The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Palmer Method of Business Writing,
by A. N. Palmer
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Title: The Palmer Method of Business Writing
A Series of Self-teaching in Rapid, Plain, Unshaded, Coarse-pen,
Muscular Movement Writing for Use in All Schools, Public or
Private, Where an Easy and Legible Handwriting is the Object
Sought; Also for the Home Learner
Author: A. N. Palmer
Release Date: October 6, 2021 [eBook #66476]
Language: English
Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading
Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PALMER METHOD OF BUSINESS
WRITING ***
THE PALMER METHOD _of_ BUSINESS WRITING
A Series of Self-teaching Lessons in Rapid,
Plain, Unshaded, Coarse-pen, Muscular Movement
Writing for Use in All Schools, Public or
Private, Where an Easy and Legible Handwriting
is the Object Sought; Also for the Home Learner
BY A. N. PALMER, EDITOR OF THE AMERICAN PENMAN
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Published by THE A. N. PALMER COMPANY
NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO CEDAR RAPIDS,
IOWA
COPYRIGHT, 1901, COPYRIGHT, 1908, COPYRIGHT, 1913, COPYRIGHT, 1915,
BY A. N. PALMER BY A. N. PALMER BY A. N. PALMER BY A. N. PALMER
[Illustration]
An explanation.—The object of this book is to teach rapid,
easily-executed, business writing. It has not been written to exploit
any one’s skill as a pen artist. It aims to be of use to those who are
ambitious to become good, practical business writers. The lessons it
contains are not experimental, but have been the means of guiding
millions of boys and girls, young men and women to a good business style
of writing.
As will be seen at a glance, the Palmer Method of Business Writing has
nothing in common with copy-books which have been so largely used in
public schools for more than half a century. If they are right, this
book is wrong. The two methods of teaching writing are absolutely
antagonistic.
In teaching writing, as in other subjects, the final result should be
the criterion. Pupils who follow absolutely the Palmer Method plan never
fail to become good penmen. On the other hand, no one ever learned to
write a good, free, rapid, easy, and legible hand from any copy-book
that was ever made.
The copy-book has but one purpose—to secure absolute mechanical
accuracy. The copy-book headline is usually first carefully penciled by
a skilled penman after a given model, and shows none of the
individuality of the penman employed in its construction. The penciled
copy is given to a skilled script-engraver, who engraves it by hand and
further perfects it wherever possible. This impossible and lifeless
ideal the child is required to imitate through long, dreary pages of
copying. No wonder he fails!
It has been proved, through at least two generations, that the copy-book
kills individuality and makes freedom of movement impossible. It compels
slow finger-action in the formation of letters, giving a fair degree of
accuracy where only slow writing is required; but the pupil’s work
inevitably becomes scribbling when the least speed is attempted. In the
Palmer Method, freedom of movement is the foundation, and, through a
constantly repeated series of rapid drills, the application of movement
becomes a fixed habit of the learner. Under this plan the pupil’s first
attempt is naturally crude, but every drill practiced in strict accord
with the printed instructions tends to add grace and accuracy to his
work. The sure result is a handwriting that embodies these four
essentials—legibility, rapidity, ease, and endurance.
The drills and copies in this book are actual writing, executed with a
rapid, easy, muscular movement, and then photo-engraved, thus retaining
the individuality of the writer.
Pupils practicing from these lessons acquire the general style of the
copies, but, at the same time, there is left to them the possibility of
developing their own individuality.
SOME PALMER METHOD FACTS—A PERSONAL TALK
Read and Carefully Consider Everything on These
Three Pages Before Beginning the Study and
Practice of the Lessons. Failing to follow These
Simple Suggestions, You are Likely to Waste Many
Hours, Weeks, and Months in Useless Practice.
The Palmer Method is a text-book on practical writing and should be
studied as such—not treated as a copy-book. The printed instructions are
the author’s direct personal talks to pupils—the same things he would
say to you from day to day were he personally to teach you. These
instructions are of more importance than the copies. They tell you how
to develop and use the muscular movement in writing. If you do not
follow the instructions, you will fail.
Pupils who followed absolutely the Palmer Method plan have always
learned to write well. Pupils who have not first studied the plainly
printed directions and followed them absolutely, have partly or
completely failed. Failure is unnecessary.
Thousands of young men and women have made the Palmer Method of Business
Writing the stepping-stone to positions in business offices, where
commercial advancement rewarded faithful service.
In hundreds of classes where the Palmer Method has been faithfully
studied and completely mastered, periods devoted to written spelling,
composition, examinations, and other written work have been reduced more
than half. Time thus saved has been put to very good use in other
directions. In the beginning stages of the work, until good position,
muscular relaxation, correct and comfortable penholding, and muscular
movement as a habit in writing have been acquired, extra practice may be
necessary; but the extra time will be saved many times over in all
written work later.
Muscular movement writing means good, healthful posture, straight spinal
columns, eyes far enough away from the paper for safety, and both
shoulders of equal height. These features alone should be sufficient to
encourage boys and girls to master a physical training system of writing
such as is presented in the following pages, remembering that it is
impossible to do good muscular movement writing in twisted, unhealthful
positions, or with stiff and rigid muscles.
Straight line and oval drills are of no value except as they lead to
writing. They are the means through which to gain the muscular control
that will enable pupils to master an ideal permanent style of rapid,
plain-as-print writing.
When pupils have learned good posture, correct penholding, and how to
use muscular movement in making a good two-space compact oval, they are
ready to begin to learn how to write well. Too many pupils think they
have really learned how to write well when they are able to make some of
the very simple drills in correct posture at the right speed and in
correct rhythm. That is really the starting-point toward good
penmanship, and should be followed immediately by the practice of words,
and, indeed, by the use of the movement in all written work.
Study and practice go hand in hand in securing the best results in the
shortest possible time. Keep the Manual open before you as you practice;
study and make frequent and careful comparisons of your work with the
drills if you wish to make rapid progress.
Your letters, words, and sentences should occupy the same amount of
space they do in the Manual. Always, before beginning practice, the
drill should be studied in every little detail until the correct picture
is in your mind.
Just how and where does the first line in a letter begin; is it made
with an upward or downward stroke; how high is the letter; how wide is
each part; how much running space does it occupy; in what direction
should the pen move in beginning, continuing, and completing the letter;
and at what rate of speed should the letter or word be written? These
are questions that should constantly occupy you as soon as automatic
muscular movement has been established. In fact, as was said before,
study and practice must go hand in hand, if good results are to be the
outcome.
Blackboard copies, though written by expert penmen, are seen at many
different angles, and at different distances, and do not give correct
mental impressions.
It is highly important not only that pupils have copies of the Manual,
but that they study the printed instructions and drills, closely and
constantly.
The plainly printed instructions in the Palmer Method tell you step by
step exactly what to do and how to do it, in order to progress steadily
and surely toward the desired end.
Millions of American boys and girls have learned a permanent style of
rapid, easy, legible, and beautiful writing by carefully and patiently
following the printed directions found in the Palmer Method of Business
Writing. Final results have then been delightful to pupils, teachers,
parents, and school officials.
The first step is a correct understanding of the required position.
Study the pictures on pages twelve, fourteen, and fifteen, of a pupil
who has learned how to sit so as to use the large tireless muscles of
his arms to the best possible advantage. Study every little detail of
these pictures from the crown of the head to the shoes. Study
particularly and closely the arms, the relation of one arm to the other,
the position at the desk, the distance of the body from the desk, and
the positions of the fingers preparatory to taking the penholder.
As progress is made in the more advanced lessons, you should refer
frequently to these pictures and try to sit as this pupil sat when his
photographs were taken for the Palmer Method. When writing, he always
sits as shown in these photographs, and he knows that it would be
physically impossible to use muscular movement writing in a cramped,
unhealthful position.
There is an old saying, “Practice makes perfect.” That is only partly
true in relation to writing. Practice of the right kind leads toward
perfection, but the wrong kind of practice leads just as surely in the
opposite direction. It is not so much the exercise that is practiced as
the manner in which it is practiced. Millions of pupils have wasted the
time given to movement exercises because they thought it was the
exercise that counted and not the manner in which it was made.
There is no value in any penmanship drill ever invented unless it is
practiced with correct positions of body, arms, fingers, penholders,
paper, and with exactly the right movement, and at exactly the right
rate of speed.
If you study the instructions in the Palmer Method, and follow them
absolutely in daily practice, you will make steady progress and, within
a short time, become a splendid penman. But, even should you spend a
great deal of time practicing the drills in a poor position with cramped
muscles and with the wrong movement, you not only will make no progress
toward good writing, but will contract bad habits, or firmly fix those
already established, and, under such conditions, the possibility of
learning to write well will constantly become more and more remote.
It is a fact, that among the thousands of men and women employed in
business offices who do longhand writing constantly, rapidly, and well,
none can be found who do not use muscular movement, because it is the
only movement through which penmanship embracing in the highest degree
legibility, rapidity, ease, and endurance can be developed.
It is now generally conceded that systems of copy-books have inevitably
resulted in a poor finished product of penmanship. Public school
officials and teachers were satisfied with copy-books so long as they
did not consider good posture, muscular relaxation, easy, tireless
movement and reasonable speed, as important factors. Then the discovery
was made that pupils were able to draw the letters slowly and very
accurately in close imitation of mechanically engraved copies, but that
when rapid, continuous writing was required in the penmanship employed
in written spelling, compositions, examinations, etc., the letter forms
became dissipated in appearance and soon approached the stage of
scribbling.
It must be conceded by everyone that any system of writing which does
not lead to an automatic style embodying legibility, rapidity, ease, and
endurance is a failure.
The term “Copy-book” has been applied for many years to sheets of paper
bound together with a cover, containing at the top of each page, a line
of writing or an exercise to be imitated by the pupils on the lines
below. Sometimes the headlines are made from carefully penciled copies,
mechanically perfected through a system of hand engraving.
There are also bound books, with copies at the top of the pages that
were really written with some show of muscular movement and afterward
photo-engraved, but the copy-book principles are involved in the
publication of such books—principles which preclude the teaching of good
writing through their use. The mental attitude of pupils who see before
them the immaculate page upon which they must make reproductions, as
nearly facsimile as possible of the copies at the top, is wholly
unfavorable to the process.
Another recent copy-book system is the pad with the copy at the top, and
sometimes at the top and center of each page, there being blank lines
below for practice purposes. These modified copy-books are probably
doing just as much harm to the cause of practical writing as the former
kind. Unless the mental attitude is right, physical conditions will be
wrong.
Sincerely,
[Illustration: A. N. Palmer]
FIRST SPECIMENS
Beginning pupils should write three sets of first specimens on paper
about 8×10½ inches. One set should be kept by the teacher, another
retained by the pupil, and one set sent to the nearest office of The A.
N. Palmer Company.
The value of these first specimens will be clearly apparent as the work
of muscular movement development and application progresses and
comparisons are made. Those sent to the publication office are
alphabetically arranged and kept for future reference. When pupils have
mastered the movement and become good business writers, their second
specimens should be sent to be filed with the first. The improvement is
often so great that the first and second specimens may be engraved and
published with great credit to the schools, the pupils, and the Palmer
Method.
In these specimens the following form should be followed: On the first
line write the name, the age, and the grade; on the second line, the
name of the school, city or town, and the date. Skip one line and make a
set of capitals; skip a line and make two lines of miscellaneous
figures; skip a line and write, “A specimen of my best writing before I
began to practice muscular movement writing from the lessons in the
Palmer Method of Business Writing.” The above was written
in ............ minutes and ............ seconds.
CLOTHING FOR THE RIGHT FOREARM
As the muscles of the right forearm play an important part in the
movement, it is necessary that they should be so clothed as to permit,
at all times, unrestricted action. Many good writers consider this of
such importance that they cut off the right undersleeve at the elbow.
=To the Teacher=: See that pupils’ arms are free of heavy clothing.
WRITING MATERIALS
Not much progress can be made with poor paper, poor pens, or poor ink.
Good materials are a necessity. Do not use a penholder covered with
metal where the fingers rest if another can be procured. Never use an
oblique penholder in business writing. It is out of place and of no
advantage whatever. Nothing equals an oblique holder for ornamental
writing, but there its utility ends. Use paper of generous size for your
practice, a medium coarse pen, and ink that flows well. Blue-black
writing fluid is the best.
=Study the instructions; they are of more importance than the copies.=
LESSON 1
CORRECT POSITIONS FOR CLASS ROOM WRITING
In the following pages are reproduced photographs of a class of students
who are experts in the Palmer Method writing. While they knew that their
photographs were to be taken, they did not change their every-day
penmanship positions in the least particular. It was not necessary,
because they had all acquired the habit of sitting in positions that are
comfortable and which at the same time permit muscular freedom and
control.
In elementary schools in cities, space is so limited that the use of
tables or desks large enough to permit the square front position for
writing is usually impossible. If the desks are too small for the square
front position the half-right side position may be used.
=Study these pictures closely; it will pay.=
In the first picture, notice that the right elbow rests on or near the
lower right corner of the desk. This position may be occasionally
modified to suit the needs of pupils. As an example, a very fat boy or
girl may find it necessary to let the right arm rest over on the desk a
little farther.
A good rule to follow in finding the correct position of the right arm
on the desk for writing is as follows: Place the body at the desk in the
correct square front position, raise the entire right arm a few inches,
and withdrawing control, let it drop. Wherever it strikes the desk it
should remain. To draw the arm toward the side would force the right
shoulder upward into an uncomfortable, unhealthful position, or would
force the pupil to lean backward. On the other hand, to place the right
arm farther over on the desk would force the body too far forward.
