Part 3

When two lines are connected in an angle, a positive stop at the point of connection is necessary. This principle applies to the top of capital A where the upward and the last downward strokes are joined. This stop is such a small fraction of a second in duration that it can hardly be detected. Without the stop at the top of capital A, a loop will be made. To emphasize this stop in connection with capital A, the following conversational count has been developed. “You stop, you stop, at the top, you stop, every time, at the top. How long do you stop at the top? Not long, but you stop, every time, at the top. What for, what for, what for? Oh! To close them up, to close them up, to close them up,” and repeat. Other conversational counts that may be used with capital A are, “Roll the arm, on the muscle; see it roll, on the muscle; slide the hand, on the fingers, see them slide, over the paper, make them glide.” Make your letters the same size as in the drill, and begin each letter as the pen moves downward. Make capital A in groups of five, and move the paper a little to the left after each of the first two groups as indicated by the check mark. When the third group of five has been finished, move the paper to the right to its correct position for beginning a line. Learning to move the paper in this and in other drills is very important. There are three groups of five, making fifteen letters to a line in drill six, and five lines, seventy-five letters, should be made in a minute.

The dotted line between the first and second letters shows the path over which the pen should move without touching the paper, in passing from one letter to the next. A count of ten should be used in each group of five, and the count for each line should be 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, move the paper, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, move the paper, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, move the paper. In beginning every practice period hereafter, your program should be the two-space compact oval, one minute—two hundred ovals, and capital A, at a speed that will produce at least sixty-five and very soon seventy-five in a minute. For the present, three minutes could very profitably be spent in repeating the capital A with an easy, swinging, rhythmic motion. Select your best capital and compare it with the models giving close attention to size, slant, width, distance between letters, and the beginning and finishing lines.

If muscular movement is taught to pupils of the first and second year primary classes according to the Palmer Method plan, they will enter the third year of their school life well prepared to use the movement in all their writing. If pupils in classes from the third to the eighth year inclusive have copies of this Manual, study it closely, and follow it absolutely in daily practice under teachers who have mastered the lessons before attempting to teach them, rapid improvement will be evident from week to week, and the ideal in rapid, easy, legible writing will soon be attained.

LESSON 9

=Drill 7=

Do not neglect the compact oval practice; one line across the paper will no doubt be enough if very compact.

The method of practice in drill seven should be the same as in capital A, drill five. After each traced oval, lift the pen while in motion, swinging it below the base line and around to the beginning point of capital O without checking it. Drive the pen rapidly and bring the muscles of the arm into active play. First make ten revolutions for the traced oval, gradually decreasing the number to six; count six for the ovals and two for each capital O.

=Drill 8=

This capital O is very popular with many excellent business penman and teachers of modern writing. Study the letter and make a mental photograph of it. Note particularly the curves of the left and the right sides; also the loop at the top, its general direction and size.

In finishing O the final stroke should be pushed upward. If it is pulled downward it will too nearly resemble A.

Capital O should be made at the rate of seventy or more to a minute. Count 1–2 for each O.

LESSON 10

Devote the time of this lesson to a general review of the preceding lessons.

LESSON 11

=Drill 9=

The plan of practice for drill nine should be the same as for drills five and seven. The count should be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,—1, 2, and repeat. No matter what may precede capital C, when the pen comes in contact with the paper in the beginning line it must move downward in the direction of a left curve.

=Drill 10=

How many are there on a line? Count them. Swing the pen in the path of a C several times before making the first letter; in fact, aim before you shoot. Lift the pen from the paper while in motion in finishing a capital; continue the motion with the pen in the air and bring it to the paper to begin the next capital—all without checking the motion. Make about seventy letters to the minute. Count 1–2 for each C.

LESSON 12

=Drill 11=

See instructions for drill eleven on following page.

Hereafter, each lesson should begin with practice of the compact two-space oval, drill three, drill six, and drill eleven, and there should be frequent reviews of the other drills so far practiced.

In the large oval drill and its modifications in capitals A, O, and C, the motion has been mainly forward and backward, while that used in the connected small o drill is mainly toward the right, developing the lateral movement. If too much driving force from above the elbow is used, the letter will be too large. If the position is just right, the least possible force will drive the hand far enough to form the o. The line connecting the letters should be as nearly straight as is possible to make it at the required speed. If too pronounced an under-curve is used in the connective lines the result will be a form more nearly resembling small a than o.

