Terminologies

related to
Handwriting
Identification
and
Examination
Alignment It is the relation of
parts of the whole of
writing or a line of
individual letters in
words to the baseline.
It is the alignment of
words. The relative
alignment of letters
Angular
These are sharp and
Forms straight strokes that
are made by stopping
the pen and
changing direction
before continuing.
Arcade
Forms These are forms
that look like
arches rounded on
the top and open at
the bottom.
 Characteristics

Any property or mark which

distinguishes and in document
examination commonly called
identifying details
 Collation

Side by side comparison; the

critical comparison on side-by-side
examination
 Comparison
The act of setting two or more
items side by side to weigh their
identifying qualities;
It refers not only to a visual but
also a mental act in which the
element of one item is related to
the counterparts of the other.
 Down Stroke

The movement of the pen

toward the writer
 Form
the writer’s chosen writing style;
the way the writing looks,
whether it is copybook,
elaborated, simplified, or printed.
 Gestalt
the German word that means
“complete” or “whole”.
A good gestalt needs nothing added or
taken away to make it “look right”.
A school of handwriting analysis that
looks at handwriting as a whole
picture.
 Graphoanalysis

the study of handwriting is based

on two fundamental strokes;
curved and straight strokes.
 Graphology
the art of determining the character
disposition and amplitude of a person
from the study of handwriting. It also
means the scientific study and analysis of
handwriting, especially with reference to
forgeries and questioned documents
 Handlettering

Any disconnected style of writing in

which each letter is written
separately; also called hand
printing
 Letter Space

The amount of space left

between letters
 Line Direction

The movement of the

baseline, may slant up,
down, or straight across the
page
 Line Quality
● The overall character of the ink lines from the
beginning to the ending strokes. It is the visible
records in the written stroke of the basic movements
and manner of holding the writing instrument. It is
derived from a combination of factors including
writing skill, speed rhythm, freedom of movement,
shading, and pen position.
There are two classes:
Good Line Quality and Poor Line Quality
 Manuscript
Writing
A disconnected form of script or semi-
script writing. This type of writing is
taught to young children in elementary
schools as the first step in learning to
write
 Margins

● the amount of space left around

● the writing on all four sides.
 Microscopic
Examination
●any study or examination
which is made with the
microscope in other to discover
minute details.
 Movement
● an important element in handwriting.
● It embraces all the factors which are

related to the motion of the writing

instrument skill, speed freedom,
hesitation, rhythm emphasis, tremors,
and the like. The manner in which the
writing instrument is moved by finger,
hand, forearm, or whole arm.
 Pen Emphasis
● the act of intermittently forcing the pen
against the paper surfaces. When the pen-point
has flexibility, this emphasis produces shading,
but with more rigid writing points heavy point
emphasis can occur in writing w/out any
evidence of shading; the act intermittently
forcing the pen against the paper with
increase pressure.
 Pen Hold

●the place where the writer

grasps the barrel of the pen and
the angle at which he holds it.
 Pen Position

● the relationship between the pen

point and the paper
 Pen Pressure
● the average force with which the
pen contacts the paper. Pen pressure
as opposed to pen emphasis deals
with the usual of average force
involved in the writing rather than
the period increases.
 Margins

● the amount of space left around

● the writing on all four sides.
 Print Scripts

●the creative combination of

printing and cursive writing
 Proportion or
Ratio
●the relation between the tall
and the short letter is referred to
as to the ratio of writing.
 Quality
●a distinct or peculiar
character; used in describing
handwriting to refer to any
identifying factor that is related
to the writing movement itself
 Rhythm
● the element of the writing movement
which is marked by regular or
recurrences. It may be classed as smooth,
intermittent, or jerky in its quality; the
flourishing succession of motion which
are recorded in a written record.
Periodicity, alteration of movement.
 Shading

● the widening of the ink strokes

due to the added pressure on a
flexible pen point or to the use of
a stub pen.
 Significant
Writing Habit
● any characteristic of
handwriting that is sufficiently
uncommon and well-fixed to
serve as a fundamental point in
the identification.
 Simplification

● Eliminating extra or superfluous

strokes from the copybook model
 Size

● the overall size of the writing or

the proportions between zones
 Zones in Writing
● Zones refer to the areas of a letter
or handwriting sample that can be
used to analyze the writer's
personality or state of mind

●There are three zones in writing:

upper zone, middle zone, and lower
zone.
 Zones in Writing
● 1. Upper Zone: the top area of a letter that extends above
the middle zone and includes letters such as l, t, h, and d.
This represents a person’s mental realm.
● 2. Middle Zone: the central area of a letter, which is

occupied by most letters of the alphabet like a,e,o, etc. This

represents a person’s everyday life and social interactions.
● 3. Lower Zone: the lower area of a letter that extends

below the middle zone and includes letters such as g, y, and

j. This zone represents a person’s physical realm.
 SKILL
● the ability to produce legible, coherent
writing that is aesthetically pleasing and
easy to read. It is the ability to write in a
fluid, natural way that is comfortable
and tidy.
 Slope/ Slant

● the degree to which the

letters in a sample incline to
the right or left of the vertical
axis
 Speed Writing

● the personal pace at which the

writer’s pen moves across the
paper
 Speedy writing
●the ability of a writer to produce
handwriting at a rapid pace. It is a
characteristic of anyone who can
write quickly without compromising
the legibility or quality of their
writing.
 System of Writing

● the combination of the basic design of

letters and the writing movement as
taught in school make up the writing
system. Writing through use diverges from
the system, but generally retains some
influence of the basic training.
 Tension

● the degree of force exerted on

the pen compared to the degree
of relaxation.
 Variation
● the act or process of changing

Word Space
● the amount of space left between
words
 Writing Condition
● the physical and mental state of the person at
the time of writing. Analyzing the writing
condition of a person involves examining factors
such as their physical health, mental health,
medication use, or substance use to determine if
there have been changes in their writing.
 Wrong-Handed Writing
● Any writing executed with the opposite hand that
is normally used a.k.a. “with the awkward hand “.
● It is one means of disguise.

● This is the writing of a right-handed person who has

been executed with his lefthand accounts for the
common terminology for this class of disguise as
“left-handed writing”.