6. It makes you employable
As insignificant as it may seem, some companies and industries require at least some display of handwriting skills.
Some vacancies require a handwritten application letter or cover letter. The fact that you know how to write a good application letter does not mean you will write those words down legibly and articulately.
Aside from being an employment skill, some fields such as medical-related professions require medical notes and prescriptions for patients.
7. Fewer distractions
In this digital biosphere of I-pads and phone tablets, there is a lot of distractions from the internet and applications.
You remember something and you want to quickly type it on your phone, unfortunately, a call comes in and then a text message, then a WhatsApp message and then a comment on your Facebook post (You can relate, right?). Before you know it, you have forgotten what you wanted to type on your phone.
That’s what writing on a small piece of paper will not let you go through, why? Because you just go straight into writing and not multi-tasking like your computers and phones.
Besides, there’s a tendency you would want to edit your words as you type rather than letting it flow. This can be counterproductive for an inspired process.
On the other hand, your hand lets you write your thoughts first and edit later. This way, you can preserve the creativity, originality and freshness of your ideas.
Read: Quick Ways to raise your CGPA in one semester
8. Artistic opportunities
Studies show that there is something uniquely multidimensional about putting pen to paper to form words and phrases.
Writing engages the brain and motor skills in a different way when compared to typing on a keyboard.
It is likened to a holistic and tactile experience that engages the eyes, hands, fingertips, arms and hand muscles.
The truth is, with a pen in my hand, I could write tens and hundreds of thoughts that will flow naturally. I will link up creative and artistic opportunities that most likely wouldn’t happen when typing on a keyboard.
On a final note, Ryder Carroll, creator of Bullet Journal said “there is something incredibly powerful about making your mark on a paper.
It’s the exact moment when an idea leaves your mind and looks back at you for the first time. And guess what! He has never been able to replicate that experience digitally.
His statement leaves me feeling great. No wonder many writers attest to the value of outstanding handwriting.
9. Your Work Is Given Attention
When I was in high school I had a friend, who was quite brainy. You know the typical go-to guy to solve math problems that prove difficult.
He was the teachers favourite and everyone knew why. Not was he intelligent, he had such good writing that teachers love to use his note to make new notes or keep them to teach the next set of students.
This was one of the reasons he was held in such high esteem and was eventually given the post of senior prefect of the school.
When things are being read, judges or teachers like to see they were written with good handwriting. Nobody likes to stress him/her self to read what clearly could have been written better.
10. It Is Associated With An Increased IQ
I guess this shouldn’t come as a surprise since popular belief is that people with good handwriting are usually very smart.
As a kid my parents would always look at my notes every time I returned from school, it didn’t matter what I got in my assessment tests, my mother would always tell me that my writing did not compliment my performance in school.
What I am trying to say is that; people tend to associate good handwriting to intelligence. So if you have good handwriting, you’d likely be seen as an intelligent person.
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11. It Makes You More Diligent
Most people I know with good handwritings are very meticulous people. They take care of their properties like it is the only one they have. This makes it very difficult for them to lose things carelessly or damage their own properties.
The patience that goes into developing good handwriting is what instils this discipline in them, and it ricochets on their character and individual personality.
The patience of having to trace each alphabet of a six-letter word contained in a piece of writing no less than five hundred words, and erasing any letter that doesn’t seem to fit, is what makes it very easy to imbibe the discipline and patience.
These are very important traits for anyone to survive in this world and a very sure way to get it would be through developing better handwriting because it requires commitment and time dedication.
12. Publishers Will Take You Seriously
Imagine sending in a handwritten manuscript to publishers and they cannot even read the first two pages because of your handwriting. You can be sure they will take your manuscript and shove it under their table.
When you have bad handwriting, it doesn’t matter how brilliant your ideas are, as long they cannot be read nobody will ever know how good it is.
