MODULE 1

CHAPTER 1- Definition of Important terms, Science of Handwriting, Graphology, Graphanalysis,

Psychological Analysis of Handwriting, Graphotherapy, and Elements of Handwriting)

A. DEFINITION OF IMPORTANT TERMS

1. DOCUMENT – refers any material containing marks, signs or symbols either visible, partially visible
or invisible which furnish or convey information, meaning or message to a person. It is any written
statement by which a right is established or an obligation is extinguished (People vs. Morena, CA, 38
O.G. 119). The term document came from the Latin word “DOCUMENTUM”, which means “lesson,
or example.” It was derived also from the French word “docere”, which means to teach.
2. Questioned Document – a document in which contents appearing therein are questionable or seemed
untrue, and are contested either in whole or in part with respect to their authenticity, identity or
origin.
3. Questioned Documents Examination – refers to the scientific process of investigating questioned
documents. It includes the scrutiny of the writing materials and instrument used, ink, handwriting and
other marks that may affect the authenticity of the document.
4. Holograph Document. a document completely written and signed by one person. In a number of
jurisdictions, a holographic will can be probated without anyone having witnessed its execution.
5. QUESTIONED DOCUMENT EXAMINER- is responsible in Handwriting Identification and is
capable of more than just questions of authorship limited only by their access to laboratory
equipment. The old term for this was HANDWRITING EXPERT.
6. FRAUD INVESTIGATOR - this focuses on the money trail and criminal intent of the person using the
document being questioned.
7. PAPER AND INK SPECIALIST- refers to a person who has expertise on date, type, source, and/or
catalogue various types of paper watermarks, ink, printing/copy/fax machines computer cartridges,
etc. using chemical methods.
8. FORGERY SPECIALIST - a person who analyses altered, obliterated, changed, or doctored
documents and photos using infrared lighting, expensive spectography equipment, or digital
enhancement techniques.
9. GRAPHO-ANALYST this is usually a psychology expert who assesses personality traits from
handwriting samples, also called GRAPHOLOGIST.
10. TYPEWRITING ANALYST- a person who is expert on the origin, make and model of typewriters and
documents produced from it.
11. HANDWRITING is the result of a very complicated series of acts treated as a whole, a combination
of certain forms of visible mental and muscular habits acquired by long painstaking effort.
Handwriting is sometimes called BRAINWRITING.
12. GRAPHOLOGY is the study and analysis of handwriting to assess the writer's traits or personality.
13. BIBLIOTICS is the study of documents and writing materials to determine their genuineness or
authorship.
14. PENMANSHIP or CALLIGRAPHY – is the art and practice of attractive handwriting.
15. PALEOGRAPHY – is the study of ancient writing that is concerned with inscription on stone, clay
tablets, bone, metal, bamboo strips and other surfaces.
16. Collected Standard - (Procured Standard)obtained from files executed in the course of everyday
routine.
17. Requested Standard - document requested by an investigator for the purpose of comparative
examination.
18. Juxtaposition - an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison
or contrast.
19. Natural Writing − Writing executed in a habitual manner, without an attempt to control or alter its
characteristics.
20. Disguised Writing− Deliberately altered writing intended to conceal the identity of the writer by
attempting to change his or her writing habits
21. Habit- a persistently repeated element or detail of writing that occurs when the opportunity allows.
22. Holographic Document- any document completely written and signed by one person.
23. Charred document - a document that has become blackened and brittle through burning or through
exposure to excessive heat.
24. Calligraphy-It is the art of beautiful handwriting.
25. Cacography-it refers to bad handwriting.
26. Exemplar- a specimen of an identified source acquired for the purpose of comparison with an
evidence sample.
 B. SCIENCE OF HAND WRITING

KINDS OF DOCUMENTS
a. PUBLIC DOCUMENTS – any instrument notarized by a notary public or  competent public
official with solemnities required  by law. (Cacnio vs. Baens, 5 Phil. 742)
b. OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS – any instrument issued by the government or its agents or its officers
having the authority to do so and the offices, which in accordance with their creation, they are
authorized to issue and be issued in the performance of their duties.(US vs. Asensi, supra)
c. PRIVATE DOCUMENTS – are deeds or instruments executed by a private person without the
intervention of a notary public or other persons legally authorized, and which proves same
disposition or agreement as evidenced or set forth therein. (US vs. Orera, 11 Phil 596)
d. COMMERCIAL DOCUMENTS – are documents defined and regulated by the Code of
Commerce. (People vs. Co Beng, CA., 40 O.G. 1913) or any other commercial law.