These photographs show that the pupils sit comfortably in the seats;
that the upper ends of their penholders point a little to the right of
their right shoulders—usually half way between the elbow and the
shoulder; that the Palmer Method is placed at the upper left corner of
the desk—being held open at the required drill with a rubber band; that
the left forearm is on the desk in such a position as will keep the body
upright, the left shoulder from drooping, reserving the free use of the
left hand for changing the positions of the Manual and the paper as
required.
In this position it is easy to push the sheet of paper forward as
progress is made toward the bottom of the page; also to move the paper
to the left when the writing has reached a third or half the distance
across a line, and back into the first position for a new line.
The exact position of the body at the desk and the relative positions of
the left and right arms in writing are very clearly shown in
illustration two, while the position of the left arm in its relation to
desk, Manual, and paper, is best shown in illustration three.
No student who fails in the matter of position will master muscular
movement writing. Correct position is of the greatest importance, and it
should be studied and thoroughly mastered before the writing itself is
considered.
=To the Teacher=: At this point, pupils should be required to close
their Methods and show their familiarity with the preceding discussion
of position by answering questions relating to it, and also to assume
the position described several times, to prove their working knowledge
of it.
[Illustration: Position illustration number 1. Read page 7 for
instructions.]
[Illustration: Position illustration number 2. Read page 7 for
instructions.]
[Illustration: Position illustration number 3. Read page 7 for
instructions.]
LESSON 2
PHYSICAL TRAINING IN PENMANSHIP PRACTICE
Correct Posture, Relaxing Exercises, Movement Practice, and Penholding,
Taught in Pictures
No progress can be made in mastering good muscular movement writing
until there is a correct understanding of the important steps and the
order in which they must be taken.
No written or spoken words can explain these more fully and plainly than
the fifteen accompanying pictures given as models. They tell all that
could be told about the important beginning steps, and they should be
studied with thoroughness now, and often during future practice periods.
=Step one=, illustration four: Position in seat with arms hanging limply
at the sides. =Step two=, number five: Body turned a little to the left
and arms extended above the desk, wrists and fingers limp. =Step three=,
number six: After permitting both arms to drop to the desk, raise right
arm as shown in the picture, withdraw control and let it drop, repeating
the operation until the arm drops comfortably into the writing position,
with a square turn at the elbow and fingers bent naturally. =Step four=,
number seven: =Learn to run the writing machine=.
Notice the closed fingers making a fist, and the absorbed interest with
which this boy studies his arm near the elbow. The arm is the machine,
and the engine that moves it is above the elbow. With the arm lying on
the desk in that position, it requires but little effort to drive the
wrist forward out of, and to pull it backward into, the sleeve; this is
“muscular movement.” Fix in your mind the following facts: In muscular
movement writing the arm is never raised above, but lies on the desk all
the time in a perfectly natural, comfortable position; the sleeve
remains in one place on the desk at all times, and the flesh on the arm
moves, the action being inside the sleeve.
Careful study of illustrations nine and ten at this point will be
helpful. The arrow points to the main rest, which should always be the
larger part of the forearm near the elbow. In writing, the wrist and
side of the hand should never touch the paper. There are only two rests,
the muscle near the elbow, as explained, and the third and fourth
fingers, those fingers supplying a movable rest, and gliding over the
paper in the various directions in which the pen moves.
Do not think of writing or penholding at this point, but give all your
attention to position, muscular relaxation, and the running of the
writing machine, until good position and easy movement have become
natural. It often pays primary grade pupils to practice on position,
relaxing exercises, and movement, from three to six weeks before taking
writing instruments. It is best that all beginners on muscular movement
practice should devote several periods to these things before thinking
of penholding or writing.
Future progress depends upon present understanding of these first
important steps. Even after beginning the movement drills, and when
muscular movement is used in all writing, parts of practice periods
should be devoted to the study of the writing machine, and to the
calisthenic exercises suggested.
Illustration number eight is worthy of close study and imitation. This
boy was looking at some object at a distance. In this position you
should practice the movement. Test the movement here, and see if you can
feel the action of the muscle of the forearm as it rests on the desk.
[Illustration: No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8]
DEFINITION OF MOVEMENT
Muscular movement as applied to writing, is the movement of the muscles
of the arm from the shoulder to the wrist, with the larger part of the
arm below the elbow on the desk, the fingers not being held rigid, but
remaining passive, and neither extended nor contracted in the formation
of letters. In this movement the driving power is located above the
elbow in the upper muscles of the arm.
Examine your right arm. Notice the increasing size from the wrist to the
elbow. Note particularly the elasticity of the muscles. On the
elasticity and development of those muscles depends your success in
learning a good style of writing. (Reread this and make sure that you
thoroughly understand what muscular movement means before going ahead,
because your success depends upon it.)
HOW TO DEVELOP MUSCULAR ACTION
Place your arm on the desk and close the fingers of the right hand
tightly. (Number nine.) See how far you can move the hand forward and
backward without slipping the sleeve or without any motion of the wrist
or fingers.
Can you move that hand through space a sufficient distance to make any
capital? Could you make a capital through two or three lines of the
paper, two or three times larger than necessary, without any action of
the fingers?
=To the Teacher=: You should again examine your students on lesson one
and also on this lesson.
[Illustration: No. 9]
[Illustration: No. 10]
On page fourteen are five pictures of a boy who sits in a splendid
position for writing. He is never found in a cramped or poor position.
In number eleven, the right elbow is placed on the lower right corner,
the hand pointed toward the upper left corner, of the desk. The arm may
then be lowered until it rests in a writing position. In number twelve,
the left arm is placed on the desk as shown in pictures one, two, and
three, and then the exercise of the muscles begins. The entire right arm
is on the desk, and this is the best position, except when the arm is so
thin that the bone of the elbow grates on the desk. Then the elbow may
be extended off the desk enough to relieve the discomfort.
In no case will it be necessary to extend the elbow more than an inch;
and not one pupil in a hundred will need to take advantage of this
exception to the rule, that the entire right arm should be on the desk.
In number thirteen, make a special study of the upper part of the
penholder. It does not point toward the right shoulder, and never will,
if the arm, wrist, and hand are allowed to retain natural positions,
providing pupil and desk are fitted to each other. In number fourteen,
again study the right arm, and, in particular, notice its distance from
the right side, also look at the portion of the penholder in sight.
In number fifteen, notice carefully the distance between the boy and the
desk. You should always sit well back in your seat, so far back that the
body will not touch the desk. This boy is none too far back; his writing
is well in front of the eyes, and it is easy for him to retain the very
important square turn at the right elbow. You should follow his good
example in the matter of position, and if you practice faithfully you
can soon become an expert penman.
Number sixteen shows the position in which many good business penmen
carry the penholder when writing. Others who write just as well let the
holder drop below the knuckle joint, as shown in illustrations
twenty-four and twenty-five, page seventeen. The best position is
determined by the length of the fingers and the shape of the hand. It is
not necessary that the pupil with a long, slim hand and long, tapering
fingers, should carry his penholder in exactly the same position as the
pupil with the short, thick hand and short, stubby fingers.
[Illustration: No. 11 No. 12 No. 13 No. 14 No. 15]
[Illustration: No. 16]
[Illustration: No. 17 No. 18 No. 19 No. 20 No. 21]
LESSON 3
Here are additional pictures from which you are expected to learn more
about the best position for muscular movement writing. See the right
(square) turn of his right arm at the elbow; the position in the seat;
the position of the back; the distance between the boy and the desk; the
positions of the left arm and the left hand; and the distance between
the eyes and the paper.
In this lesson you should review all that was said in lessons one and
two about important beginning steps, position, muscular relaxation, and
penholding. Practice movement (running the writing machine) a few
minutes without the penholder, then slip the penholder into the right
hand from the left, and practice the movement without touching the pen
to the paper, still watching the arm closely, and giving more attention
to correct position and movement than to anything else.
Are you comfortable in your seat; do your arms feel comfortable; and are
you holding the penholder lightly in the hand without pinching it? Give
close attention to these things.
In the next lesson more particular attention will be given to
penholding.
TIME REQUIRED TO LEARN
The process of learning a good style of muscular movement writing may be
made easy or difficult, short or long, possible or impossible, according
to the mental attitudes of teacher and pupil, and the exactness with
which directions in this Manual are followed.
Pupils who constantly practice the movement drills in poor positions
with incorrect movement never even get started, and pupils who practice
from fifteen to thirty minutes a day in good positions with correct
movement, but who fall back into the old bad cramped positions and
finger movement habits in all other writing, do not get beyond the
beginning stages, no matter how many years they may practice.
The pupil who becomes the absolute master of a finished style of
muscular movement writing within the limits of six months or one school
year is he who gives the closest attention to every detail relating to
the beginning steps, who follows the printed instructions closely, who
sits in correct position at all times, and uses muscular movement
throughout the writing lessons, and in all his written work within a
month from the time he begins to study the Palmer Method.
Without conflicting with other subjects it is possible to lay the
foundation for an excellent handwriting in one school year, with but
fifteen to thirty minutes daily study and practice, and the employment
of muscular movement in all written work just as soon as possible. As
progress is made in the grades the use of muscular movement can be
permanently established.
The boy becomes an expert ball-player by playing ball. At first he is
awkward and uncertain, but, as he studies the methods of those who have
become experts, and continues to practice, he takes on self-confidence,
and finally develops into an expert, even though he could not hit a
single ball during his first few games. Boys and girls who learn to
skate with almost consummate grace must pass through the awkward stages,
when they sit down instead of standing up as they had planned, and when
their feet take possession and run away with them. In instrumental music
of any kind one does not become an expert without first learning how to
practice and then practicing in exactly the right way according to
methods prescribed by master teachers. It is the same in penmanship:
first, learn how to practice and then practice faithfully. Acquire
elasticity, lightness, and freedom, and do not mind if the pen runs away
at first and makes some awkward letters. This is to be expected. But
stick to the right plan, and gradually you will gain control of the
writing muscles of the arm, and with close attention to general form,
size, slant, spacing, and correct movement application, you will become
a splendid muscular movement penman in a few short months.
HAND, FINGER, AND PENHOLDER STUDIES
[Illustration: No. 22]
[Illustration: No. 23]
Study closely the illustrations on this page. In number 22, the fingers
bend naturally as in repose, and their positions should remain the same
when the penholder is in the hand.
[Illustration: No. 24]
[Illustration: No. 25]
In numbers twenty-four and twenty-five, you should study the relation of
the penholder to the hand. As you see, it is a little below the knuckle
joint. The first finger bends naturally, and rests on top of the holder
about one inch from the point of the pen; the thumb rests on the holder
nearly opposite the first joint of the first finger, and the third and
fourth fingers are bent, touching the paper and forming a movable rest.
Whether these fingers bend exactly as the illustrations show will depend
upon their shape and length. It does not matter whether they rest on the
nails or sides, if they are comfortable and can be used easily as the
movable rest.
[Illustration: No. 26]
[Illustration: No. 27]
These diagrams are intended to show clearly the position of the writing
paper on the desk, the relative positions of arms, paper and desk, and
the direction in which the pen moves to secure uniform slant. Number
twenty-six is the half-side position mostly used in public schools and
best adapted to them, because of the character of the desks. Number
twenty-seven is the square front position.
In both diagrams, A represents the square turn at the right elbow and
its position on the desk, B is the muscular rest of the forearm, C the
position of the left hand in its relation to the paper and the right
hand, D the penholder, and E E the imaginary line between the eyes along
which the pen should travel in upward and downward strokes.
With the right forearm crossing the lower edge of the paper a little to
the right of the center, the pen should progress one-fourth or one-third
of the distance across a sheet of paper eight inches wide, before the
position of the paper is changed. Always use the left hand to move the
paper. Paper 8×10½ inches in width should be moved three or four times
in the progress of the pen across it. When the end of the line has been
reached, the paper should be returned to its original position, and
should be moved up on the desk the width of one line. Lift the pen
before moving the paper.
=It is not Palmer Method if the lines are tremulous. Study instructions
for speed requirements.=
LESSON 4
Now the serious work of using and applying the correct movement begins.
Before attempting to make any part of drill one, review lessons one,
two, and three, and give the closest possible attention to position,
muscular relaxation, and penholding. Don’t practice before you know how.
With the left hand, move the paper to the left three times at equal
intervals, in the progress of the pen across it.
=Drill 1=
[Illustration]
Letting the distance between the two ruled lines, three-eighths of an
inch apart, represent one space in height, any part of this drill should
be two spaces high. Look at these drills until you have a good mental
picture of the height, proportions, and general appearance.
In connection with the straight line part of the drill, study closely
diagrams twenty-six and twenty-seven on page eighteen. There is no value
in this straight line exercise unless practiced with a forward and
backward motion, from and toward the center of the body, with the paper
held in the correct position.
If you cannot make the several parts of drill one high enough at first
with pure muscular movement, practice without touching the pen to the
paper until you have developed more muscular freedom.
In the second line of drill one, the traced oval should first contain
six, and later, as a lighter movement is developed, ten revolutions. In
this drill it will be well to make first the straight line on the
correct slant, and then the oval enclosing it. This order may be changed
frequently and the ovals made first. This is an important drill as it
has a very specific bearing upon slant.
=To the Teacher=: It may be profitable for third, fourth, and fifth year
pupils to spend the practice periods of one week in studying and
practicing the two movement drills given in this lesson, reviewing each
day everything that has gone before. Pupils in the sixth, seventh, and
eighth years, and in high schools classes should be able to progress
more rapidly. It is not safe to say how rapidly, as that depends upon
the knowledge of the teacher, the mental caliber of the pupils, their
interest in the work, the length of the daily lessons, and the amount of
the right kind of outside practicing that pupils do.
