GRAPHOLOGY OHT • Calligraphy is the art of writing. • Graphology is the skill of judging a person’s character using their handwriting. • No matter how you were taught to write at primary school, the handwriting style you have developed is as unique to you as your fingerprints. Using the handwriting sample you have been given, you are going to write a character analysis for the person who has written it. Firstly, you will need a chart to record your findings. Use (or copy) the following chart into your A4 books, leaving plenty of space between each feature. Now you are ready to begin collecting information about your sample. Use the following sub-headings to guide you and make your notes as detailed as possible. Copyright © 2003 fretweb. www.englishteaching.co.uk + www.english-teaching.co.uk Permission granted to reproduce for your own non-commercial individual teaching and learning purposes only. FEATURE Size CHARACTERISTICS WHAT IT REVEALS JOBS / PEOPLE e.g. quite small but e.g. might be a quiet person e.g. scientist very neat who doesn’t say much but is tidy Slant Width Zones Regularity Connections Pressure Lines Spacing Margins Copyright © 2003 fretweb. www.englishteaching.co.uk + www.english-teaching.co.uk Permission granted to reproduce for your own non-commercial individual teaching and learning purposes only. FEATURE CHARACTERISTICS WHAT IT REVEALS JOBS / PEOPLE Size Slant Width Zones Regularity Connections Pressure Lines Spacing Margins Copyright © 2003 fretweb. www.englishteaching.co.uk + www.english-teaching.co.uk Permission granted to reproduce for your own non-commercial individual teaching and learning purposes only. 1. SIZE Is the writing: • LARGE? This is a sign of ambition, a desire to think big. People with this kind of writing can be very successful. They enjoy the limelight and being in the public eye. Most film stars, pop-singers and other celebrities have large writing. The majority of world leaders, past and present, have large writing too. • SMALL? People with small writing tend to be modest. They avoid publicity and sometimes have feelings of inferiority. The small writer tends to be objective in his or her outlook and prefers to concentrate on details. A typical job would be scientific and technical. 2. SLANT Does the writing lean to one side or the other? To look closely at this, draw straight pencil lines through some of the letters along the line of the slant. • SLANT TO THE LEFT: People whose writing slopes to the left may be unwilling to go out and fight the world. They tend to hide their emotions and set up a defensive attitude. They might be involved in backroom research or jobs connected with history and the past. • SLANT TO THE RIGHT: People whose writing slants to the right are active and outgoing towards other people. If the writing has an exaggerated slope, then the heart of the writer almost always rules his or her head. Typical jobs could be selling or teaching. • BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT: This is the writing of an unpredictable person. It is the kind of writing often found in teenagers when they are experimenting with all kinds of thoughts and ideas. • 3. NEITHER – IT’S UPRIGHT: The closer the letters are to being upright, the more self-controlled the writer is. Completely vertical writing is a sign or poise, calm and self-reliance. WIDTH Look at the width of each letter. Is it: • NARROW: People whose writing is narrow tend to hold restricted views. They can be well disciplined and have inner strength, but this can be hidden beneath what looks like shyness and inhibition. Such people can be economical to the point of meanness. • BROAD: If you see someone spreading themselves around a train or shouting for a taxi, they are likely to be broad writers. They are uninhibited and like elbow room to think and move freely, and prefer to travel. They can set out to achieve their goal with great purpose, but may ruin everything by doing something rash and uncontrolled. Copyright © 2003 fretweb. www.englishteaching.co.uk + www.english-teaching.co.uk Permission granted to reproduce for your own non-commercial individual teaching and learning purposes only. 4. ZONES Zones are the space the writing takes up above and below the main parts of each letter – the ‘tops’ and ‘tails’ and ‘loops’ in other words. In order to work out the size of zones in relation to each other, draw pencil lines across the tops of tall letters, across the tops of small letters, along the writing line, and across the bottom of letters which drop below the line. Zones can occur in a variety of combinations. 5. • ALL AONES EQUAL: People who stick to the copybook dimensions have a good sense of proportion. Designers, craft and art teachers, for example. • UPPER ZONE LARGE, MIDDLE AND LOWER ZONES SMALL: This is the handwriting of someone who is hard-working and aims high, but has little social confidence or business sense. • UPPER AND LOWER ZONES LARGE, MIDDLE ZONE SMALL: In writing of this kind, high ambition is matched by personal stamina and good business sense. But the writer may feel dissatisfied with their success and always be on the lookout for something more. • LOWER ZONE LARGE, MIDDLE ZONE AVERAGE, UPPER ZONE SMALL: This type of writer is very down to earth, with strong instincts, and a good business sense. They may also have a sensual nature. • MIDDLE AND LOWER ZONES LARGE, UPPER ZONE SMALL: This writer also has a good business sense and acts accordingly to their instincts. Writers like this are socially self-confident. • UPPER AND MIDDLE ZONES LARGE, LOWER ZONE SMALL: This is a sign of great ambition and self-confidence but a very shallow personality. If the downward stokes are extremely stunted, it could be that such writers suppress their instincts too much. • MIDDLE ZONE LARGE, UPPER AND LOWER ZONES SMALL: People who give their letters large bodies, but little else, live for the present. They enjoy gossip and like being socially involved. They are not over-interested in making money. REGULARITY When you look at a block of writing, do you see: • A REGULAR PATTERN: Just as the writing is steady, disciplined and symmetrical, so are the writers. They are unlikely to be late for an appointment and require a calm and ordered life. Typical jobs: army, navy, air force or civil service. • IRREGULAR PATTERNS: Again the writing reflects these writers’ personalities in an obvious way. They can be disorderly, lack discipline, and be unsure of what they want to do. People with irregular writing may be highly original thinkers. Copyright © 2003 fretweb. www.englishteaching.co.uk + www.english-teaching.co.uk Permission granted to reproduce for your own non-commercial individual teaching and learning purposes only. 6. CONNECTIONS How well is the writing ‘joined-up’? 