KINDS OF WRITING
a. SCRIPT or MANUSCRIPT WRITING - is any disconnected style of writing or junction broken.
This is being learned by school children who are just beginning to write. When a person
expresses his/her own idea into writing, it is called FUNCTIONAL WRITING.
b. CURSIVE or CONVENTIONAL WRITING - most parts are joined together by a junction
connection. It is used by most adults. This is used when script/manuscript writing is mastered. In
QD examination, the word cursive means RUNNING.
c. BLOCK or PRINTED WRITING is characterized by all capital or uppercase letters. This
originates from the Japanese.

THE BASIC SYSTEMS OF WRITING

a. LOGOGRAPHIC SYSTEM – A system of writing that involves pictures or logos in constructing
words, believed to be the first system of writing which was very difficult to learn and write and
can give relatively few pronunciation clues.
b. SYLLABARY SYSTEM – A system of writing which was developed by a Japanese named
CHEROKEE SEQUOYA that was first used in writing and recording his native language.
c. ALPHABETIC SYSTEM – This is the system of writing considered to be the most difficult to
invent but very easy to use. This was invented by the SEMETIC People at about 1500 BC, The
PHOENICIANS developed the alphabet further. The GREEK took it over from the Phoenicians,
and the ROMANS borrowed it from the Greeks and have it well-developed until it was spread out
entire the world.

EARLY FORMS OF WRITING

 CRUDE WRITING – prehistoric people drew pictures of wild animals on the walls of caves and
rock shelters that tell the story of how they hunted for food.
 Later the people made their picture simpler and simpler. The pictures gradually became signs
called PICTOGRAPHS, in which each pictograph stood for a word or idea.
 The Sumerians invented a system of writing that used wedged-shaped symbols called
CUNEIFORM.
 About 1500 BC, the SEMETIC people of Middle east invented the Alphabet. The
PHOENICIANS developed the alphabet further. The GREEK took it over the Phoenicians, and
the ROMANS borrowed it from the Greeks.
 SCRIBES – are people who are knowledgeable in writing. They offer service to people who
would want to send letters to others. They make this service as a way of living.
 ROMANS – in printing, it refers to straight up-and-down letters.
 ITALIC – a term used by printers that refers to the slanted style of letters similar to those used in
cursive writing.

KINDS OF MUSCLE WHICH FUNCTION

a. EXTENSOR MUSCLES – the muscles that push up the pen to form the upward strokes of any
character.
b. FLEXOR MUSCLES – the group of muscles that push up the pen to form the downward strokes
of any character.

MOVEMENTS IN WRITING
 a. FINGER MOVEMENT – the letters are made entirely by the action of the thumb, the index and
middle fingers. Such is found among children, illiterates and those to whom writing is an
unfamiliar process.
b. HAND MOVEMENT – the letters are produced by the action of the whole hand with the wrist as
the center of action and with some actions of the fingers.
c. ARM MOVEMENT – the movement in writing is made by the hand and arm supported with the
elbow of the center of the lateral swing.
d. WHOLE ARM MOVEMENT – the action is produced by the entire arm without any rest. The
source of motion is the shoulder. Writing on a blackboard is a good example.

LEFT-HANDEDNESS
 About 10% of all people are left-handed.
 When a left-handed person begin to write manuscript, they may need special help from others.
 A left-handed child should hold the pencil so that the fingers are at least 1 inch (2.5 Centimeters)
from the nib/point. This will give the child a better view of the paper while writing.
 Ambidextrous – the term that refers the situation when a person is able to use the right and the
left hand with equal skills in writing. It came from the Latin word “dexter” which means “right-
handed” and from its old Latin term “ambidexter” which means “right-handed on both sides.”

Letters w, h, e, g, k, q– are considered difficult letters to be written by beginners based on survey.

Drop Cap – an oversized capital letter used to start a paragraph.
Ligature – refers to characters that combine or connect. For instance, letter A combines with E, following
(ff); street (st.)

C. GRAPHOLOGY
Graphology is the analysis of the physical characteristics and patterns of handwriting with attempt to
identify the writer, indicate the psychological state at the time of writing, or evaluate personality
characteristics. It is generally considered a pseudoscience.

