How to improve handwriting and diagrams

[Popularis]

I'm currently doing my B.S. in physics with a minor in education, with the intent of becoming a public high school physics teacher. So far I haven't had any major issues with any of my coursework, but I do have one problem: my handwriting and drawing skills are terrible! As a teacher, I'm going to have to be producing a ton of diagrams and worked out problems on the board in front of the classroom, and as of now I feel like anything I put up would be an embarrassment. Does anyone have any tips or resources for improving one's handwriting and diagramming skills? Thanks!

 

[berkeman]

I'm currently doing my B.S. in physics with a minor in education, with the intent of becoming a public high school physics teacher. So far I haven't had any major issues with any of my coursework, but I do have one problem: my handwriting and drawing skills are terrible! As a teacher, I'm going to have to be producing a ton of diagrams and worked out problems on the board in front of the classroom, and as of now I feel like anything I put up would be an embarrassment. Does anyone have any tips or resources for improving one's handwriting and diagramming skills? Thanks!

When I started working part-time in EMS, I had to improve my handwriting a lot. You spend a lot of time writing up patient care reports that others have to be able to read, and read accurately. You don't want people having trouble reading what-all you have done for a patient or have given to them.

So one thing I did was start practicing writing the alphabet over and over on a pad of paper, one alphabet per line. I know it sounds a bit dorky, but it really helps. Especially if you slow down and concentrate on forming good characters, of even sizes and spaced well. I mostly write in all-caps on reports, so that's what I practiced. If you will be using normal capitalization, you could practice both alphabets.

Slowing down and focusing on good characters helped me a lot, but also finding the right kind of pen that worked for me made a big difference. If you are writing on a whiteboard or chalkboard, you won't have that degree of freedom. But for writing on paper, try different kinds of pens to see what works best for you. If I don't have to press hard to make copies on multiple sheets, I like this pen the best right now:

https://www.staples-3p.com/s7/is/image/Staples/s0154198_sc7?$splssku$

 

[berkeman]

Oh, and I had a good basic drawing class in my first year of undergrad engineering. You can probably find something online or on YouTube that goes over the basics of drawing lines and figures...

 

[Popularis]

Oh, and I had a good basic drawing class in my first year of undergrad engineering. You can probably find something online or on YouTube that goes over the basics of drawing lines and figures...

Those a great tips, thanks! Was your drawing class offered in the engineering department, or was it an art class?

 

[berkeman]

Those a great tips, thanks! Was your drawing class offered in the engineering department, or was it an art class?

Engineering department. It's an intro to engineering course that covers a lot of subjects, including pieces from ME, EE, CS, etc. All freshman engineering majors had to take it.

 

[lewando]

Take a class or do self-study in calligraphy. This inexpensive artform develops excellent hand-eye coordination. Also sketch objects that you see (start with regular geometric shapes: a cube, a cylinder). This is a good one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1585033871/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[Paul C]

My handwriting has suffered in recent years due to progress noting and wider use of typing. Some time ago I switched to writing in script rather than cursive, that helped. For demonstrations, slow down; you should have no "get to the punctuation" emergencies. On the other matter, diagrams: bring back the whiteboard ruler! Remember that people write the way they speak, and subliminally the way they think. Therefore styles can vary widely.
Here's a guy in this video series that writes (legibly) for hours every day during presentations. You notice he's prepared, his data are on paper (he even writes his jokes) and he splits his time between his class and his writing. You may think he's either (a) dry or (b) exhausting to watch, but I think he's nailed his demonstrations.

 

[Tom.G]

Does anyone have any tips or resources for improving one's handwriting and diagramming skills?

The obvious wisecrack is Take Your Time. Yeah, not very helpful.

The trick I've used is to realize the purpose of writing something is not to make marks on paper, but to transfer information. Hard to do when you are in a hurry. But there won't be much information transfer if no one can read it. That's why I print in uppercase (almost always.)

Here is an example that you may have run across:
Have you ever called a business, had a receptionist speedtalk thru the 'Standard Script', then put you on hold; all while you are trying to understand the first sentence? That receptionist is rushed and sees the job as 'Answering The Phone', not as 'Assisting Callers.'

So decide, will you be 'Answering The Phone' or 'Transferring Information?'