[Illustration: No. 28]
Study the accompanying illustration, number twenty-eight. Notice the
direction in which the upper part of the penholder points, the distance
between the elbow and the side, the self-supporting position of the body
in the chair, and the distance of the eyes from the paper. Do not forget
that the force that moves the hand and carries the pen along without
bending the fingers is above the elbow. It is not located in the
fingers, hand, wrist, or forearm.
The fingers hold the pen easily and firmly without pinching; the third
and fourth fingers are bent backward and form the movable rest under the
hand; neither the wrist nor side of the hand touches the paper, and the
arm should rest all the time on the largest portion in front of and near
the elbow.
If the paper you are using has lines eight inches long, divide the page
in the center from left to right with a dot; then divide the halves in
the center with other dots. Beginning at the left for the straight line
drill, make one hundred downward strokes to the first quarter mark, and
continue in the same manner for each quarter. Thus, four hundred
downward strokes and, of course, an equal number of upward strokes
should be made in the four sections extending across a line. See drill
one; page nineteen.
COUNTING TO REGULATE MOTION
In developing light, uniform motion in class penmanship practice,
counting is important. It makes the work more interesting, tones down
the movement of the naturally nervous pupil, acts as a constant spur to
the habitually slow boy or girl, and keeps the indolent student busy. In
the oblique straight line and the oval exercises given in drill one, the
downward strokes only should be counted. The other parts of the drills,
being what are termed connective lines, are not counted.
ABOUT SPEED
Speed is so important in the development of good writing that it should
receive close attention in all practice work until correct speed has
become a habit. Too much speed is just as bad as too little. Correct
speed forces a light, firm line; too little speed results in shaky
tremulous lines; while excessive speed means irregular letter formation.
If you develop a light, firm, elastic motion, and the proper degree of
speed in straight line and oval making, you will find the work of the
following lessons comparatively easy.
=The straight line and oval exercises in drills one, two, and three
should be made at a speed of two hundred downward strokes to a minute;
one hundred in one-half a minute; and then move the paper.=
The most convenient count for continuous straight line or oval exercises
as given in drill two is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, 20—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 30—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
40—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 50, continuing until two hundred has been
reached. Until correct speed habits have been developed, the second hand
of a watch should be used as a guide.
=A few minutes in the right way are worth more than hours of practice in
the wrong way.=
LESSON 5
=Drill 2=
[Illustration]
Begin this lesson with a review of position and movement, without the
penholder. At least five minutes should be devoted to energetic practice
of the straight line and oval drills in this way.
Do you see the dotted lines at the left in drill two? They are to show
you the general direction in which the pen moves in making the downward
strokes.
ABOUT SLANT
Slant needs no special study, but will take care of itself if the
instructions have been studied and heeded. Especially is this true in
relation to the position at the desk, the position of the paper and arms
on the desk, the relation of each to the other, and the changing of the
paper with the left hand, to keep it in the right position in regard to
the desk, body, and arms. See diagrams—page eighteen.
If the position is correct, and if all downward strokes are made toward
the center of the body, each pupil will develop uniform slant, though
different pupils may develop individual slants. Following the same
rules, and practicing at the same time under similar conditions,
different slants result, because of the variations in length of arms,
and other physical conditions. The degree of slant is not a matter of
grave importance so long as each writer develops uniform slant in his
own writing.
In drill two, see how many compact ovals you can make with one dip of
ink, and try to develop a motion so light and elastic that you will soon
be able to make from five hundred to a thousand, and one thousand or
more on a line eight inches long.
Many young pupils have developed such control of muscular movement that
they have made more than two thousand ovals with one dip of ink, in a
space not more than eight inches long. Indeed, one boy of twelve made
three thousand within the limits of a page eight inches across,
maintaining a uniform speed of two hundred to a minute. The pen used was
of the ordinary large, business variety.
Skill in oval making should be developed gradually from day to day, as
two or three minutes at the beginning of each practice period are
devoted to ovals. Never make ovals on the “back slant.” Avoid this by
pulling the strokes toward the center of the body.
LESSON 6
Each practice period should begin with a review of position, careful
study of the arm, fingers, and penholding, and practice of the preceding
movements without touching the pen to the paper. While going through
these preliminary drills, the eyes should travel up and down the arm
from finger-tips to elbow, and the pupils should be sure that the
writing machine has been carefully adjusted, and is in perfect working
order before the pen touches the paper. See that the arm is perfectly
relaxed and that the wrist does not touch the desk.
PREPARATORY MOTION
Read the following carefully until thoroughly understood. It is of
especial value to beginners. Before making the oval drill or attempting
any part of it, move the pen in the air rapidly over the path of the
first oval several times. While doing this, watch closely the movement
of the muscles of the arm. While the pen is moving rapidly, and without
checking its motion, let it strike the paper. The force thus gathered
will compel light, quick action, break up finger motion, give smooth
lines, and aid form building.
FORM BUILDING
The compact oval is the repeated form of a large capital O. Keep this
constantly in mind, and learn at once to criticise it with special
reference to the slant, width, and general formation of a capital O a
little more than twice the size used in writing.
Mind and muscle must work in perfect harmony to secure the best results.
Before beginning the practice of any drill or letter, study its form
closely, part by part, and as a complete whole. In what direction does
the pen move to make the first line? See that the pen moves in that
direction before coming in contact with the paper. Be sure that the
speed is neither too fast nor too slow, but such as will make two
hundred complete ovals to a minute. Do not guess about the speed, but
use a watch.
If the oval is too wide, it is because of too nearly circular motion,
and you should use more of the forward and backward motion of the
straight line exercise. If too narrow, it is because too much of the
straight line motion was used, and the movement should be more nearly
circular. Remember the connection between mind, muscle, and motion.
When the oval is too narrow, repeat to yourself, “Wider, wider, rounder,
rounder, rounder, rounder,” until it is wide enough. If the oval
presents a back slant appearance when finished, it is because the
downward strokes were made toward the right elbow instead of the center
of the body.
On the other hand, if the oval slants too much, it is because the
downward strokes were made toward the left shoulder instead of the
center of the body—always providing that instructions relating to
position have been strictly followed.
=Drill 3=
[Illustration]
When pupils make the ovals fairly well, they are ready to begin to apply
muscular movement to words and sentences. The ovals given above are
twelve-sixteenths of an inch high, and the letters in the word “mine”
(called minimum letters) are about one-twelfth as high, or one-sixteenth
of an inch. Thus, these ovals are twelve times as high as the minimum
letters; therefore little force is required to make a minimum letter,
compared with the muscular effort used in making ovals. To make the m
and n round at the top, the over-motion must be used, while to make the
connective lines of the i and e the use of the under-motion is
necessary. In the words “uses” and “sell” the under-motion is used in
forming the first lines in all letters as well as in connective lines.
The speed should be such as will permit good formation, and produce
sharp, clear-cut lines.
Good practice speed for these words is “mine,” eighteen; “uses,” twenty;
and “sell,” twenty-two, to the minute. These words should be practiced
now until they can be written well, and should be reviewed frequently.
Practicing them at this stage with muscular movement will give students
confidence and should encourage them to use, constantly, muscular
movement in all written work. Other easy words may be selected from the
Manual and practiced occasionally. It is a distinct advantage to study
frequently at this stage lessons 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, and 32, and to
practice drills 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, and 33.
LESSON 7
=Drill 4=
[Illustration]
Begin, as usual, with careful study of the writing machine, adjust it
carefully and test the movement. Then practice the two-space compact
oval in drill three.
In drill four the special object is to develop a uniform, continuous
motion. Preparatory to the first oval, the movement should be tested by
carrying the pen rapidly in the air, the arm resting, and the hand in a
good writing position. Without checking the motion, the pen should be
brought to the paper, thus forcing it to make sharp, clean-cut lines. In
passing from one oval to another, the pen should be lifted from the
paper at the base line without checking the motion, should swing below
the base line to the right and to the beginning of the next oval, a
uniform speed being maintained throughout. Thus, the motion is
continuous and no shaky lines are possible. Finish the final oval in
each group with an upward right curve as shown in the drill. Move the
paper with the left hand after each group of six.
Pupils should study the above instructions in connection with the oval
practice until fully understood. These instructions are important,
having a direct bearing upon the practice of capital letters.
=Drill 5=
[Illustration]
Drill five is what we term a forcing movement drill, and is one of the
best for the beginner to practice.
In the direct traced oval make six revolutions to a count of “1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6,” lifting the pen at the base line on the sixth count without
checking the motion and swinging it in the air to the beginning stroke
of the capital A. Thus the pupil will be impelled from a slow, lagging
movement to one that is elastic and rapid. The form may not be entirely
satisfactory at first, but it will improve rapidly if this process is
continued long enough and frequently repeated.
The rate of speed should be about twenty complete traced ovals, and as
many capitals to the minute.
Before beginning to practice, count the ovals and letters. There are
seven of each. You are expected to make the same number on a line of
equal length.
LESSON 8
=Drill 6=
Assume correct position; practice the movement without, and then with,
the penholder. Be sure that you are using exactly the right movement,
and practice the two-space compact ovals two or three minutes at the
rate of two hundred to a minute. (Drill three.)
[Illustration]
When two lines are connected in an angle, a positive stop at the point
of connection is necessary. This principle applies to the top of capital
A where the upward and the last downward strokes are joined. This stop
is such a small fraction of a second in duration that it can hardly be
detected. Without the stop at the top of capital A, a loop will be made.
To emphasize this stop in connection with capital A, the following
conversational count has been developed. “You stop, you stop, at the
top, you stop, every time, at the top. How long do you stop at the top?
Not long, but you stop, every time, at the top. What for, what for, what
for? Oh! To close them up, to close them up, to close them up,” and
repeat. Other conversational counts that may be used with capital A are,
“Roll the arm, on the muscle; see it roll, on the muscle; slide the
hand, on the fingers, see them slide, over the paper, make them glide.”
Make your letters the same size as in the drill, and begin each letter
as the pen moves downward. Make capital A in groups of five, and move
the paper a little to the left after each of the first two groups as
indicated by the check mark. When the third group of five has been
finished, move the paper to the right to its correct position for
beginning a line. Learning to move the paper in this and in other drills
is very important. There are three groups of five, making fifteen
letters to a line in drill six, and five lines, seventy-five letters,
should be made in a minute.
The dotted line between the first and second letters shows the path over
which the pen should move without touching the paper, in passing from
one letter to the next. A count of ten should be used in each group of
five, and the count for each line should be 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10,
move the paper, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, move the paper, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6,
7–8, 9–10, move the paper. In beginning every practice period hereafter,
your program should be the two-space compact oval, one minute—two
hundred ovals, and capital A, at a speed that will produce at least
sixty-five and very soon seventy-five in a minute. For the present,
three minutes could very profitably be spent in repeating the capital A
with an easy, swinging, rhythmic motion. Select your best capital and
compare it with the models giving close attention to size, slant, width,
distance between letters, and the beginning and finishing lines.
If muscular movement is taught to pupils of the first and second year
primary classes according to the Palmer Method plan, they will enter the
third year of their school life well prepared to use the movement in all
their writing. If pupils in classes from the third to the eighth year
inclusive have copies of this Manual, study it closely, and follow it
absolutely in daily practice under teachers who have mastered the
lessons before attempting to teach them, rapid improvement will be
evident from week to week, and the ideal in rapid, easy, legible writing
will soon be attained.
LESSON 9
=Drill 7=
[Illustration]
Do not neglect the compact oval practice; one line across the paper will
no doubt be enough if very compact.
The method of practice in drill seven should be the same as in capital
A, drill five. After each traced oval, lift the pen while in motion,
swinging it below the base line and around to the beginning point of
capital O without checking it. Drive the pen rapidly and bring the
muscles of the arm into active play. First make ten revolutions for the
traced oval, gradually decreasing the number to six; count six for the
ovals and two for each capital O.
=Drill 8=
[Illustration]
This capital O is very popular with many excellent business penman and
teachers of modern writing. Study the letter and make a mental
photograph of it. Note particularly the curves of the left and the right
sides; also the loop at the top, its general direction and size.
In finishing O the final stroke should be pushed upward. If it is pulled
downward it will too nearly resemble A.
Capital O should be made at the rate of seventy or more to a minute.
Count 1–2 for each O.
LESSON 10
Devote the time of this lesson to a general review of the preceding
lessons.
LESSON 11
=Drill 9=
[Illustration]
The plan of practice for drill nine should be the same as for drills
five and seven. The count should be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,—1, 2, and repeat.
No matter what may precede capital C, when the pen comes in contact with
the paper in the beginning line it must move downward in the direction
of a left curve.
=Drill 10=
[Illustration]
How many are there on a line? Count them. Swing the pen in the path of a
C several times before making the first letter; in fact, aim before you
shoot. Lift the pen from the paper while in motion in finishing a
capital; continue the motion with the pen in the air and bring it to the
paper to begin the next capital—all without checking the motion. Make
about seventy letters to the minute. Count 1–2 for each C.
LESSON 12
=Drill 11=
[Illustration]
See instructions for drill eleven on following page.
Hereafter, each lesson should begin with practice of the compact
two-space oval, drill three, drill six, and drill eleven, and there
should be frequent reviews of the other drills so far practiced.