Graphology has been controversial for more than a century. Although supporters point to the anecdotal
evidence of positive testimonials as a reason to use it for personality evaluation, empirical studies fail to
show the validity claimed by its supporters.

Jean-Charles Gille-Maisani stated in 1991 that Juan Huarte de San Juan's 1575 Examen de ingenios

para las ciencias was the first book on handwriting analysis. In American graphology, Camillo
Baldi's Trattato come da una lettera missiva si conoscano la natura e qualita dello scrittore from 1622 is
considered to be the first book.[

1830 Jean-Hippolyte Michon became interested in handwriting analysis. He published his findings [14]
[15]
 shortly after founding Société Graphologique in 1871. The most prominent of his disciples was Jules
Crépieux-Jamin who rapidly published a series of books[16][17] that were soon published in other
languages.[18][19] Starting from Michon's integrative approach, Crépieux-Jamin founded a holistic
approach to graphology.

Graphanalysis" redirects here. For the practice, now considered pseudoscientific, of examining a

handwriting exemplar to determine one or more psychological traits of the person providing it.

D. Psychological Analysis of Handwriting

Someone who analyzes handwriting for personality traits is called a Graphologist. And graphologists
don't only study cursive writing; they can discern traits from handprinted samples, too.

People who leave large spaces between their words enjoy freedom and independence, while those who
squeeze their words together tend to like the company of others. If your words are totally jammed
together, a handwriting analysis will suggest that you might be intrusive or have the tendency to crowd
people. Your home can also provide a snapshot of your personality.

You’d be surprised to see what a handwriting analysis says about you. Did you know big, outgoing
personalities tend to write in large letters, and shy, introverted types prefer to write small? If you have
average-sized writing, it demonstrates a strong ability to focus and concentrate.
How much do you space your words?

People who leave large spaces between their words enjoy freedom and independence, while those who
squeeze their words together tend to like the company of others. If your words are totally jammed
together, a handwriting analysis will suggest that you might be intrusive or have the tendency to
crowd people. Your home can also provide a snapshot of your personality.

How much pen pressure do you use?

While a very heavy pen pressure can suggest tension and anger, a moderately heavy pressure is a
sign of commitment. A soft pressure means you’re empathetic and sensitive; you might also lack
vitality, according to one National Pen Company study. 

How do you dot your “i’s”?

If you dot your “i’s” high on the page, you likely have an active imagination, according to handwriting
analysis experts. A closely dotted “i” is the mark of an organized and detail-oriented mind. If you dot
your “i’s” to the left, you might be a procrastinator. And if you dot your “i’s” with a circle, you likely
have playful and childlike qualities.

How legible is your signature?

Sign your documents accordingly: A legible signature is a sign of confidence and comfort in one’s own
skin, while an illegible signature is the mark of a private or hard-to-read person.
Which way does your handwriting slant?

Did you know you can tell what your handwriting says about you by the direction of its slant? A right
slant means you like to meet and work with new people, while a left slant means you prefer to keep to
yourself. Left slanters also tend to be reserved and introspective. Check out these hidden strengths of
being an introvert.

How do you cross your “t’s”?

Your “t’s” have a lot to do with what your handwriting says about you, according to handwriting analysis
experts. If you cap off your “t’s” with a long cross, you’re likely determined and enthusiastic, possibly
with stubborn tendencies. If you use a short cross, however, it could be because you’re lazy. If you cross
you lowercase “t’s” up high, you likely have many goals and aim high. If you cross them low, it could
mean it’s time to raise the bar for yourself; low crossers tend to aim low as well.

How do you loop your lowercase “l”?

A widely looped “l” suggests you’re relaxed and spontaneous, while a narrow or retraced “l” means you
might be restricting yourself. 
What do your “y” hooks look like?

The hook on your lowercase “y” is a huge indicator of personality. A broad loop means you’ve got a large
circle of friends, while a slender loop suggests you’re more selective with whom you allow close to
you. A short hook means you’re a homebody, while a long hook could be a signal of wanderlust.

Are your letters pointed or rounded?

Whether or not your words are rounded or pointed also plays a role in what your handwriting says about
you. Pointed letters are a sign of an intelligent person who might be holding back aggression. Rounded
letters signal creativity and artistic ability.

How quickly do you write?

