Left Hand Writing Exercises

Left-hand writing exercises are designed to help improve your penmanship as well as the speed with which you write. They are also designed for individuals who are looking to develop their other hand in order to become ambidextrous. While many writing exercises have shifted to the computer in recent years, there are still several important hand writing exercises that will physically improve your style and technique.

This exercise will teach you the proper position and technique for left-handed writing. Start by taking out a piece of paper and a pen and set them right in front of you. The piece of paper should be directly facing you. This is considered reading position and differs from the way you will write on the piece of paper.

Grab the piece of paper and rotate it 45 degrees to move into proper writing position. Grab the pen, keeping your wrist perfectly straight and your elbow below the writing line. In this position, you are now ready to start writing. Try getting in this position several times or until you are comfortable using this technique.

This exercise is designed to determine whether or not you write with your palm or fingers. Sit down with a pen and write out a basic paragraph on anything you like. Set up a video camera on your hand to see what kind of writing technique you use. Most people born after 1960 write with their fingers, something that often decreases penmanship and legibility, especially in left-handed writers.

After watching the video, if you are writing with your fingers, shift the pen deeper into your hand to begin guiding it with your palm. Shifting the pen to your palm will often give you more precision when writing and also more speed.

This letter writing exercise will get you to focus on the letters you have the most trouble writing. Sit down with a piece of paper and write out the entire alphabet as quickly as possible on one line. Once you have finished, take a look at the letters to see which ones are the worst.

Take the five worst letters and write them 10 times slowly on a separate piece of paper. From here, write the entire alphabet again as quickly as possible. Look back to see if those letters have improved and if there are any other letters that have gotten worse. Continue to write out the five worst letters individually before writing the rest of the alphabet. Repeat five times before resting.