So, in order to have people appreciate your writing more, you obviously have to make a conscious effort to improve your handwriting. Publishers will take your work more seriously when it is written with good handwriting.
13. It Gives You A Satisfied Feeling
When you have a readable note or writing, it makes understanding things you write more easily.
People do not understand the opportunities that can be opened for them just by having readable and understandable writing.
When you are done writing legibly, there is a real sense of satisfaction that is almost equal to the feeling of a musician who just sang a beautiful song or a painter who just made an amazing art.
You would be satisfied with yourself after writing and won’t mind taking the time to write more.
Although good handwriting cannot be compared to art, it is very much part of the creation process and it’s very important when creating written contents or literature.
14. It Makes You More Attractive
There is a saying that you can tell a lot about a woman or a man by their handwriting, and although I used to disagree with this oddly true statement, I started understanding later on in life.
Remember I said good handwriting can help you develop some good strengths like patience, dedication, diligence, and commitment to any task you take on.
It is almost usually the opposite for people with bad handwriting. It sometimes shows the level of commitment they are willing to throw into their relationship with other people.
I know this might sound new to you, if not strangely odd, but I want you to do a little flashback on your life, most especially the relationship you have with people that have bad handwriting.
You might notice that these kinds of people put very little efforts into their relationships with others.
Even though you might not agree with me on the whole bad handwriting goes hand-in-hand with bad relationship skills, you will agree with me that good writing is very attractive in both genders.
When you see a piece of work written by a man and the handwriting is bold and readable, you’d surely be impressed and most likely be attracted to this person if you know him or her.
If I tell you this was how a friend met his wife, you would be surprised. They both worked in the same company and my friend was a branch manager and the boss to his wife. One day she wrote a letter answering a query given to her for disappearing for two days without reaching out to explain why.
According to him, the letter she wrote back was beautifully written, but that wasn’t what caught his attention, it was the handwriting that really sparked an interest to get to know the lady a little more.
She had a good reason for not showing up at work and not reaching out. He invited her to his office in a bid to let her know the consequences of doing such if she repeats it again. In the process, they got to know each other and found out they shared a lot of things in common.
He asked her out on a date and the rest is history. You might end up like my friend by attracting your love with impressive handwriting.
15. It Prevents costly mistakes
Most costly mistakes are made when bad writing is used to note down important things. This is risky especially when it has to do with financial institutions. In the past, when computers were not really used, bad handwriting could be very costly.
My uncle mistakenly transferred N5000 to a wrong account as of 1978. You can imagine how big such an is putting into consideration the amount at that time in the ’70s. When the receiver did not get the money he came to my uncle’s house and was really angry.
It took a long time before the matter was finally resolved and the bank nullified the transfer. According to them, my uncle’s handwriting was so bad that they could hardly make out the first three figures of the beneficiary account.
You can be very sure that after that incident, my uncle began paying more attention to his handwriting. According to him, it was one experience he doesn’t want to have again.
16. It Boosts Your Self Esteem
When you have good handwriting, you’ll have confidence. My father had this official kind of handwriting. It stands out and for this reason, we usually give him anything we want to be written.
He hand writes letters to authorities with such confidence at his workplace.
When you have bad handwriting, you will contemplate on whether the receiver will understand what you wrote or not.
Personally, I don’t like pressure. It’s like a big lump on my throat that I will fight tooth and nail to get rid of. For this reason, I decided to prevent things rather than find a cure. So, you can work on your writing too to avoid jittering when you are asked to write something in public.
Bottom line
You can now see the importance of good handwriting. You cannot completely pass your message if your handwriting looks like Nagasaki after the Second World War.
Personally, if I get a note with bad handwriting, I would probably toss it aside no matter what it contains. Now, I want you to imagine how that note would be treated by a judge, teacher or employer.
The disadvantages of bad writing are twice the advantages I am probably going to list here. There is no benefit from bad handwriting except causing an argument or misunderstandings.