In the large oval drill and its modifications in capitals A, O, and C,
the motion has been mainly forward and backward, while that used in the
connected small o drill is mainly toward the right, developing the
lateral movement. If too much driving force from above the elbow is
used, the letter will be too large. If the position is just right, the
least possible force will drive the hand far enough to form the o. The
line connecting the letters should be as nearly straight as is possible
to make it at the required speed. If too pronounced an under-curve is
used in the connective lines the result will be a form more nearly
resembling small a than o.
In this style of writing, small o and letters in its class should be
one-sixteenth of an inch high. The letter in this drill is of that
height, and it should be used as a basis of comparison in determining
the height of the other minimum letters a, c, e, i, m, n, r, s, u, v, w,
and x. Small r and s may be made one-fourth higher than the other
letters in the minimum class.
Wherever there is an angular connection as in closing small o at the
top, there must be a checking of the motion at that point; in fact, a
stop. The closing of o is so quickly done that the stop can hardly be
seen even by the closest observer.
=To the Teacher=: In connection with this drill we urge teachers to use
a conversational count. In passing from desk to desk, criticise the work
in correct rhythm. Suppose one student is making o too large, another
not closing it at the top, another using a slow, dragging movement,
another making a narrow, flat letter, and still another bending over his
desk too far. The criticisms would be as follows: “Make it smaller, make
it smaller; close it up, close it up; you stop, at the top, you stop,
you stop, every time, at the top. How long? Not long; but you stop,
every time, at the top. Slide along, slide along; round o, round o; sit
up, sit up.” Each criticism or admonition may be repeated until the
error has in a measure been corrected. The influence will not be lost
upon the rest of the pupils, but those who have been making the same
errors will almost unconsciously show marked improvement.
A speed of ninety or more to a minute should be developed and
maintained. Ninety in a minute is by no means fast, but, while
permitting good form, it is fast enough to force light motion.
In drill eleven, there are three groups of five letters in a line, and
there are six lines in the drill, making ninety letters. These should be
made in a minute, and that should be the practice speed. As in capital
A, the plan is to make each group to a count of ten, and then move the
paper. For an entire line the count would be 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10,
move the paper, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, move the paper, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6,
7–8, 9–10, move the paper. The conversational count may be fitted nicely
to the rhythm of the count of ten. Hereafter, drill eleven should be
practiced with the two-space compact oval, and drill six at the
beginning of each practice period.
LESSON 13
Make this a general review lesson.
=The Palmer Method is a text-book on practical writing. The instructions
should be studied and followed.=
SPECIAL STUDIES OF THE CAPITALS, SMALL LETTERS, AND FIGURES
[Illustration]
Pupils who have studied and followed the explanations, suggestions, and
instructions so far, will have sufficient control of the muscular
movement to master easily the letters on this page.
Those who have not been thorough in studying the instruction and
practicing the drills should review. Nothing less than failure can
follow superficial study.
The capitals, small letters, and figures are given at this point for
convenient reference, and an effort should be made hereafter to employ
these forms in all the written work.
=One lesson each week should be devoted to special study and practice
of the capitals until they are mastered.=
Capitals, small letters, and figures will all be taught thoroughly in
the following lessons.
=A few minutes in the right way are worth more than hours of practice in
the wrong way.=
LESSON 14
=Drill 12=
[Illustration]
Cross line practice is very helpful in developing light, elastic,
gliding motion.
First make the letters on the lines; then turn the paper and make them
across.
LESSON 15
MORE ABOUT COUNTING
In writing, as in music, regularity of movement is an important factor.
A jerky, spasmodic motion is to be avoided, and successful teachers of
writing have found that some method to mark the time of making parts of
letters is helpful. Some use a metronome, some a chalk box and a ruler,
others musical instruments; but we prefer that wonderful machine, the
human voice, and a process of counting to fit the letters. In individual
home practice the counting process is of as much value as in the
school-room, and pupils should learn to use it.
When a letter is poorly made, it may be due to one or all of four
causes—first, the position may be poor; second, the muscles may be
rigid, preventing easy action; third, the mind may not have a good
picture of the form; and fourth, movement direction may be wrong. As an
example, when small m and n are made too sharp at the top, it is because
there is not enough over-motion.
The special object of drill thirteen is to develop the over-motion for m
and n. As you practice this drill, count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
for each section, or use a verbal count as follows: Over, over, over,
over, over, light, light, light, light, light. In the first line the
exercise should occupy one-half the space between ruled lines; and in
the second, the height should be the same as small o, one-sixteenth of
an inch.
=Drill 13=
[Illustration]
Remember that the larger part of the right arm just in front of the
elbow, should rest on the desk, and the third and fourth fingers of the
right hand be bent well under; that the position of the pen in the hand
must be comfortable and the right arm well out from the side. Now push
the hand forward and backward to test the freedom and movement power. If
the muscles move easily, let the pen touch the paper, moving lightly and
rapidly. About fourteen completed sections of the first line should be
made in a minute and sixteen of the second.
LESSON 16
=Drill 14=
[Illustration]
Test the movement by tracing the first stroke in the air. Start the
motion below the base line, and as the pen moves rapidly upward let it
strike the paper at the beginning point. Drive the pen through the
exercise rapidly and lightly. Make four connected m’s before lifting the
pen, and three such groups across a line. You will make the letters too
large, irregular, and awkward at first, and will have trouble with the
union (connecting lines), but keep right on. Make the four lines in a
minute and move the paper after each group. As taught in drill thirteen,
lesson fifteen, the parts of small m are made with over-motion, but to
use an over-motion between letters would give no connective line and
hence no dividing line between the letters. Keep in mind as you
practice, that the over-motion makes the parts of m, and that the
opposite or under-motion forms the connecting lines. You may count 1, 2,
3; or slide, 2, 3; or over, over, under. Drill fourteen should be
practiced a minute or more at the beginning of each practice period.
Four drills have now been suggested for use at the beginning of every
practice period. They should be practiced, not only in the beginning
stages, but until the entire course has been mastered. These drills
furnish the very best movement exercises, and at the same time give the
right kind of practice in form building. Students who thoroughly master
them in size, form, and speed application will find the remaining drills
easy. As it teaches the correct use of the under-motion in connecting
letters, small m is perhaps the most important of the four.
LESSON 17
From this point each lesson should start with the compact two-space
oval; drill eleven, small o; and drill fourteen, small m. It will pay to
devote from three to five minutes of each practice period to these three
drills.
=Drill 15=
[Illustration]
For small m, a count of three is used; and in n, a count of two. Thus,
the count for drill fifteen will be 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, etc., or for
five connected letters, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10. The speed should be
the same relatively as in the small m drill.
LESSON 18
=Drill 16=
[Illustration]
Make the small m in groups of four, three groups to a line, and five or
more rows; then turn the paper and make groups of small n. Make frequent
comparisons with the drill as you practice.
LESSON 19
=Drill 17=
[Illustration]
Small i being made entirely with an under-motion, has a sharp point at
the top. Count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, for each group; make the downward as light
as the upward strokes and try to make them equal distances apart.
=Drill 18=
[Illustration]
A space in width is the distance between the points of small u. This is
sometimes called a lateral space. For each group of four connected
letters, count 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8.
=Drill 19=
[Illustration]
Extend small i about two and one-half times its height, cross with a
short horizontal line, and the result will be small t. An effort should
be made to bring the upward and downward strokes of small t together at
the top, but if a very short narrow loop is sometimes made as a result
of rapid movement, it will not conflict with legibility. The small t
should always be a little shorter than the small l and its companions,
b, h, k, and f. The practice speed for t in groups of five is twenty
groups, or one hundred letters, to the minute. There is no special value
in this letter as a movement drill, but a little practice of it in group
formation will be an aid to its mastery.
As you gain more control of the muscular movement, you should become
more skillful in its application, and the result should be constant
improvement in form, spacing, and uniformity of size. Use your eyes
constantly, comparing your letters with the drills you are trying to
imitate; do your best, and rapid improvement is sure to follow.
LESSON 20
After the usual practice of the compact two-space oval and the small m
and n review lesson nineteen.
=Drill 20=
[Illustration]
The count for small e in groups of five, is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Try to make
the letter but one-sixteenth of an inch high. For purposes of
comparison, it would be well occasionally to make rows of small o’s and
m’s on lines close to your small e drills. The three letters should be
of the same height. Making small e in groups of five, twenty-eight
groups, or one hundred and forty letters, should be made in a minute.
LESSON 21
=Drill 21=
[Illustration]
=Wrong practice will lead you in the wrong direction! The instructions
tell you how to practice.=
Number twenty-one is our first word drill with a capital. Do not neglect
the study of the motion and its applications to form.
Write fourteen or more words to a minute, and do not let them occupy
more space than the copies. In drill six the final line in capital A
drops below the base line. This is done to give a rhythmic movement
drill. In writing words beginning with capital A it is better to connect
the last line with the small letters following, as in the second line in
drill twenty-one.
LESSON 22
=Drill 22=
[Illustration]
Write fourteen words in a minute. Write a few lines and then compare
your work with the drill. Review often.
LESSON 23
=Drill 23=
[Illustration]
Be sure that the motion is oval in starting capital O. Trace the letter
with the pen in the air. Let the pen strike the paper when moving
rapidly downward.
If all conditions are favorable and the movement is free, about sixteen
of these should be written in a minute.
LESSON 24
=Drills 24 and 25=
[Illustration]
Study the upper line closely, and notice particularly that the nine
exercises at the right are the enlarged form of an inverted figure six.
Fix clearly in your mind the direction of the moving pen as it comes
into contact with the paper in making the beginning loop. Do not make
this loop larger than it is in the drill. For business writing it would
be better to make a dot than a large loop. Energetic practice of the
drill at the left in the first line will help to develop the right
motion. In that part of the drill a count of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, should be
used. In the nine forms at the right in the first line, the count may be
1–2, down over; or down, over; or one stop for each; but each form
should stop abruptly at the base line in a blunt stroke.
As this form is used for the beginning of twelve capitals, it should be
thoroughly studied and practiced now, and frequently reviewed.
In the lower line, observe that five drills extend across the page, with
ten parts in each drill; with the paper held in the right position, the
downward strokes should be made toward the center of the body, and the
over-motion is applied in making the turns at the top. The count should
be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and sixteen completed exercises should
be made to the minute.
Turn to page twenty-nine and pick out the twelve capitals in which the
inverted figure six is used. Use this style hereafter in beginning those
capitals.
This is a lesson that should be reviewed frequently.
LESSON 25
You should not forget the usual three to five minute practice period
devoted to the compact oval, and the small o and m drills.
=Drills 26 and 27=
[Illustration]
Study capitals M and N closely before trying to make them. Compare their
parts in relation to slant, height, and width. Your attention is
particularly directed to the finishing lines in M and N. Dropping this
line below the base, and lifting the pen without stopping the motion,
forces freedom, continues the rotary motion and develops an automatic
movement preceding and following each letter, so that the motion is
continued, even when you are not actually forming the letters.
The capital M should be made in a count of 1, 2, 3, 4, at the rate of
thirty a minute, and capital N in a count of 1, 2, 3, at the rate of
forty a minute.
LESSON 26
Review lessons twenty-four and twenty-five.
LESSON 27
Perhaps you have forgotten something; perhaps you were about to begin
your practice of drill twenty-eight without the review of the compact
oval, and small o and m. If so, do not forget again.
=Drill 28=
[Illustration]
In penmanship, constant repetition is essential, and in connection with
drill twenty-eight the best results will be secured by practicing the
word several minutes. We prefer to have pupils at first use the style of
capital given in the first line, in which the finishing stroke is
carried below the base, and the pen lifted from the paper before the
small letters are made. Later the final stroke in capital M may be
connected directly with any small letters following, as in the second
line. You are expected to write six words on a line, as in the copy,
writing from fourteen to seventeen a minute.
=To the Teacher=: If you have studied the lessons in advance, have
practiced the different drills and mastered them before giving them to
your pupils, a good plan to follow in word-practice is sometimes to sit
at your desk, or a pupil’s desk writing the words with them and spelling
as you write. Thus: M-o-o-n, M-o-o-n. This will enable you to help your
boys and girls to master the correct speed, and to secure uniform
motion.
Never attempt to use the count for individual letters when practicing
words; it is confusing.
LESSON 28
=Drill 29=
[Illustration]
Make a few lines of capital N as a movement drill before practicing the
word Noon. Repeated letters and words should always be considered
movement drills. Strive for a firmer, lighter motion constantly. Examine
all letters and words practiced with special reference to firm, smooth
lines, their direction, size, distances between letters, height and
width of the different parts, connecting lines, the finishing lines in
the final letters, and every little detail.
Write from fifteen to eighteen words a minute.
LESSON 29
FOR STUDY AND COMPARISON
[Illustration]
Small a is, in the main, a reduced copy of capital A, and the first
parts of small d, g, and q are identical with it. Fix the resemblance in
the mind; it will help you. In business writing it is best to make the
looped small d. It is just as legible as the stem and can be made more
rapidly. The loop below the base line in small g should be made without
finger motion. We favor the blunt style of small g and y at the end of
words, and this ending should be shorter than the loop. Fix in your mind
the length of this abbreviated g. Small q is a little shorter below the
base line than g. The g ending bluntly below the base line, is just like
the figure nine.
=Drill 30=
[Illustration]
It will pay you to practice the small a drill a great deal. Try to make
a half-dozen or more lines of letters as small and as uniform as the
copy. Students should not forget to study the copy constantly and to
make frequent comparisons of their work with it. A count of 1, 2, should
be used for each small a, and in connecting five letters it is a good
plan to count 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10.
Small a in groups of five should be made at the rate of seventy a
minute.
