An Experimental Study of Writing Movements. 
253 
jje will see that only partial corrections of the slope of the finger 
movement have usually been effected hy ordinary writers. The slopes 
of letters at the end of a line, and the slopes of letters at the end 
of a word, are commonly greater than at the beginning. This failure 
to correct the slope gives to the line and to the word, the some¬ 
what irregular appearance usually noticeable in ordinary writing. So 
far as any correction is effected in these cases, it results from a 
movement of pronation which tends to throw the upper end of the 
pen towards the writer and thus to give the pen a movement more 
nearly parallel to the axis of the hand and arm. This movement 
of pronation is one which very few adults have fully acquired. 
It is a kind of added refinement which given uniformity to the 
slope without interfering with the continuous arm movement from 
a single position. If the movement of pronation is not present, the 
only way to secure uniformity of slope is to keep moving the elbow 
forward every time the slope of the letters begins to grow noticeably 
different. This repeated change of position of the elbow is neither 
easy nor conducive to fluency of writing. The result is that uni¬ 
formity is either sacrificed to a very large degree, or it is secured 
by the development of this additional movement of pronation. 
This movement of pronation seemed to furnish a favorable subject 
for further investigation, in view of its incomplete development in 
most adults. A group of ten adults was induced to give some 
attention to the regularity of the slope of their letters. The members 
of this group were asked to pay attention as closely as possible to 
conscious processes which accompanied this effort to improve, and 
were asked also to make daily records of their observations and to 
note whether or not they really improved in the regularity of slope 
during the period of practice. These ten persons were all trained 
teachers and could consequently he depended upon to take up the 
practice with intelligent interest. On the other hand, they had no 
special preparation for the particular form of practice which was 
prescribed. Their attention was not directed to the movement of 
pronation and they were asked to put themselves as far as possible 
in the normal attitude of one who is trying as earnestly as possible 
to improve his writing, rather than into the studied attitude of one 
who is investigating the problem merely as an outsider.