HANDWRITING & GRAPHOLOGY
Letter R handwriting analysis
Lowercase r may have a small shoulder, a pointed top or an abbreviated arm. Examine the change of direction where the entry becomes the shoulder.
Compare r letter forms
A compact rounded shoulder sits at the top of the body band. Follow its exit into the next letter.
The form turns through a sharp upper point. Compare its height with neighboring small letters.
The capital adds a descending diagonal leg to an upper bowl. Inspect the bowl and leg independently.
These original diagrams isolate shoulder, upstroke and arm. Compare their shapes with several occurrences in your own handwriting; the dashed guides show the body band.
What to look for
- Is there a distinct shoulder?
- Does the arm stay inside the body band?
- Is the exit distinguishable from the next letter’s entry?
Begin with the ordinary lowercase body, then follow the opening and finishing strokes. Record where the letter joins its neighbors and whether the same form appears at the beginning, middle and end of a word.
Read r within words
Use words such as read and order as starting points for a sample comparison. Write them in your ordinary hand, then compare the r forms with examples already present in a note.
A neighboring stroke can close an oval, extend a shoulder or hide a return. Trace the visible boundary before naming the feature. Compare letter shape separately from the word’s slant and the line’s direction.
Connect the letter to a whole-page reading
One letter supplies a local observation. Repeated forms show whether that observation belongs to the wider writing rhythm. Use the linked feature guides to compare its proportions, turns and connections with the rest of the sample.
Compare an enlarged capital or a signature initial with ordinary letters on the same page. A decorative opening may occupy a different height and shape from the body letters that follow it.