LESSON 30
=Drill 31=
[Illustration]
Reckoning small o, one-sixteenth of an inch high, as one space, small g
should extend three spaces, or three-sixteenths of an inch below the
base line, while the loop of q and abbreviated g should extend two
spaces below.
The loop of d extends about two and one-half spaces above the base.
Writing which is good in other respects is often spoiled in the written
page because the loops are too long, extending into the lines above and
below.
The count for each letter in groups of five should be 1–2, 3–4, 5–6,
7–8, 9–10, and the speed should be: small d, from sixty-five to seventy;
g, from sixty to sixty-five; and q, about fifty to the minute.
=Are you studying the instructions? They tell you just how to succeed.=
LESSON 31
=Drill 32=
[Illustration]
Review lesson thirty before you study and practice this drill.
If you use your eyes to good advantage, you will see that the first g
begins one space above the base line, there being no initial line
starting from the base; also that the first parts of small g and d are
of the same height as a, o, m, and n, to which special reference has
already been made. Practice speed, twelve words in a minute.
LESSON 32
The basis of the extended loop letters, b, f, h, and k, is small l.
These five letters should extend the same distance above the base line.
The practice of small l should be thorough now, and it should be
reviewed often. In fact, it would be well to add it to the group of
compact ovals, and small m’s and o’s, to be practiced at the beginning
of each lesson.
=Height=—Reference has already been made to one-sixteenth of an inch as
representing a space in height for the minimum (one-space) letters a, c,
e, i, m, n, o, u, v, w, and x. The small r and s are in the same class,
but are made a quarter space higher than the others.
These minimum letters should always be used as a standard of one-space
measurement to regulate the height of all other small letters. On that
basis small l should be four spaces—four-sixteenths, or one-fourth of an
inch high. As there are six-sixteenths of an inch between the ruled
lines in the practice paper generally used, and in all the Palmer Method
practice paper, there should be two-sixteenths (one-eighth) of an inch
between the top of the loop and the ruled line above.
It should be remembered that a space in height is the height of the
minimum letters in the style you are practicing. As an example, in
copy-books used in former years, the one-space letters were one-eighth
of an inch, or twice as high as in these lessons. The loop letters were
three spaces, or three-eighths of an inch high, which is two-sixteenths
of an inch higher than the loops in these lessons.
=Movement Used=—In business writing, all loops below the line should be
made with pure muscular movement. In making those above the line, the
fingers should be relaxed, and as the arm slides forward, a slight
extension of the fingers will help to make the upper part of the loop.
The combination of the two movements is perfectly natural to most hands,
and little encouragement need be given to the use of the fingers. The
student must guard against using much of it. Keep an eye on your wrist
to see that it moves forward and backward in unison with the other
movements. Under no circumstances allow the fleshy part of the hand in
front of the wrist to touch the paper.
=Cautions=—You will find your first difficulty in getting enough curve
on the upward stroke. A half hour’s determined practice will do much to
overcome this. Keep the paper at such an angle as will make the downward
strokes straight toward the middle of the body. Above all, preserve
unity in height, in slant and in spacing. Do not shade.
=Drill 33=
[Illustration]
There is a slight check in the motion on the downward strokes, but no
pause at the base line. After a little practice, loops as good as the
above should be made at the rate of from one hundred to one hundred and
twenty-five to the minute. The count in groups of five is 1, 2, 3, 4,
5—one for each letter.
LESSON 33
=Drill 34=
[Illustration]
More study, more practice. Study and practice should be constant
companions in developing good writing. One without the other will lead
to one-sided results. Don’t be one-sided.
Drill thirty-four offers good movement practice. Close observation will
indicate just how it is done. The small traced oval is about one-half
the capital in height, and the upper loop is also one-half the entire
height of the letter. If you have a sharp eye and a responsive mind, you
have been able to grasp these details without any suggestions, and you
have gone further. You have noted the curve in the main downward stroke,
the flatness of the lower loop on the base line, and the dropping of the
finishing stroke below the base.
Six is the count for the traced oval and two for L, as follows,
1–2–3–4–5–6, 1–2. The count of 1–2, for the capital L should be a little
slower than for the ovals. This exercise should be made ten times on a
line, in groups of five, and two lines, or twenty exercises a minute.
=A few minutes in the right way are worth hours of practice in the wrong
way.=
=Drill 35=
[Illustration]
Swing for the L, swing for the L, swing for the L. In other words, study
the letter closely, and swing the pen in its direction a few times
before making it. The first line starts about one-half the distance from
the base to the top, and dips under; the upper loop is one-half the
entire length of the letter; the lower loop rests on the base line; and
the finishing line is carried below the base. This letter makes one of
the best movement drills so far given. After each group of five the
paper should be moved.
The count is 1–2, for each letter, or slide two, or slide L, or swing L.
From fifty to fifty-five should be made in a minute.
LESSON 34
Review lesson thirty-three.
=Drill 36=
[Illustration]
Study, practice, and compare.
Begin small a at the top just as it is in drill thirty; make the
abbreviated g short below the base line, and be sure to write four words
to a line. Practice speed, ten to twelve words a minute.
LESSON 35
=Drill 37=
[Illustration]
Write two lines and then make careful comparisons with the models. Are
your small l’s shorter than the capitals; are both l’s the same height;
and do they cross one space above the base? Compare slant, the parts of
letters and letters complete. Study the spacings between the letters,
and try to show improvement in each line. Practice speed, the same as
for drill thirty-six.
=You cannot fail, if you study the instructions and follow them.=
LESSON 36
=Drill 38=
[Illustration]
Small a should be reviewed frequently as a movement drill.
=Drill 39=
[Illustration]
The first part of small a serves as the foundation of small c. In making
connective lines, an over-motion must be used. If an under-motion is
used from the ending of one c to the dot at the top of the next, there
will be a loop, and the letter will be too large. After making a few
lines, compare the height of c with o, a, m, and n. You will, of course,
frequently compare with the copy. The count is 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10;
or dot over, dot over, dot over, dot over, dot over, for each group of
five. The speed should be sixteen groups of five, or eighty letters a
minute.
LESSON 37
=Drill 40=
[Illustration]
The small r given in the first line in drill forty cannot be made at a
high rate of speed, as the form requires a checking of movement at the
top to form the shoulder. Study the parts of the letter shown before the
first completed form.
The form in the second line can be made at much higher speed, and, while
somewhat difficult to learn, is much easier in execution when mastered.
The first part of it is just like the first part of small m or n. The
downward stroke is retraced to a point about one-fourth of a space above
the first part; a stop (hardly noticeable) and a dot are made before the
swinging curve to the next letter. If the connective lines between
letters of this style are made with too much under-curve, perhaps
touching the base line, they will more nearly resemble small x than r.
Guard against this fault.
Close study of the form while practicing will be necessary. After its
mastery, ninety connected letters to the minute will be a good rate of
speed. Unquestionably, the first few trials will be discouraging, but
faithful practice will be rewarded. Stick to it.
Eighteen groups of five should be made to the minute.
=Drill 41=
[Illustration]
The count for this small r in drill forty-one for each group of five is
1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10; or one-dot, two-dot, three-dot, four-dot,
five-dot; or one-stop, two-stop, three-stop, four-stop, five-stop. A
conversational count similar to that in small o, drill eleven, may be
used to advantage in small r, thus—You-stop, you-stop, you-stop,
you-stop, at-the-top. How long, do you stop, at the top? Not long, but
you stop, every time at the top. What for, what for, what for? To make a
dot, to make a dot, to make a dot, etc.
=Drill 42=
[Illustration]
The rate of practice speed in this drill should be twenty or more words
to the minute.
=Drill 43=
[Illustration]
There is no initial line before small o; it begins at the top.
LESSON 38
As before mentioned, small r and s are companion letters, and both may
be made one-fourth higher than other letters of the minimum class; not
because of any technical rule, but rather because it generally is agreed
that they look better so made. Small s should be pointed, not looped, at
the top, and entirely closed on the base line. Be sure to use just the
right amount of under-curve in the beginning stroke, and the width will
depend upon the amount of curve in the last part. Practice, study, and
compare.
=Drill 44=
[Illustration]
The count for each group of five is 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10. A
conversational count similar to that given in the small o drill could be
used to advantage; thus, swing one, swing two, swing three, swing four,
swing five; or curve one, curve two, curve three, curve four, curve
five. Nearly or quite seventeen groups of five should be made to the
minute.
LESSONS 39, 40, 41, 42, AND 43
At least five lessons at this point should be devoted to reviewing all
the lessons that have gone before.
THE FREQUENCY OF REVIEWS
=To Teachers=: Assuming that teachers of the Palmer Method master the
lessons in their order before attempting to teach them, they are to
decide when lessons and drills have not been mastered and need
reviewing. Without knowing the pupils and seeing their daily work in
penmanship, it would hardly be possible for the author to decide with
unerring accuracy, when they should review.
LESSON 44
=Drill 45=
[Illustration]
The first two parts of small w form u. As explained in lesson nineteen,
the distance between the points in small u represents a lateral
(running) space. Keeping this space in mind, carry the third or
finishing part of small w one-half space to the right of the second, or
finishing point in small u. The connecting stroke is slightly curved.
Eighteen or twenty groups of three should be made to the minute and the
count for each letter is 1, 2, 3; 1, 2, 3; 1, 2, 3; or one, two, dot;
one, two, dot; one, two, dot.
=Drill 46=
[Illustration]
LESSON 45
=Drill 47=
Small x is simple in construction. Study closely before practicing it.
The crossing may be made either upward or downward. In writing a word
containing it, complete the word before crossing the letter. Make the
crossing short.
[Illustration]
=Drill 48=
[Illustration]
LESSON 46
=Drill 49=
[Illustration]
The first part of small v is the same as the first part of small x, and
it is ended with the form used in finishing small w. Don’t close this
letter at the top. It must be left open. Count 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10,
for each group of five letters.
=Drill 50=
[Illustration]
LESSON 47
=Drill 51=
[Illustration]
The loop in h is small l, brought to the base in a straight line on the
main slant, the second part is one section of small m. Notice that the
first and last parts of small h meet on the base in a point. Study until
you see just how it is done.
A count of 1–2, should be used for one h, and a count of 1–2, 3–4, 5–6,
7–8, 9–10, for a group of five. From fourteen to fifteen groups of five
should be made in a minute.
Study an inverted h, and if correctly made you will see that in that
position it is small y. At this point it would be well to study and
practice small y. Count 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, for each group of
five.
=Drill 52=
[Illustration]
LESSON 48
Review lessons forty-seven and forty-eight, and then give attention to
the following.
=Drill 53=
[Illustration]
The practice speed should be twenty or more of the first two words and
sixteen or more of the third word to the minute.
Guard against making h higher than l. All loop letters above the base
should be the same length.
LESSON 49
THE REVERSE OVAL AND ITS APPLICATION
An application of the reverse oval motion is made in forming capital J.
The reverse oval, it must be understood, begins with an upward stroke on
the left side. Before attempting capital J, make reverse ovals four or
five minutes, and if the movement is then light and uniform, the copy
may be safely practiced. The oval is used as the developing and driving
force.
=Drill 54=
[Illustration]
Make the oval to a count of six, lift the pen from the paper at the top,
and without checking the motion swing the pen in its natural course
above the paper, to the right and below the base to the point of contact
with the paper in starting the letter. Do not stop the motion, but
strike the paper in an upward course at full speed for the beginning
stroke of J. If the explanation of applied motion is not fully
understood, study until it is, and then fill at least a half page with
the copy.
Do not neglect the form, but note carefully the following points: J
should begin with an upward stroke from a point just below the base
line; the turn at the top should be round; the upper part should be a
little longer than the lower part, and twice its width.
LESSON 50
=Drill 55=
[Illustration]
If slant is troublesome, study and practice this drill faithfully.
=Drill 56=
[Illustration]
This copy is given as a drill on both movement and form. From the
beginning stroke of J to the finishing of small s the pen should not be
lifted. Write the word from beginning to end with a steady, light and
uniform movement. Eighteen or twenty words to the minute will be a fair
rate of speed for practice.
LESSON 51
=Drill 57=
[Illustration]
Make capital I, and continue with the reverse oval. The count should be
two for I and six for the oval, as follows: 1, 2; 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Apply enough speed to make the lines smooth and clear-cut.
=Drill 58=
[Illustration]
Question: Where and how does capital I begin? Answer: Below the base
line with upward motion. Question: How wide is the upper part? Answer: A
little less than half the width of the lower part. Question: How is it
finished? Answer: With a full left curve and a dot at the end. Question:
Where do the first upward and the first downward lines cross? Answer: At
the height of small o. Question: What part of the space between the
ruled lines is occupied by I? Answer: About three-fourths. You should
analyze every letter you practice just as completely as is done in these
questions and answers. Then you will have good mental pictures of the
letters, will see at once when they are poorly made, and will make them
well as soon as you have good control of the movement. Without the good
mental picture, you will never write well, no matter how perfect your
control of motive power may be.
With a count of 1, 2, for each letter, make forty-five or more to a
minute.
=Drill 59=
[Illustration]
To form the angle at the left, there must be a full stop in this style
of capital I. It is hoped that you have remembered and tried to apply
the instructions of an earlier lesson about stops in making all angular
connections.
This is a particularly good style of capital I to use in beginning a
word, as shown in the following drill. Count 1, 2, 3; or 1, 2, swing.
=Drill 60=
[Illustration]
MOVEMENT DRILL DESIGN
[Illustration]
It is often a good plan to encourage students to give full play to their
inventive and constructive ability in adapting the drills to different
designs. Such work, however, should be done largely out of school hours.
