chapter 15 kendall/hunt publishing company0 handwriting

Chapter 15 Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 1

Handwriting

Chapter 15

Comparisons Are Useful BecauseNo two people have identical handwritingBy adulthood, it is exclusive to an individual

(we all learned the same techniques to begin writing in grade school)

Even disguised handwriting will exhibit some of the person’s individual characteristics

Forensic Document Examiner

Chapter 15 3

The 12 Handwriting Characteristics (#1-6)

1. Line Quality –are letters erratic or shaky

2. Word and Letter Spacing – spaced or crowded

3. Size consistency – compares ratio of height to width

4. Continuous - pen lifts or continuous writing

5. Connecting letters – are capitals and lower-case letters connected and continuous

6. Letters complete – are letters fully written or partially

Chapter 15 4

The 12 Handwriting Characteristics (#7-12)

7. Cursive/Printed – cursive printed or both (when)

8. Pen Pressure – equal ^ and V strokes

9. Slant – left, right, variable, no slant?

10. Line Habits – above line, below line, on line?

11. Flourishes or Embellishments – fancy curls?

12. Diacritic Placement – correct, misplaced, t’s crossed towards top/bottom, i’s dotted? Dotted to the right/left/centered?

Chapter 15 5

Handwriting Identification

The document examiner must have enough exemplars to make a determination of whether or not the two samples match.

Chapter 15


The best thing to examine is something with the same words as the document in question.

An examiner may dictate to a potential suspect, slowly then faster so that they have less chance of disguising the handwriting.

Use same ink and paper (as said before) pencil, ballpoint pen, fountain pen, marker, etc.

Chapter 15 7

The tested subject should: not be shown the questioned document not be told how to spell words or use

punctuation use materials similar to those used in

the original document be asked to sign the text always have a witness

How to get a Handwriting sample

Chapter 15 8

Methods of Handwriting Forgery

Simulated forgery—one made by copying an exemplar

Traced forgery—one made by tracing an exemplar

Blind forgery—made without an exemplar

Chapter 15


List ways a person may change or attempt to disguise their handwriting

Chapter 15


Name items that you could get from a potential suspects home to use for handwriting identification.

Chapter 15


Handwriting originates in the brain when a mental picture of letters and words is formed. The signal to try to duplicate the mental picture is sent to the arm and hand through the muscles and nervous system. The actual output is almost never an exact match of the original mental picture.

Chapter 15


Handwriting is distal, meaning that it occurs at the extremities and involves fine motor activity as opposed to a skill like walking which is proximal - a large, or gross motor skill. One reason individuals find it difficult to simulate the handwriting of others is that to do so successfully requires understanding the essence of the writer's motor control program and executing that same program.

Can right or left handedness be detected by examining handwriting?

Forensic Document ExaminerFAQ

Contrary to popular belief, there are three things that can not be reliably ascertained by examining handwriting. One of those is the "handedness" of the writer. The other two things are the author's gender and age.

Can you compare printed writing to cursive writing?

Forensic Document ExaminerFAQs

Rarely. Some writers style of writing is a mix of cursive and printed forms, thereby allowing the examiner to carry out some level of examination on either cursive or printed writing. There are also many factors other than letter formation that enter into the examination and and analysis process. However, it is generally accepted that the materials to be compared need to be written in the same style: cursive to cursive, hand printing to hand printing, upper case to upper case, lower case to lower case,