Handwriting

Your handwriting is often taken as an outward expression of your character, so having a style which portrays you as you want to be seen is an important form of self expression. If your handwriting is slow and laborious, or does not have the style you would like the world to see as your trademark, consider doing a handwriting course.

The most common cause of poor handwriting is failure to hold the pen properly. This forces you to use a technique called finger-writing which is slower and more difficult to do than traditional handwriting. Visually, finger-writing often looks immature because the letters are large, or round, or slope in different directions. And even more serious in the longer term, the hand tires quickly and so writing continuously for more than a few minutes can become painful.

A specific problem for left-handed people is that they need to be taught special techniques to compensate for the fact that they need to push the pen rather than pull it like a right-handed person.

With appropriate training and practice, you can make the change from finger-writing to handwriting, while learning a fast and legible style, in about 6 weeks.

Word Processing

Nowadays, being good at handwriting is not usually enough - if you are serious about writing high quality letters and reports quickly and easily, you need to be able to use a word processor well too. Word processors are invaluable to the writing process, because they allow you to edit your work, check the spelling, and present it with style.

As far as equipment is concerned, you need a computer with a printer. It is not necessary to buy an expensive computer, however, it is important that you know how to use a your word processing program well. A couple of lessons on basic computing skills may save you a lot of time and frustration later on. If you haven't got a computer, we can help you determine which computer system will suit your needs and your budget.

Typing

It is important to learn to type correctly because bad habits are hard to break. There are a number of computer programs which can help you learn to type in about 20 hours.