A great variety of such designs from schools where the Palmer Method is
in use may be seen on the walls of the author’s offices. In the drills
mentioned are mainly used the straight line; compact, open and
interlaced ovals, large and small; small m, n, e, o, c, l, h, and b.
Among these designs are houses, carriages, crosses, battleships, and
many curious designs for which we do not find names. Many are worked out
in colored inks and the effect, on the whole, is pleasing.
Herewith we give a drill that is a favorite exercise with many teachers.
Let the student use pencil outlines to indicate length of lines and
width of ovals.
=YOU CANNOT FAIL, IF YOU STUDY THE INSTRUCTIONS AND FOLLOW THEM=
LESSONS 52 AND 53
[Illustration]
Not forgetting or neglecting the two-space compact oval drill with which
each lesson should start, the practice periods of two days might well be
spent in study and practice of the letters on page 52.
LESSON 54
=Drill 61=
[Illustration]
This copy furnishes all the movement drill necessary in beginning this
lesson. Count ten for each drill, two for capital S, and eight for the
reverse traced oval. About sixteen complete drills should be made to the
minute. This drill is especially recommended to those who find the
development of a light, quick movement difficult.
=Drill 62=
[Illustration]
Study the curve of the first stroke; study the loop at the top, and give
especial attention to the fact that the loop (upper part of S) is
one-half the entire length of the letter. With an easy, light movement
make from forty-five to fifty letters to the minute. Count 1, 2, for
each letter.
=Drill 63=
[Illustration]
The angular finishing stroke shown in drill sixty-three is very popular
with many excellent teachers of business writing. Almost the same number
of letters should be made in a minute as in drill sixty-two. Its
practical feature is the direction taken by the finishing stroke, which
may be joined to any letter following. Count 1, 2, swing; or 1, 2, 3,
for each letter.
LESSON 55
=Drill 64=
[Illustration]
Write a page of this copy; more if you have sufficient time. A
continuous steady movement should be used. Do not lift the pen from the
beginning to the ending of the word.
LESSON 56
=Drill 65=
[Illustration]
In this drill, capital G is made first to a count of three, and then,
without lifting the pen, followed with six revolutions of the reverse
traced oval. Make seventeen completed exercises in a minute. Count as
follows: 1, 2–3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
=Drill 66=
[Illustration]
Study the form of capital G closely before attempting to make it; be
sure that you not only know when you make a poor letter, but that you
know why it is poor. One bad stroke may spoil an otherwise good letter.
Learn to locate the bad strokes. Make from forty to fifty letters to the
minute. Count 1, 2, 3; or 1, stop, 3, for each letter.
=Drill 67=
[Illustration]
This is a good business form. Special instruction is unnecessary. Use
your eyes. Make as many as fifty in a minute.
=Drill 68=
[Illustration]
The angular finishing stroke gives a connective line for any letter that
may follow, and admits of joining the capitals for an extended drill as
well. Count 1, 2, for each letter, or 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, for each group of
three. Make eighteen groups in a minute.
=You aim before you shoot. You should study the instructions before you
practice the drills.=
LESSON 57
=Drill 69=
[Illustration]
Nothing can be better at this stage of the work than easy words
constantly repeated. Through a series of repetitions, strength in
movement is developed, and faults are seen. Twelve or fourteen words to
a minute should be the practice speed.
LESSON 58
CAUTION TO THE STUDENT
Never begin to practice until you are sure you know how. Languid,
thoughtless practice should be avoided. Put ambition, put energy, put
the fire of determined will behind your practice, and the results will
be astonishing. Take advantage of all favorable conditions. Not only
keep the muscles of the right arm in a relaxed condition, but guard
against tension in any part of the body. Keep the side of the hand and
the wrist free from the desk; keep the right arm well out from the side;
keep the right hand in front of the eyes; keep a right angle at the
right elbow, and remember that the propelling power is located above the
right elbow. If you think you are in a good position for writing, test
the movement without touching the pen to the paper, and study the
conditions under which you are trying to work. Be sure you are right
before you go ahead.
=Drill 70=
[Illustration]
Not much movement drill of a special character is necessary in opening
this lesson, the connected small p affording an excellent exercise.
Study the form with care. Note particularly the point at the top, the
loop below the base line, the length above and below the base, and the
point where the left curve from below the base crosses the main line.
Sixty connected letters should be made to the minute. Make frequent
comparisons and write a page.
The count for each group is 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10.
=Drill 71=
[Illustration]
Average rate of speed, twenty words to the minute. If small l is
difficult, turn to drill thirty-three, study the instructions, and
practice small l as there presented.
=Drill 72=
[Illustration]
The practice speed should be fourteen words to a minute.
LESSON 59
=Drill 73=
[Illustration]
Make a few imaginary letters as a preliminary movement drill before
beginning active work. As will be seen, nearly all the main oval part is
at the left of the beginning stroke. Count 1, 2, and repeat; or 1–2,
3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10 for each group of five. Move the paper after each
group of five. From fifty to sixty letters should be made to the minute.
Make a full page and practice steadily, not spasmodically. This letter
lends itself readily to a light, easy, swinging, and rhythmic movement.
For that reason, it is an excellent movement drill, and the best style
of capital P to adopt.
=Drill 74=
[Illustration]
Also make a page of this letter. It is a good movement drill. Count
three and be sure to join the last part to the first with a loop a
little above the center of the letter. Forty-five good letters should be
made to the minute. Count 1, 2, 3.
=Drill 75=
[Illustration]
Count 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, for each group of five, and make twelve
groups or sixty letters to the minute.
LESSON 60
Review lessons fifty-eight and fifty-nine.
=Drill 76=
[Illustration]
Write from ten to twelve words a minute, four to a line, eight inches
long. This is a good movement drill if properly practiced.
LESSON 61
BUSINESS FIGURES
Nothing is more important to the average bookkeeper or office clerk than
good figures. In many lines of accounting, thousands of business figures
are made without the writing of a single word.
This, in a measure, is true in many branches of statistical work
connected with railroad bookkeeping where headings are printed and page
after page is filled with figures. The first requisite is legibility,
and its importance cannot be emphasized too much. Letters in a word may
be known by the context, but each figure must depend upon itself for
legibility. It is very important, then, that each figure should be so
formed that its value, in groups or by itself, cannot be mistaken.
AN OBJECT-LESSON, FOR STUDY
[Illustration]
Through the adoption of the Palmer Method figures, made small and well
within the spaces, the New England Telephone Co. has reduced errors of
its employes to a minimum, and saved thousands of dollars a year.
Figures should be made small; students sometimes think that large
figures are necessarily plainer, but such is not the case. Examine
carefully the diagram. At the left are figures that are absolutely
plain; one could not be mistaken for another, and yet their extreme size
in the small spaces makes them difficult to read. At the right are the
same figures, no more perfect, but not so large. Please note carefully
that these, surrounded by white paper, and much smaller, are more
legible, even at a distance, than the large figures at the left.
Students who have practiced in copy-books almost invariably make figures
three or four times too large. Our models are large enough for ordinary
use. If occasion demands, it will be easy to make them larger.
One-eighth of an inch is perhaps high enough for ordinary figures, while
in some places it will be an advantage to make them even smaller.
FOR STUDY
[Illustration]
HOW TO PRACTICE
In making figure one, draw the hand toward you with a quick light
motion, sliding on the third and fourth fingers. Uniformity in the
height and slant are the two important points to observe.
The development and application of a lateral oval motion will aid in the
construction of figure two. In making it in class drill a count of three
should be used, thus—one, two, three, one, two, three, etc., or dot,
two, three.
Notice the exercise preceding figure three in lesson sixty-five. The
motion used in that exercise will produce a good figure if properly
applied. One, two, three, or dot, two, three, is the count used. A count
of three is used in figures four and five also, but for figures six,
seven, and nine, use a count of two.
Several lessons should be given to drilling on the figures singly before
grouping them, but as soon as the forms are mastered and the student can
make them at a fair rate of speed, it is best to drill in miscellaneous
order somewhat as follows: 1, 0, 2, 6, 9, 8, 5, 4, 3, 0, 9, 6, 7, 2, 2,
8, 9, 3, 5, 6, 9, 1, 5, 8, 6, 9, 5, 4, 6, 9, 3, 7, 8, etc. No particular
order is necessary, but the aim should be to repeat one as often as
another.
LESSON 62
=Drill 77=
[Illustration]
LESSON 63
=Drill 78=
[Illustration]
It is truly interesting to watch the development and improvement in
figure practice in a class where the work is well and systematically
done. Two weeks should be devoted to this practice and there should be
frequent reviews.
Some teachers place great emphasis upon the order of simplicity, but as
a matter of fact, no two students will be able to agree on this and,
since we are going to devote some time to drilling on each figure during
a period of two weeks, there is little use in attempting any arrangement
on such a basis. If there is a difference, the difficult figures should
be given most practice.
LESSON 64
=Drill 79=
[Illustration]
As soon as fair progress has been made in making figure two, an effort
should be made to bring the rate of speed to seventy-five a minute.
Count one, two, three, or dot, two, three, for each figure made in class
practice.
LESSON 65
=Drill 80=
[Illustration]
In the author’s classes the method here presented of teaching figure 3
has proved more satisfactory than any other that he has tested. The
motion produces the figure; learn this motion thoroughly. Count one,
two, three, or dot, two, three, and make seventy figures a minute.
=The Palmer Method is a text-book on practical writing. The Instructions
should be studied, and followed.=
LESSON 66
=Drill 81=
[Illustration]
Figure five is in a large measure dependent upon the horizontal stroke
at the top for its legibility. This horizontal line should be made last.
Study the form as well as practice it. About seventy good figures should
be made to the minute. This speed may be increased later. Count one,
two, three.
LESSON 67
=Drill 82=
[Illustration]
Seven extends below the base. Make this figure in a count of one, two,
at the rate of about eighty-five to the minute.
LESSON 68
=Drill 83=
[Illustration]
Four rests on the base line, and usually the last part extends above the
first. Count one, two, three, and make from sixty to seventy a minute.
LESSON 69
=Drill 84=
[Illustration]
The compound curve at the left on the first line in drill 84, and the
arrow in the first figure show how 8 begins.
After a few minutes’ drill on figure eight at a speed of sixty to
seventy a minute, miscellaneous figures should be introduced. In class
work these figures should be made from the dictation of the teacher, and
the practice speed should be from ninety to one hundred figures to the
minute. The author usually makes the figures on the blackboard as they
are dictated to the class. A fairly rapid penman can make from one
hundred to one hundred and twenty-five of these in a minute. Compare
your figures with the copies and make all figures small and
disconnected.
MISCELLANEOUS FIGURES FOR STUDY AND PRACTICE
[Illustration]
LESSON 70
=Drill 85=
SPECIAL POINTS TO OBSERVE
Capital E is made with an application of the oval motion, as developed
in capitals O, A and C, the application varying but little.
The upper part of capital E is about one-third the entire height of the
letter. The finishing oval should not exceed one-half the entire height,
and the loop marking two-thirds the height of the letter points downward
at about a right angle with the main slant.
[Illustration]
Practice the first row as a movement drill. Make the small (upper) oval
first, and swing into the lower and larger oval without lifting the pen.
Make five traced ovals for the upper, and the same for the lower part,
thus permitting a count of ten for each completed exercise.
The abbreviated E in the second line is used by good business penmen
more than any other, but the form used in the next line, finished with
an oval, should be practiced and mastered. The count for each should be
1, 2, 3, or dot, 2, 3. From forty-five to fifty of the abbreviated form
and but few less of the other should be made to the minute. Count the
number of letters on a line, and make as many in the same space. The
abbreviated capital E, followed with the small e, may be practiced as a
movement drill to good advantage now and during future practice periods.
The count for it is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or dot, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Review this lesson often until you make a good capital E.
=It is not Palmer Method if the lines are tremulous. Study the
instructions for speed requirements.=
LESSON 71
=Drill 86=
The framework of capital B is clearly shown in the models below. The
straight line starting at a point about three-fourths of the distance
from the base is purely a guide line, a prop upon which the remainder
rests. Without it, beginners make very feeble letters. Although usually
lost in the retraced line, the author considers it a very essential part
of the letter.
[Illustration]
Definiteness is essential in business writing. There should be a
definite starting-point and a definite ending-point in every letter.
Every curve and every loop should be definite and have a definite place
in the plan of construction. In studying the forms of the letters here
given, bear this in mind. Capital B may end in a dot as shown above, or
it may end in an angular form, furnishing a connective stroke for the
letters following.
The count for capital B is 1, 2, 3, and a fair practice speed is forty
to the minute when the letters are disconnected, and a little higher
rate when the letters are connected as in drill eighty-seven.
=Drill 87=
[Illustration]
LESSON 72
=Drill 88=
[Illustration]
Study small b. The lower part of the letter should be as wide as the
loop through the widest part, and some good penmen make it a little
wider than this. Do not make your letters larger than those in the copy.
Make line after line until you are able to make the letters easily and
at a fair rate of speed. Sixteen groups or eighty letters to the minute
is not a high rate for this drill. The count for each group is 1–2, 3–4,
5–6, 7–8, 9–10, with the emphasis on the finishing point in each letter.
The connective stroke is slightly curved.
LESSON 73
=Drill 89=
[Illustration]
Students are expected to practice the above words as movement drills.
The speed in the first two lines should be from twenty to twenty-five
words a minute. At this rate, form can be improved while movement is
being developed. The word “billing” may be practiced at from twelve to
fourteen a minute.
LESSON 74
=Drill 90=
[Illustration]
Study the form before attempting the drill. Make ten sets of five each,
or fifty small k’s to the minute. Keep the letters down to the size of
the copies. Count 1, 2, 3, for each letter with a slight check on the 2.