7. • BY CONNECTED LETTERS: People who link their letters together see the logical order in which things ought to be done and problems solved. Their conversation flows easily and they mix well with other people because they understand relationships. • MOSTLY DISCONNECTED LETTERS: Writers who don’t join their letters together concentrate on detail rather than the whole. They can be the kind of bosses who don’t apparently notice all you have achieved, but pick up on the one mistake. But they can also be brilliant, coming up with original ideas. PRESSURE How deeply do the writers press on the page? To check the degree of pressure, look for marks on the other side of the paper. 8. • HEAVILY: This can mean that the writers are full of energy and vitality. They feel deeply. If the writing is quite large and flowing then they can achieve a great deal, but if the letters and words are squashed together in an upright, regular pattern then the writers could be frustrated. • LIGHTLY: Those who write lightly can be sensitive, tender and perceptive. They dislike the unpleasant things of life – the noise and violence – and prefer to concentrate on the finer aspects, like music and the countryside. But they can lack determination and stamina. LINES If the lines of writing are not straight, how do they fall? • FALLING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Purposeful, well-balanced people who normally write in straight lines can find their lines suddenly sinking when they are overworked or ill. Writers who let their lines slip away are possibly pessimists, always feeling they are being dragged down. • RISING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Just as rising notes in music tend to be more exciting and uplifting than those which go down the scale, so with writing. People who write like this are optimists, refusing to let anything affect their good mood and high hopes. Copyright © 2003 fretweb. www.englishteaching.co.uk + www.english-teaching.co.uk Permission granted to reproduce for your own non-commercial individual teaching and learning purposes only. 9. SPACING How wide is the word spacing (gap between words)? • WIDE: People who leave large gaps between their words are usually clearminded. But they can be standoffish and end up isolated and lonely, for they do not mix easily. • NARROW: Very small spaces between words means that the writers like people around them most of the time. They can be indiscriminate about their choice of friends. How wide is the spacing between lines? NARROW LINE SPACING OR MINGLING OR LINES: The loops of the top line becoming mixed up with the loops of the bottom line indicate that the writers are neither clear thinkers nor well-organised people. 10. MARGINS What kind of margins (gaps) have the writers left at the edge of the page and at the top and the bottom? • LEFT MARGIN: The writers who leave no left margin at all are like swimmers who cling to the edge of the pool. They lack self-confidence, and are probably clinging to the past. But it can also mean that they are economical and unpretentious, refusing to make a grand entrance. On the other hand, the writers who leave a large left-hand margin may have a need to demonstrate that they have cut themselves off from their background and can be successful on their own. • RIGHT MARGIN: The writers who rush to right to the edge of the paper, leaving no margin at all, are probably uninhibited and very much involved with everyone and everything around them. They have no fears for the future and don’t really want to face up to it. They may also like things to look beautifully arranged. Copyright © 2003 fretweb. www.englishteaching.co.uk + www.english-teaching.co.uk Permission granted to reproduce for your own non-commercial individual teaching and learning purposes only. WRITING YOUR ANALYSIS • You should now have a detailed set of notes to bring together into a character sketch of the person whose writing sample you are studying. • First of all, you need to look at all the information you have about the person to see where different features of their handwriting lead to similar conclusions about their personality. • Any points that come up twice will probably be the most important one in your character sketch. • As you write, try to put what seem to be the most significant points first and write in the same kind of language as the analysis chart is written in. • Your writing needs to suggest what the person is like rather than describing them exactly. You’ll need to say what the person ‘could’ be or ‘might’ be rather than what they ‘are’. Using words like ‘perhaps’ and ‘possibly’ will make clear to your reader that the analysis is based on probability rather than fact. • When you are describing character it may help you to look up words in a thesaurus. When you want to find the exact word to describe a particular kind of selfconfidence, for example, a thesaurus would come up with these meanings: • assured self-respect secure poised self-reliant confident Copyright © 2003 fretweb. www.englishteaching.co.uk + www.english-teaching.co.uk Permission granted to reproduce for your own non-commercial individual teaching and learning purposes only. OHT • Work slowly through the analysis chart – there’s a lot of detail for you to study. • Make sure that the analysis you write is detailed and organised. • Be careful to write about the personality of the person and NOT about their handwriting. Copyright © 2003 fretweb. www.englishteaching.co.uk + www.english-teaching.co.uk Permission granted to reproduce for your own non-commercial individual teaching and learning purposes only.