In this style of writing, small o and letters in its class should be one-sixteenth of an inch high. The letter in this drill is of that height, and it should be used as a basis of comparison in determining the height of the other minimum letters a, c, e, i, m, n, r, s, u, v, w, and x. Small r and s may be made one-fourth higher than the other letters in the minimum class.

Wherever there is an angular connection as in closing small o at the top, there must be a checking of the motion at that point; in fact, a stop. The closing of o is so quickly done that the stop can hardly be seen even by the closest observer.

=To the Teacher=: In connection with this drill we urge teachers to use a conversational count. In passing from desk to desk, criticise the work in correct rhythm. Suppose one student is making o too large, another not closing it at the top, another using a slow, dragging movement, another making a narrow, flat letter, and still another bending over his desk too far. The criticisms would be as follows: “Make it smaller, make it smaller; close it up, close it up; you stop, at the top, you stop, you stop, every time, at the top. How long? Not long; but you stop, every time, at the top. Slide along, slide along; round o, round o; sit up, sit up.” Each criticism or admonition may be repeated until the error has in a measure been corrected. The influence will not be lost upon the rest of the pupils, but those who have been making the same errors will almost unconsciously show marked improvement.

A speed of ninety or more to a minute should be developed and maintained. Ninety in a minute is by no means fast, but, while permitting good form, it is fast enough to force light motion.

In drill eleven, there are three groups of five letters in a line, and there are six lines in the drill, making ninety letters. These should be made in a minute, and that should be the practice speed. As in capital A, the plan is to make each group to a count of ten, and then move the paper. For an entire line the count would be 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, move the paper, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, move the paper, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, move the paper. The conversational count may be fitted nicely to the rhythm of the count of ten. Hereafter, drill eleven should be practiced with the two-space compact oval, and drill six at the beginning of each practice period.

LESSON 13

Make this a general review lesson.

=The Palmer Method is a text-book on practical writing. The instructions should be studied and followed.=

SPECIAL STUDIES OF THE CAPITALS, SMALL LETTERS, AND FIGURES

Pupils who have studied and followed the explanations, suggestions, and instructions so far, will have sufficient control of the muscular movement to master easily the letters on this page.

Those who have not been thorough in studying the instruction and practicing the drills should review. Nothing less than failure can follow superficial study.

The capitals, small letters, and figures are given at this point for convenient reference, and an effort should be made hereafter to employ these forms in all the written work.

=One lesson each week should be devoted to special study and practice of the capitals until they are mastered.=

Capitals, small letters, and figures will all be taught thoroughly in the following lessons.

=A few minutes in the right way are worth more than hours of practice in the wrong way.=

LESSON 14

=Drill 12=

Cross line practice is very helpful in developing light, elastic, gliding motion.

First make the letters on the lines; then turn the paper and make them across.

LESSON 15

MORE ABOUT COUNTING

In writing, as in music, regularity of movement is an important factor. A jerky, spasmodic motion is to be avoided, and successful teachers of writing have found that some method to mark the time of making parts of letters is helpful. Some use a metronome, some a chalk box and a ruler, others musical instruments; but we prefer that wonderful machine, the human voice, and a process of counting to fit the letters. In individual home practice the counting process is of as much value as in the school-room, and pupils should learn to use it.

When a letter is poorly made, it may be due to one or all of four causes—first, the position may be poor; second, the muscles may be rigid, preventing easy action; third, the mind may not have a good picture of the form; and fourth, movement direction may be wrong. As an example, when small m and n are made too sharp at the top, it is because there is not enough over-motion.

The special object of drill thirteen is to develop the over-motion for m and n. As you practice this drill, count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, for each section, or use a verbal count as follows: Over, over, over, over, over, light, light, light, light, light. In the first line the exercise should occupy one-half the space between ruled lines; and in the second, the height should be the same as small o, one-sixteenth of an inch.