LESSON 75
=Drill 91=
This writing is large enough. In studying size, students should make
frequent comparisons. The practice speed should be, for the first word,
twenty, and for the word “killing” twelve to the minute. See the
following page.
[Illustration]
LESSON 76
TO RELIEVE MUSCULAR TENSION
It is often advantageous to go over the path of the letter, or exercise,
with a dry pen. This method is especially helpful to a student whose
muscles are hard, and who finds difficulty in overcoming the tendency to
keep the muscles of the arm and body in a rigid condition. This plan has
been suggested in former lessons, and we consider it of sufficient
importance to receive emphasis here.
Another plan which the author has found helpful to students who write
with strained muscles, is to place a weight on the paper, and write with
the left arm hanging down. The tension of the right arm is relieved at
once.
Still another plan to relieve this tension, so common among beginners,
is to select some easy drill like o or m, and make it across the ruled
lines with the eyes fixed upon some object at a distance on a level with
them when the body is fairly erect.
=Drill 92=
[Illustration]
Small f is a little shorter below than above the base line, and is
closed on the base line. A fair rate of practice speed is fourteen
groups of five letters each, or seventy letters to the minute. Count
1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, for each group.
LESSON 77
=Drill 93=
[Illustration]
Write several lines of the first word before changing to the second.
Write twenty or more words in a minute.
LESSON 78
=Drill 94=
[Illustration]
Rate of practice speed, fourteen words to the minute. Good movement
leads to good writing; good position leads to good movement. Watch the
position; watch the movement.
LESSON 79
Let us emphasize the statement made in a preceding lesson that constant
repetition is necessary in developing a good style of writing for
business. Another thing for the student to bear in mind is the fact that
the only way to learn to execute business writing is to practice
business writing. Review as many lessons as time permits.
LESSON 80
=Drill 95=
[Illustration]
Compare the oval of capital D with capital O. Do not neglect to make a
careful study of D, each part by itself, and the letter as a whole. Do
not drag the hand over the paper, but keep it well up in front of the
eyes, and drive it along firmly but lightly. It takes a little time,
energy, and enthusiastic practice to make a good business penman, but it
is encouraging to know that under the muscular movement plan there are
no failures when favorable conditions prevail. Practice capital D until
you can make forty-five fairly good letters to the minute. Count 1, 2,
3, for each letter.
In writing the word “Drumming” do not lift the pen from the beginning
stroke in small r to the ending stroke of small g. Regularity and
continuity of motion are very essential. Keep the pen on the paper. The
word should be practiced at a rate of nine to a minute.
LESSON 81
=Drill 96=
[Illustration]
Do not make the beginning part of capital T too high; it should be but
little more than two-thirds the entire height of the letter. Note
particularly that the last part curves over the top of the main (first)
part without touching it. Time and hard work will be important factors
in developing this letter. Be earnest, be faithful. The count is 1, 2,
3, 4, and about forty letters should be made to the minute.
=Drill 97=
[Illustration]
You will see that this capital F is a copy of capital T, with the
crossing added. This is not recommended as a business form, since it
cannot be made rapidly. Many of the forms in this book are not given for
their beauty, but because ninety per cent. of our best business penmen
use them.
LESSON 82
=Drill 98=
[Illustration]
In twelve of the business capitals we have the small loop beginning.
Turn it up-side-down and you will see that it is the inverted figure
six. Most pupils find this style of starting capital letters somewhat
difficult at first, but when mastered it becomes a favorite. It is of
sufficient importance to be given considerable study and practice.
A careful study and comparison of these capitals will show that in F, Q,
W, X and Z the main downward strokes are curved much more than in H, K,
M and N, while compound curves are used in the main strokes of U, V and
Y.
Practice the first part at the left of the line.
LESSON 83
=Drill 99=
[Illustration]
Capital Q, as shown above, is the enlarged form of figure two preceded
by a movement drill. Curve the main downward strokes liberally. Make the
lower loop flat on the base line and drop the finishing curve below.
Students should frequently compare their writing with the copies.
=Drill 100=
[Illustration]
The mind directs, the arm and hand perform; both mind and muscle must
work in harmony.
No matter how perfectly the muscles of the arm are trained, good letters
cannot be made unless a good conception of form is in the mind. Capital
Q should be made well at the rate of sixty to the minute, and the figure
two faster. The count in each case is 1, 2, 3.
=Drill 101=
[Illustration]
In the style of writing here presented the loop of small g extends three
spaces below the base line. The paper should be held in such a position
that the downward strokes are pulled toward the center of the body, the
paper being changed from time to time with the left hand to keep its
position relatively the same. The motion should be purely muscular
throughout, and the movement in making the loop particularly quick and
elastic. Study the form closely and note the crossing of the loop with a
left curve on the base. Pull the loops toward the center of the body and
not toward the left elbow.
In groups of five connected letters a speed of sixty-five letters to the
minute should be attained. A count of ten for each group of five will
aid in regulating the movement.
=Drill 102=
[Illustration]
By comparison it will be seen that q is a little shorter below the base
than g; that the turn at the bottom is made to the right, instead of, to
the left; and that the lower part connects on the base line with the
first. On account of the check at the connective point, fewer letters
are made to the minute than of small g, but the movement should be
quick.
LESSON 84
=Drill 103=
[Illustration]
See suggestions at the top of the following page.
The inverted small e preceding capital H in page sixty-nine will not
only aid in developing the small loop beginning but will insure freedom
of movement and lightness of stroke.
Count 1, 2, 3, 4, for the drill and first part of capital H, and 1, 2,
for the last part. In making the last part, swing the hand to the same
direction as for the beginning of capital O, but straighten the stroke
from its center to its base. Let nothing escape you; observe closely
every stroke, no matter how minute or unimportant it may appear.
=Drill 104=
[Illustration]
With an easy, swinging movement, make thirty-five or more capitals of
the above form to the minute with a count of 1, 2, 3, 4.
The beginning loop may be made smaller than in the copy, but no larger
in business writing.
Capital K is a natural companion to capital H. The beginning strokes in
both letters are identical in size and shape.
LESSON 85
=Drill 105=
[Illustration]
Careful study of the last part of K will be very much to the advantage
of every student. Study it with the first part covered with a piece of
paper. Turn the copy upside down and study it in that position. Notice
particularly that the loop grasps the first part a little above the
center.
=Drill 106=
[Illustration]
Thirty-five to forty to the minute will be a fair rate of speed. Compare
your capitals frequently with the copy.
=Are you studying the instructions? They tell you just how to succeed.=
LESSON 86
=Drill 107=
[Illustration]
This is a most excellent word to practice at this stage of the work. It
is a good movement-developer. Give close attention to size, general
appearance, and space between letters, and guard against irregular
movement. Keep the hand well up in front of the eyes and drive the pen
lightly. Write a half page of the copy and then make a careful study of
your work. Try to write each line better than the preceding. Three words
should be written to the line.
LESSON 87
=Drill 108=
A REVIEW
[Illustration]
Work faithfully on every letter. Repeat the forms over and over until
decided improvement can be seen. Make frequent comparisons. Study
length, breadth, curves, and connections closely.
Rate of speed to the minute: F, fifty; H, thirty-five; K, thirty-five;
M, thirty-five; N, forty.
LESSON 88
=Drill 109=
[Illustration]
A REVIEW
Rate of practice speed: Q, sixty; U, forty-five; V, fifty-five; W, forty
to the minute.
=Points to Observe=—Capital Q is the enlarged form of figure two. The
last parts of U, V, and W are shorter than the other parts, and the
first strokes in U and V are exactly alike. In capital W, check the
motion a little at the base line in the first main downward stroke, as
this will aid in the construction of the last part.
LESSON 89
=Drill 110=
[Illustration]
Practice this compact oval as a beginning drill. Make it between two
ruled lines, carry the pen lightly and see how many you can make in one
row, with one dip of ink.
Study and compare as you practice. Drill speed to the minute in the
following capitals: X, thirty-five; Y, forty; Z, fifty.
=Drill 111=
[Illustration]
REVIEW WORK
At this point it would be a good plan to review all the essential work
of the preceding lessons. From one to two weeks should be spent in such
practice.
LESSON 90
=Drill 112=
[Illustration]
Some authors make the loop of j and z shorter below the base than small
y and g, but we make no distinction. The j begins like a small i and
ends with a loop. Small z should receive careful attention.
LESSON 91
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT SIZE
In these lessons is presented a style of writing that is easily and
rapidly executed, and though large enough to be perfectly legible it is
small enough for general use. Examine the writing of the best business
penmen in the large mercantile centers and it will be seen that this is
true.
It is a grave error to present for practice models larger than the
pupils are expected to employ in their ordinary writing. And yet many
professional penmen continue to present models not only two or three
times larger than good business writing is expected to be, but forms
that cannot possibly be executed at commercial speed.
CAPITAL AND WORD PRACTICE AS MOVEMENT DRILLS
In the following copies the capital and word practice is intended to
encourage free movement, continuity in execution, and better control of
the writing muscles than has, perhaps, been gained. The plan is to
repeat the capital until it can be made at the speed designated, and to
follow with word practice. In the word drills the value of a continuous
movement must not be lost sight of, and the pen should remain on the
paper from the beginning to the ending of the small letters. In fact,
all the copies should be treated as movement drills. Words ending in
“ing” have been purposely selected and their value will not be
questioned if they are rightly practiced.
=Drill 113=
[Illustration]
The rate of speed for capital A is from seventy-five to eighty-five to
the minute and for the word “Alling”, about fifteen to the minute.
LESSON 92
=Drill 114=
[Illustration]
Practice the word “Calling” at fifteen or more a minute, and “Chiming”
at the same rate.
LESSON 93
=Drill 115=
[Illustration]
LESSON 94
=Drill 116=
[Illustration]
Open the lesson with a drill on capital O, making fully sixty to the
minute, and write the word “Oiling” at the rate of fourteen to the
minute. Watch position; watch movement.
Capital L, rightly practiced, is always an excellent movement drill.
Questions you should be able to answer intelligently: Where and how does
the beginning stroke start? How long is the upper loop, compared with
the length of the letter? Is the downward stroke a straight line or a
curve? Is the lower loop round or flat, and what part rests on the base
line? Is the final stroke finished on or below the base line?
Compare your work with the copy in reference to these questions.
Practice speed, sixty letters to the minute. Write the word “Lanning”
with a very light motion at a speed not less than twelve to the minute.
LESSON 95
=Drill 117=
[Illustration]
Do not overlook the proportions of capital M. It should fill a square.
Practice speed for M, about forty to the minute, and of the word
“Milling”, fourteen words a minute; a higher rate of speed may be
applied by some pupils.
LESSON 96
=Special Notice=—Pupils who cannot use and apply the muscular movement
fairly well, should return to the beginning lessons and review them,
studying carefully all the instructions regarding position, penholding,
and methods of developing movement.
=Drill 118=
[Illustration]
Capital N should be made at the rate of fifty-five a minute. Practice
speed for “Nulling”, fourteen or sixteen to the minute.
LESSON 97
=Drill 119=
[Illustration]
Capital H should be made at the rate of thirty-five or forty a minute,
and the word “Hauling” about fifteen to the minute.
LESSON 98
=Drill 120=
[Illustration]
Forty capital K’s to the minute is a fair rate. Pupils should not lose
sight of the fact that motion determines form. Take care of the motion
and the forms of the letters will develop easily and naturally. A
careful study of the movement as applied to capital K will be helpful.
After making the first part of the letter, the hand (with the pen in the
air) should swing below the base line, describing an oval and returning
upward to the beginning point of the last part of the letter. Be sure to
connect the parts with a loop, as shown in the copy. Drop the finishing
part below the base line. Don’t forget the word practice; about twelve
words to the minute is a fair rate of speed.
LESSON 99
=Drill 121=
[Illustration]
Practice capital P at the rate of fifty to sixty letters a minute; the
word “Pulling”, twelve words a minute. Some pupils will be able to write
the word at higher speed and still do good work.
LESSON 100
Be sure to fix in mind the image of the letter before attempting it.
Study closely the proportions and the direction of every stroke. Make
about fifty capital R’s to the minute, as given in the next page.
Do not forget that your advancement depends upon movement, and that
movement depends much upon position. The body should be self-supporting,
with the feet resting squarely on the floor, and should not crowd
against the desk; the right arm should be well out from the side; the
right hand well in front of the eyes; and the paper twelve or fourteen
inches from the eyes.
If the wrist or side of the hand rests on the paper, all motion coming
from the muscles of the arm will stop at the wrist and it will be an
impossibility to use muscular movement. Watch the wrist and the side of
the hand closely. Remember that the propelling power is above the elbow,
in the upper arm and shoulder.
Write line after line of the word “Running” with a light, quick motion,
and compare with the copy frequently. Twelve to fourteen words should be
written to the minute.
=Drill 122=
[Illustration]
LESSON 101
=Drill 123=
[Illustration]
Turn to lesson fifty-four and practice and study capital S in accordance
with the instructions. Enough time should be reserved to write at least
one page of the word “Swelling”.
LESSON 102
=Drill 124=
Pupils who cannot make good loop letters should make a special study of
lesson thirty-two.
[Illustration]
LESSON 103
=Drill 125=
[Illustration]
As explained in a former lesson, capital Q is simply a large figure two.
It is a good movement drill. Practice it as such.
In all your word practice a special effort should be made to space the
letters evenly. Study your written lines with that in mind.