Generally, more attention and preference is given to exam scripts of people with good handwriting. It not only makes the work easy for the grader but also makes marking your exam paper more interesting.
I hope I have been able to convince you enough to make your writing as good and legible enough to bring goodies your way.
Don’t forget to share with some persons struggling to know the importance of their handwriting.
Let me ask – how sweet does your handwriting look?
Perusing… Great job ma
Thanks for reading Sir.
Great article! I have never really thought about the idea of handwriting skills to be an importance. We have lost a lot as a society these days with everything being technological!
I can’t believe I’m admitting this but I was incredibly shy as a child and someone complimented me on my handwriting I was so embarrassed I spent the rest of the year training to write horrible. Now I’m stuck with it. I’ve tried practicing and nope it’s one thing I’ve given up on now I must type everything. Lol silly kid I was.
Hahahaha, That was funny of you. Thanks for reading, Karie
This was very interesting!
Thanks, Drue
Reading this made me wish I had worked better to have nice handwriting. At 24 it’s not easy to adapt to it naturally! Thanks for sharing this.
You’re welcome, Kayla
I have an aunt whose handwriting looks like calligraphy. Me, my mom and my sisters all have similar handwriting which I’ve always thought was neat. We write pretty and flowy. I’m proud of this because I like things to look pretty. But I never knew all of the other benefits of good handwriting. What with technology and cursive being taken out of (some) schools, I didn’t know that people still appreciated handwriting. Nice article!
Thanks so much, Carla
Interesting post, I feel bad for those who do not know how to handwrite, How will they ever be able to read the constitution, letters, or other handwritten. Education is so important worldwide and handwriting is part of that foundation. I hope there will be pathways for learning to handwrite again.
Thanks for those insights, Lisa
Very interesting read! I’ve always been very conscious of my handwriting and trying to make it look a certain way, and I’ve always been the type to prefer handwritten notes to typed. I find it helps me remember things a lot better!
Exactly! We are on the same page, Katie
As a teacher, I can definitely relate. Some of my students’ handwriting is plain incomprehensible, or I have to work so hard to read their handwriting that my irritability factors into me giving them a poor grade! Now, I don’t have the most beautiful handwriting, but at least mine is legible. Personally, I think at some point (probably not too far in the future) everything will be digital, but until then, we must do our best to work with the system.
Exactly! You’ve said it all.
I can definitely relate to the getting distracted while trying to write on your phone point! It’s frustrating! I love keeping digital records/notes but when I really need to sort something out and think through ideas, I have to hand write them. It’s the only way I can organize the information in my brain. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Desiree
Hi there! Such a nice article, thank you!
Amazing and compelling! Handwriting is a skill everyone needs. But for some reason, public schools don’t think about it and remove required cursive writing lessons from their schedules. Today’s children often don’t have a chance to get good handwriting skills if their parents don’t do extra tutoring with them after school.
I’m all for pen and paper when it comes to writing something down. I don’t deny the convenience of keeping electronic organizers and taking notes on a tablet or laptop. Most of my classmates don’t even carry workbooks with them to class, just a laptop. But for me it’s not an option, I prefer to write everything down on paper. Without writing it down on paper I don’t remember it. That’s probably how my brain is used to being activated. And I am comforted by the fact that I have an advantage over many of my peers in the employment process, just because I often write by hand and have legible handwriting.
There’s also a pretty detailed infographic about the benefits of handwriting: https://visual.ly/community/Infographics/education/20-reasons-why-handwriting-important-you I used this information recently for my essay and was impressed with exactly the effect of handwriting on brain function.
I join you in the opinion that everyone should practice writing by hand.
Yes, handwriting is a skill everyone needs.
Beautifully written. Appreciate. Working with a child that doesn’t see any reason to improve on her handwriting at the moment and these ponts just helps me put together a convincing proposition. Thank you for sharing. 💕
Glad to know you found it insightful. Thanks for reading, Zendu.