If you write quickly, it’s highly likely that you’re impatient and dislike wasting time. If you take your
time getting your words down, you are self-reliant and methodical. So medicine might be a good career
for you.

Are your letters connected or disconnected?

According to The Pen Warehouse, if you connect your letters when you’re writing, it might mean you’re
very logical and most of your decisions are based on facts and experience. If your letters are
disconnected, you might be more imaginative, impulsive, and base your decisions on intuition

How often do you use punctuation?

Life would be pretty confusing without proper punctuation, but when is it too much? If you use excessive
punctuation, like several exclamations points or periods, you might be an emotional person, The Pen
Warehouse explains. Excessive punctuation use might also be a sign that you have a slightly obsessive
personality.

Are your o’s open or closed?

It might not be something you think about too often, but according to The Pen Warehouse, the way you
write your o’s might say more about your personality than you think. If your o’s are usually closed, you
probably tend to keep to yourself and are more introverted. If your o’s are usually open, there’s a good
chance you’re more social and extroverted. Regardless of whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert,
there are plenty of strengths of both.

How do you write your e’s?

Are your e’s narrow or large? The Pen Warehouse says that if they’re usually narrow, you’re probably
skeptical and uninfluenced by emotions. If you find that your e’s are usually large, you might be more
open-minded and willing to try new things. Now that you know what your handwriting reveals.
 E. GRAPHOTHERAPY

Graphotherapy is a form of reverse psychology accomplished through handwriting exercises

specifically designed to bring about more desirable personality traits. By doing these exercises you are
accomplishing a gradual regrooving or retraining of the your subconscious mind.

The act of writing is therapeutic. Through writing “we exteriorize in words”, thoughts, wishes and
emotions, which we “liberate” by expressing them in the sheet of paper. We heal emotional wounds and
we channel resentment. This action is as healing as, or more, than the spoken word.

Through handwriting analysis, it is possible to deduce people’s states of mind, their character, temper,
skills, emotions and even their physiology and health level.

What is Graphotherapy?

Graphotherapy or graphical re-education is a branch of graphology, whose goal is to modify the

graphical gesture in a conscious way, in order to produce changes in personality at a subconscious level
to improve innumerous challenges. It is a complementary tool to other disciplines such as psychology,
which is based on the rational execution of universal movements, which are incorporated with repetition
of graphical exercises.

Fundamentals of Graphotherapy

Research on certain neurological mechanisms carried out by American scientist Eric Richard Kandel,
born in Vienna, 1929, have been revealing for Graphotherapy fundamentals. Neuronal connections are
not immutable, as we used to believe. Scientific works by Eric Kandel related mainly to the study of
learning and memory processes, considering the so-called neuronal plasticity reflect this. Kandel
emphasized the difference between neuronal plasticity and neuronal elasticity.

Neuronal elasticity implies a temporary change that goes back to the original shape when the cause that
produces it is interrupted. When stimulus is applied there is no change. (In this case the stimulus is the
repetition of written strokes in a methodical way).

Neuronal plasticity implies a permanent change, despite the interruption of the cause. The stimulus is
interrupted, but the change remains. It is the existence of a cause (learning of new ways of writing),
which produces a change, whose improvement tends to last over time (memory).

Sigmund Freud incorporates the idea of plasticity in learning and memory mechanisms. “Experiences
leave marks”. This is the basis of psychoanalysis. Due to the law of reversibility, when modifying
strokes through repeated graphical exercise, change in behavior is favored, since the path from the brain
to the sheet of paper is reversible.

F. ELEMENTS OF HANDWRITING

CALLIGRAPHIC TERMS

1. ASCENDER LINE – refers to the portion of the letter that rises above the waistline showing the
height of an ascending letter.
2. DESCENDER LINE – refers to the portion of a letter that falls below the baseline.
3. BASE LINE – refers to the writing line that the body of the letter sits upon.
4. WAISTLINE – refers to the guideline showing the correct position for the upper boundary of the
x-height.
 5. X-HEIGHT – refers to the height of the letter between the baseline and the waistline. It also
refers to the height of the lowercase letters.
6. CAP LINE – refers to the height of the capital or uppercase letters.
7. COUNTER – the space inside the loops of selected letters.
8. NIB – refers to the pen point.
9. PEN ANGLE – refers to the angle at which the nib meets the paper relative to the baseline.
10. SERIFS – a small stroke that begins or ends a letter.
11. SLANT – refers to the slope of a letter. The 3 kinds are slant to the right, left and vertical slant.
12. BRANCHING STROKE – refers to the stroke which connects the arch to the down stroke of a
letter. The same with JUNCTION CONNECTION.
13. FLOURISH – a non-structural embellishment (beautification) added to a letter.
14. SLANT LINE – refers to the guideline showing the correct slant.
15. CROSS BAR – refers to the horizontal stroke to complete letters t, and H.
16. HAIRLINE – lines that forms every character which are very thin.

