Gel pens offer a myriad of benefits compared to other pens and paint markers, plus they offer an economical alternative to the conventional dip pen and ink envelopes while delivering a beautiful, distinct look. This makes it one of the best pens for people looking to bring back cursive penmanship.
A brief history of cursive penmanship
Ever since the invention of written text, there has been a group of individuals who took more interest in the art of handwriting – like penmen and scribes. Additionally, every age has introduced its own distinct handwriting style. The Monks, for instance, created the Carolingian script in the 8th century, with its bold, easy-to-read words.
The legibility of the Carolingian script let to the invention of the more indecipherable “black letter” script during medieval times. Afterwards, the Italic script was born – a variation of the Carolingian script where the renaissance scribes and writers in Italy slanted and connected some of the letters with lines to make it more ornate.
Other styles of handwriting emerged, including:
Copperplate – an ornate style that incorporates different kinds of loops and capital letters with distinct flourishes developed in the 16th century.
Spencerian Script – developed in the 19th century to provide a more systematic way of teaching handwriting as literacy levels in America rose
The Palmer modification of the Spencerian Script to make the writing less tiring, and more efficient and practical for the increasing amount of bureaucratic paperwork faced by accountants, businessmen, and bookkeepers in early and mid-twentieth century
D’Nealian script – developed by Donald Thurber in the 1970s to help children transit from manuscript writing (block letter) to cursive
Teachers in schools across America dedicated a great amount of time to penmanship, up until the 1990s when computers started to become popular. Today, many schools don’t even teach cursive handwriting, as children have to spend more time preparing for standardized tests.
So, why should cursive handwriting be re-introduced?
While people are increasingly relying on their digital devices – computers, laptops, and tablets – for all their communication needs, there are still a few reasons why people should not completely abandon old-fashioned cursive handwriting, and possibly try to improve their penmanship. Here are a few good reasons:
Writing by hand makes you smarter – Studies show that writing things by hand, or manually manipulating and drawing out 2D shapes (or letter) aids in learning comprehension. Writing facilitates letter recognition during early childhood, and activates brain regions associated with language, thinking, and working memory.
Helps with knowledge integration – Cursive writing helps to train young brains to integrate visual and tactile information, as well as fine motor dexterity.
You learn better when writing down – since writing is slow, you cannot note down everything you hear. So, you have to be attentive, summarize, paraphrase, use keywords, and even ask questions for clarification, which stimulates your Reticular Activating System (RAS).
May be beneficial for individuals with special needs – studies show that cursive is a good exercise for using kinesthetic skills
Keeps your brain active in old age – handwriting provides great cognitive exercise, reducing the rate of cognitive decline.
Cursive writing is also easy on your hand, convenient, and simple, as it does not require an extra source of power. If you’re going to improve your cursive penmanship, you need some guidance, a notebook, and a pen – preferably a gel pen.
Gel pens have fine tips that create fine, controlled lines, work well on smooth materials, and are less likely to bleed through to the other side of your papers. When using Elkos gel pens, you have a selection of pen colors to choose from, plus they’ve long lasting refill and feather-flow system with Japanese ink.
Elkos Pens are one of the leading global manufacturers of gel pens. If you would like further information on gel pens manufactured by Elkos Pens, visit our website at: www.elkospens.com
