Facebook survey about handwriting

For the purposes of research, and because I’m attempting to be more than a wallflower on Facebook, I asked my friends some questions about their handwriting.  I found the responses interesting, varied, and thoughtful.  My first post read, “I’m curious:  How frequently do you write by hand versus typing?  When you do write by hand, do you use cursive, print, or a combination of both?  Is your signature the only thing you consistently write in cursive?”  Here’s what they said:

CC – I only write by hand in my journal or for short notes anymore.  My handwriting is a stylized combo of print and cursive with big vertical swooshes and a deep imprinting with the pen.

LU – I only write my signature in cursive.  I have been printing since in Jr. High.  My cursive looks like a 2nd graders because I never practiced beyond grade school.

EB – don’t really use cursive anymore, too slow, too easily a scribble.  I write a lot cuz I’m into lists and sometimes I journal.  It’s easier for me to chicken scratch my thoughts and then type them out.  A Luddite at heart I am really into my clipboards.

TB – Touch screens, printish notes, Dr. Scribble siggy

AL – I write almost as much as I type, and I write in cursive most of the time!  Great question, though… I had never stopped to consider this

EH – I handwrite often: lists, notes, and lots at work and it’s pretty much all upper case letters (my dad and my dad’s dad also are full upper case users)…

NN – I was an all caps girl for years and years, then went mostly to print with the typewriter a’s and crossed q’s, and now write in a mix of cursive and print.  My a’s are still typewriter a’s, and the words are often broken up mid word, half cursive and half print.  Not nearly as pretty and ledgible funny to think how much it’s changed.

NN – Legible, I meant!  And it’s definitely not as neat as it once was… I love to write, though.  I love the tactile feel of it.  Being so connected to the words.  But I must say, I’ve noticed I write much better, in general, on the computer.  Don’t know for sure why…  I enjoyed thinking about this one…

I posted this the next day, “I’m finishing a research paper on handwriting.  Thanks for your input.  Anyone else want to put in their two cents about writing by hand or typing?  Cursive or print?”

AA – Mostly cursive, it’s faster.  If I really need another person to be able to read what I wrote, I will generally print.  I write by hand a lot more than I type and print.

AE – I type everything!  It is sad how horrible my handwriting has gotten!  Schools are barely teaching cursive to kids anymore…it seems crazy to think how much it all has changed.

MV – I think schools need to scrap teaching cursive and start teaching kids how to write code.

CM – I believe in handwriting… it hopefully will not be a lost art one day.  I love to write cursive and just recently began subbing in a 3rd grade classroom.  I had to reteach myself a few 🙂

TH – Cool topic… With the exceptions of my signature (which is a complete bastardization of cursive writing and line art) applications, forms, love letters, sticky notes, grocery lists, greeting cards and journal entries, I type everything.  When I do write, it’s small and in all caps (same with my Dad), and never in cursive.  I find that when there is a necessity for immediacy or emotion, it’s almost always hand-written.

CG – I’ve always loved cursive as an art form and personally prefer using it when not typing… though I sign all of my metal artworks with big bold blocky capital letters welded onto the surface.  It’s very difficult to get clean cursive lines out of a welding gun!

EP – I like handwriting and tend to write in a combination of printing & cursive (specifically, I don’t like cursive b’s, z’s, and q’s) 😉

KD –I hand write personal letters, script/cursive… jotting down notes is definitely a combination… formal papers and such, just go right to typing

DT – cursive for speed and journaling, printing for legibility, and typing is the fastest and least tiring for my hands.  I like a mix of cursive and print ‘cuz a handwriting analyst once told me that shows hemispheric lateralization.  Ouch!

What about you?  Do you prefer typing, cursive or print?

About Ed Battistella

Edwin Battistella’s latest book Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels was released by Oxford University Press in March of 2020.
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