TECHNICAL TERMS IN HANDWRITING ANALYSIS

1. INITIAL STROKE – any beginning stroke of any letter. This is sometimes called BEARD as
initial up stroke.
2. ARC – a curved formed inside the top curve of loop, as in small letters “h”, “m”, “n”, “p”.
3. ARCH – any arcade form in the body of a letter found in small letters which contain arches.
4. ENDING or TERMINAL STROKE - any ending stroke of a letter.
5. BODY - The main portion of the letter, minus the initial strokes, terminal strokes and diacritic in
any letter.
6. DIACRITIC – refers to the "t" crossing and dots of the letter "i" & "j".  An element added to
complete certain letters.It could also be a mark above or below a printed letter that indicates a
change in the way it is to be pronounced or stressed. Acute and grave accents, tilde(~), and
cedillas (ç an ş) are examples of diacritics.
7. CACOGRAPHY – came from Greek word “kakkographia” which means “ugly writing.”
8. CALLIGRAPHY – came from Greek term kalligraphia which means “beautiful writing.”
Kalligraphia came from kallos="beauty" and graphein="write“.
9. FOOT - lower part which rest on the base line. The small letter "m" has three feet, and the
small letter "n" has two feet.
10. SHOULDER – the side out portion of the top curve of letters m, n, h.
11. HUMP – the top outside portion of letters m, n, & h the rounded outside or top of the bend stroke
or curve in small letter.
12. HABIT - any repeated elements or details, which may serve to individualize writing. It is how a
certain letter is written repeatedly.
13. HESITATION - the term applied to the irregular thickening of ink which is found when writing
slows down or stop while the pen take a stock of the position.
14. HOOK - It is a minute curve or a ankle which often occurs at the beginning or ending of strokes.
The  terminal curves  of the letters "a", "d", "n", "m", "p", "u", is the hook. In small letter "w" the
initial curve is the hook.
15. LOOP - An oblong curve such as found on the small letter "f", "g", "l" and letters stroke "f".
A loop may be blind or open. A blind loop is usually the result of the ink having filled the open
space.
16. EYELET or EYELOOP - a small loop or curve formed inside the letters. This may occur inside
the oval of the letters "a, d, o"; the small loop form by stroke that extend in divergent direction as
in small letters.
17. COUNTER – the space which is enclosed or delimited that may be found in letters O, P, Q, D, C,
F and other letters.
18. BUCKLE or BUCKLE KNOT - a loop made as a flourish which is added to the letters, as in
small letters "k, b & p or in capital letters "A", "K.”
19. MAJUSCULE - a capitalized letter or letter which is printed in block form (uppercase letter).
20. MINUSCULE - a small letter (or lowercase letter).
21. PATCHING - retouching or going back over a defective portion of a written stroke. Careful
patching is common defect on forgeries.
22. RETRACING - Any part of a stroke which is superimposed or highlighted  upon the original
stroke. No defective is found in the stroke but writer retraces only the strokes.
23. HIATUS or PEN JUMP - a gap occurring between a continuous stroke without lifting the pen.
Such as occurrence usually occurs due to speed; may be regarded also as a special form of pen
lift distinguish in a ball gaps in that of perceptible gaps and  appear in the writing.
 24. PEN LIFTING - an act of interruption of the writer in a stroke caused by removing or lifting the
writing instrument (pen) from the paper.
25. TREMOR - a writing weakness portrayed by irregular shaky strokes that is found in handwriting
of a person.
26. RHYTHM – the harmonious appearance of characters, concerning its general style and
appearance. Such style or design of letters if found to be consistently used, there is rhythm in
writing.

LEARNING TASK 1

 Analyze your own handwriting and conclude what are your personal traits based on the
psychological bases of handwriting.

LEARNING TASK 2

Draw and explain all the elements of handwriting.