LESSON 104
Pupils should give particular attention to the appearance of their
finished pages, making letters and words conform to spaces. The capitals
should occupy only from two-thirds to three-fourths the distance between
the ruled lines, assuming that they are about three-eighths of an inch
apart.
From fifteen to twenty capitals should be made to a line. If the forms
are well made, a page of capitals written in accordance with these
suggestions will present a very pleasing appearance. See drill 126.
The crossing of capital F at the top of the following page is above the
center, and the final stroke at the crossing is small. In practice,
write the full word every time the capital is made. Do not let your
practice work approach scribbling. Do the very best you can, not part of
the time, but all the time.
=You aim before you shoot. You should study the instructions before you
practice the drills.=
=Drill 126=
[Illustration]
LESSON 105
=Drill 127=
[Illustration]
Always start capital I with an upward stroke from below the base line.
The upper part should be about one-half the width of the lower. The
crossing of the beginning with the main downward stroke should be one
space above the base line. Practice the detached capital as well as the
word until there is an improvement in the movement and its application.
LESSON 106
=Drill 128=
[Illustration]
Practice and compare, and then practice again. Capital J is twice as
wide above as below the base, and the lower part is a little shorter
than upper part. Pupils who find the letter troublesome should review
lessons forty-nine and fifty.
LESSON 107
=Drill 129=
[Illustration]
Write a page of capital E’s and another page of the words.
LESSON 108
=Drill 130=
[Illustration]
Capital B was discussed at considerable length in lesson seventy-one,
and students who have failed to master the letter should turn to that
lesson for review.
LESSON 109
=Drill 131=
[Illustration]
Make your letters no larger than the copies. Write line after line of
the detached capitals before writing the word. Rate of speed for
practice, fifty to fifty-five capitals and fourteen words in a minute.
LESSON 110
=Drill 132=
[Illustration]
The first part of capital T should be no more than two-thirds the height
of the entire letter. Give attention to the abrupt stop on the base line
in the first part of the letter. Carry the last part up and over the
first part in a graceful curve. Practice the word as well as the
detached capital.
LESSON 111
=Drill 133=
[Illustration]
Capital W should be very closely studied. The tendency is to slant the
last part too much, tipping it away from the first part. The upward
stroke beginning the second part is a right curve, and the construction
of the last part and the appearance of the entire letter are to a
considerable extent dependent upon that line.
In making the first part there should be a stop at the base line. This
will aid very much in the construction of the last part of the letter.
The last line in the letter, it will be noticed, is shorter than the two
center strokes. It is unlikely that students who fail to study its
construction closely will learn to make a good capital W. The rate
should be between forty and fifty letters to a minute. Do not neglect
the word practice.
Write about sixteen words to the minute.
LESSON 112
=Drill 134=
The last part of capital U is shorter than the first part. Study the
letter until you have a good mental picture of it. Make U at the rate of
forty-five to a minute, and do not neglect the word practice.
[Illustration]
LESSON 113
=Drill 135=
[Illustration]
An otherwise good capital V will be spoiled if the finishing line is too
long. Notice its length. Study and practice should go hand in hand. Do
not neglect either.
CAUTION TO TEACHERS AND PUPILS
The development of good business writing is dependent, first, upon
proper clothing of the writing arm; second, upon a substantial desk or
table of the right height; third, upon a good position at the desk;
fourth, upon a relaxed condition of the writing muscles; fifth, upon the
freedom of the wrist and the side of the hand from the paper; and sixth,
upon concentration, determination, and constantly repeated effort.
Teachers who cannot maintain enthusiasm throughout the writing period,
and who do not realize the necessity of constantly repeated cautions and
admonitions, must never expect to secure flattering results.
Teachers, see that your pupils are alert, watchful, and practicing under
the most favorable conditions. Force upon the inner consciousness of
every pupil the harmfulness of careless practice and the necessity for
making every stroke according to instructions and in the right
direction.
Pupils, do not vehemently assert that you are very anxious to become
good penmen, and then abuse the opportunities within your reach.
Learning to write well is not difficult to the earnest, careful,
hard-working pupil; and with such, results almost immediately follow
correct methods of practice.
Finger movement and muscular movement are antagonistic, and the student
who makes an effort to use muscular movement in the writing class only,
need not hope for success.
Home students, not having the advantage of the directing counsel of good
teachers, should frequently review the beginning lessons. You cannot
fail if you follow the instructions.
=Drill 136=
[Illustration]
Practice the above copy in sections. Repeat capital I until the form is
good when made rapidly, follow with several lines of the word “am,” and
continue to practice each word in the copy until uniformity in spacing,
height, and slant have been developed. Then write a page of the complete
copy and criticise it.
As simple as it looks, there is material for several hours’ practice in
this copy.
LESSON 114
=Drill 137=
[Illustration]
The same method of practice should be followed in this drill as in the
preceding one.
LESSON 115
=Drill 138=
Begin this lesson with your usual movement drills.
[Illustration]
First practice drill one hundred and thirty-eight in sections, word by
word. Follow with a full page of the completed copy, and do not neglect
to criticise results. Height, spacing, and slant should receive special
attention.
In the following lessons are given copies in line-writing from which
pages should be written. It may be easy for some students who cannot
maintain uniform excellence throughout a page to write one or two lines
well. The object of your practice should be attractive work and
commercial speed. To attain this end, study the appearance of the
finished line and page from time to time, and always try to harmonize
the writing with the space it occupies.
LESSON 116
=Drill 139=
[Illustration]
Practice this copy as given. Write each word over and over, until the
motion used is almost automatic and a marked improvement is shown in the
general appearance. Then write a few lines of the drill complete, and
study the appearance.
LESSON 117
=Drill 140=
[Illustration]
Do not rest a moment until you have filled one page with this copy; then
judge the appearance as a whole. Do not write larger than the copy.
LESSON 118
=Drill 141=
[Illustration]
Make a few lines of capital D before writing the line.
Do not lose sight of the fact that position at the desk has much to do
with the development of writing. Position refers to feet, body, arms,
wrist, fingers, pen, head, and paper. In preceding lessons enough has
been said about these to make extended instructions here unnecessary.
LESSON 119
=Drill 142=
[Illustration]
Uniformity may be hard to maintain in this copy. After writing a few
lines pick out the faults and endeavor to correct them.
LESSON 120
=Drill 143=
[Illustration]
Solid pages are wanted; not haphazard writing.
LESSON 121
=Drill 144=
[Illustration]
Practice capital H as a movement drill a few minutes before writing the
complete line.
Maintain equal distances, not only between letters, but between the
words.
LESSON 122
=Drill 145=
[Illustration]
LESSON 123
=Drill 146=
[Illustration]
LESSON 124
=Drill 147=
[Illustration]
LESSON 125
=Drill 148=
[Illustration]
=Drill 149=
[Illustration]
LESSON 126
=Drill 150=
[Illustration]
Practice capital O as a movement drill for a few minutes and then do
your best on the entire copy.
LESSON 127
=Drill 151=
[Illustration]
LESSON 128
=Drill 152=
[Illustration]
This drill is difficult enough to merit careful practice for a full
writing period. It will be best first to practice capital Q as a
movement drill.
LESSON 129
=Drill 153=
[Illustration]
LESSON 130
=Drill 154=
[Illustration]
LESSON 131
=Drill 155=
[Illustration]
LESSON 132
=Drill 156=
[Illustration]
LESSON 133
=Drill 157=
[Illustration]
It is always a good plan, where time permits, to practice each capital
at the beginning of the line as a drill.
LESSON 134
=Drill 158=
[Illustration]
Do not neglect the movement drills, although they are not specially
mentioned in every lesson.
LESSON 135
=Drill 159=
[Illustration]
LESSON 136
=Drill 160=
[Illustration]
Capital X is made with a figure six inverted, and a figure six right
side up. Keep this in mind when making it.
LESSON 137
=Drill 161=
[Illustration]
LESSON 138
=Drill 162=
[Illustration]
LESSON 139
=Drill 163=
[Illustration]
LESSON 140
=Drill 164=
[Illustration]
Work up to the complete copy by a systematic practice on the capitals
and words separately.
LESSON 141
=Drill 165=
[Illustration]
The author, in common with many teachers of business writing, has found
the practice of combinations of capitals very helpful in developing
accuracy and freedom. This is an excellent part of the course in which
to introduce such drills, but tangled and difficult combinations should
be avoided.
Drill one hundred and sixty-five, if rightly practiced, will insure
light movement and develop constructive ability. About twenty-two of
this combination should be made to a minute. It will be profitable to
devote a full session to it.
LESSON 142
=Drills 166 and 167=
Practice the combinations of capitals several minutes before practicing
the small letters. A perfect mastery of the following combinations will
help students in the work that follows. A few scattered lines will not
meet the requirements. Write a full page.
[Illustration]
LESSON 143
=Drill 168=
[Illustration]
Use uniform motion from beginning to end, and make about twenty-five to
a minute.
[Illustration]
LESSON 144
=Drill 169=
[Illustration]
This affords a good drill and a good test of accuracy in applying
movement. The last downward stroke in capital H is a left curve, is it
not? Study the direction of the pen in making it, and then strike
boldly. This will be a good drill to practice frequently at the
beginning of a lesson.
=Drill 170=
[Illustration]
Use your eyes, focus your mind upon your work, study and practice
earnestly, and you will be pleased with the results.
LESSON 145
Movement drills for a few minutes and then the following:
=Drill 171=
[Illustration]
Practice the combination of capitals several times before making the
small letters. Such repeated effort will be helpful.
LESSON 146
=Drill 172=
[Illustration]
* * * * *
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
───────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────
│ Count │Number per Minute
───────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────
│ │
[Script: A] │ 1–2 │ 75
│ │
[Script: B] │ 1–2–3 │ 40
│ │
[Script: C] │ 1–2 │ 70
│ │
[Script: D] │ 1–2–3 │ 45
│ │
[Script: E] │ 1–2–3 │ 45 to 50
│ │
[Script: F] │ 1–2–3 │ 50
│ │
[Script: G] │ 1–2–3 │ 40 to 50
│ │
[Script: H] │ 1–2–3–4 │ 35
│ │
[Script: I] │ 1–2–3 │ 45
│ │
[Script: J] │ 1–2 │ 60 to 70
│ │
[Script: K] │ 1–2–3–4 │ 35 to 40
│ │
[Script: L] │ 1–2 │ 50 to 55
│ │
[Script: M] │ 1–2–3–4 │ 30 to 35
│ │
[Script: N] │ 1–2–3 │ 40
│ │
[Script: O] │ 1–2 │ 70
│ │
[Script: P] │ 1–2 │ 50 to 60
│ │
[Script: Q] │ 1–2–3 │ 60
│ │
[Script: R] │ 1–2–3 │ 45
│ │
[Script: S] │ 1–2 │ 45 to 50
│ │
[Script: T] │ 1–2–3–4 │ 40
│ │
[Script: U] │ 1–2–3 │ 45
│ │
[Script: V] │ 1–2 │ 55
│ │
[Script: W] │ 1–2–3–4 │ 40
│ │
[Script: X] │ 1–2–3 │ 35
│ │
[Script: Y] │ 1–2–3–4 │ 40
│ │
[Script: Z] │ 1–2–3 │ 50
│ │
[Script: a] │ 1–2 │14 groups of 5 or
│ │ 70
│ │
[Script: b] │ 1–2 │16 groups of 5 or
│ │ 80
│ │
[Script: c] │ 1–2 │16 groups of 5 or
│ │ 80
│ │
[Script: d] │ 1–2 │13 groups of 5 or
│ │ 65
│ │
[Script: e] │ 1 │28 groups of 5 or
│ │ 140
│ │
[Script: f] │ 1–2 │14 groups of 5 or
│ │ 70
│ │
[Script: g] │ 1–2 │13 groups of 5 or
│ │ 65
│ │
[Script: h] │ 1–2 │14 groups of 5 or
│ │ 70
│ │
[Script: i] │ 1 │10 groups of 5 or
│ │ 50
│ │
[Script: j] │ 1–2 │14 groups of 5 or
│ │ 70
│ │
[Script: k] │ 1–2–3 │10 groups of 5 or
│ │ 50
│ │
[Script: l] │ 1 │25 groups of 5 or
│ │ 125
│ │
[Script: m] │ 1–2–3 │12 groups of 4 or
│ │ 48
│ │
[Script: n] │ 1–2 │18 groups of 5 or
│ │ 90
│ │
[Script: o] │ 1–2 │18 groups of 5 or
│ │ 90
│ │
[Script: p] │ 1–2 │12 groups of 5 or
│ │ 60
│ │
[Script: q] │ 1–2 │10 groups of 5 or
│ │ 50
│ │
[Script: r] │ 1–2 │18 groups of 5 or
│ │ 90
│ │
[Script: s] │ 1–2 │17 groups of 5 or
│ │ 85
│ │
[Script: t] │ 1 │20 groups of 5 or
│ │ 100
│ │
[Script: u] │ 1–2 │12 groups of 4 or
│ │ 48
│ │
[Script: v] │ 1–2 │12 groups of 5 or
│ │ 60
│ │
[Script: w] │ 1–2–3 │12 groups of 5 or
│ │ 60
│ │
[Script: x] │ 1 │18 groups of 5 or
│ │ 90
│ │
[Script: y] │ 1–2 │14 groups of 5 or
│ │ 70
│ │
[Script: z] │ 1–2 │14 groups of 5 or
│ │ 70
───────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────
PUPIL’S CERTIFICATE, KNOWN AS THE DIPLOMA
[Illustration: THIS HAS BEEN GREATLY REDUCED. ORIGINAL SIZE, 14×17
INCHES]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in
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2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.
3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
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