=Drill 13=

Remember that the larger part of the right arm just in front of the elbow, should rest on the desk, and the third and fourth fingers of the right hand be bent well under; that the position of the pen in the hand must be comfortable and the right arm well out from the side. Now push the hand forward and backward to test the freedom and movement power. If the muscles move easily, let the pen touch the paper, moving lightly and rapidly. About fourteen completed sections of the first line should be made in a minute and sixteen of the second.

LESSON 16

=Drill 14=

Test the movement by tracing the first stroke in the air. Start the motion below the base line, and as the pen moves rapidly upward let it strike the paper at the beginning point. Drive the pen through the exercise rapidly and lightly. Make four connected m’s before lifting the pen, and three such groups across a line. You will make the letters too large, irregular, and awkward at first, and will have trouble with the union (connecting lines), but keep right on. Make the four lines in a minute and move the paper after each group. As taught in drill thirteen, lesson fifteen, the parts of small m are made with over-motion, but to use an over-motion between letters would give no connective line and hence no dividing line between the letters. Keep in mind as you practice, that the over-motion makes the parts of m, and that the opposite or under-motion forms the connecting lines. You may count 1, 2, 3; or slide, 2, 3; or over, over, under. Drill fourteen should be practiced a minute or more at the beginning of each practice period. Four drills have now been suggested for use at the beginning of every practice period. They should be practiced, not only in the beginning stages, but until the entire course has been mastered. These drills furnish the very best movement exercises, and at the same time give the right kind of practice in form building. Students who thoroughly master them in size, form, and speed application will find the remaining drills easy. As it teaches the correct use of the under-motion in connecting letters, small m is perhaps the most important of the four.

LESSON 17

From this point each lesson should start with the compact two-space oval; drill eleven, small o; and drill fourteen, small m. It will pay to devote from three to five minutes of each practice period to these three drills.

=Drill 15=

For small m, a count of three is used; and in n, a count of two. Thus, the count for drill fifteen will be 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, etc., or for five connected letters, 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10. The speed should be the same relatively as in the small m drill.

LESSON 18

=Drill 16=

Make the small m in groups of four, three groups to a line, and five or more rows; then turn the paper and make groups of small n. Make frequent comparisons with the drill as you practice.

LESSON 19

=Drill 17=

Small i being made entirely with an under-motion, has a sharp point at the top. Count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, for each group; make the downward as light as the upward strokes and try to make them equal distances apart.

=Drill 18=

A space in width is the distance between the points of small u. This is sometimes called a lateral space. For each group of four connected letters, count 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8.

=Drill 19=

Extend small i about two and one-half times its height, cross with a short horizontal line, and the result will be small t. An effort should be made to bring the upward and downward strokes of small t together at the top, but if a very short narrow loop is sometimes made as a result of rapid movement, it will not conflict with legibility. The small t should always be a little shorter than the small l and its companions, b, h, k, and f. The practice speed for t in groups of five is twenty groups, or one hundred letters, to the minute. There is no special value in this letter as a movement drill, but a little practice of it in group formation will be an aid to its mastery.

As you gain more control of the muscular movement, you should become more skillful in its application, and the result should be constant improvement in form, spacing, and uniformity of size. Use your eyes constantly, comparing your letters with the drills you are trying to imitate; do your best, and rapid improvement is sure to follow.

LESSON 20

After the usual practice of the compact two-space oval and the small m and n review lesson nineteen.

=Drill 20=

The count for small e in groups of five, is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Try to make the letter but one-sixteenth of an inch high. For purposes of comparison, it would be well occasionally to make rows of small o’s and m’s on lines close to your small e drills. The three letters should be of the same height. Making small e in groups of five, twenty-eight groups, or one hundred and forty letters, should be made in a minute.

LESSON 21

=Drill 21=

=Wrong practice will lead you in the wrong direction! The instructions tell you how to practice.=

Number twenty-one is our first word drill with a capital. Do not neglect the study of the motion and its applications to form.

Write fourteen or more words to a minute, and do not let them occupy more space than the copies. In drill six the final line in capital A drops below the base line. This is done to give a rhythmic movement drill. In writing words beginning with capital A it is better to connect the last line with the small letters following, as in the second line in drill twenty-one.

LESSON 22

=Drill 22=

Write fourteen words in a minute. Write a few lines and then compare your work with the drill. Review often.

LESSON 23

=Drill 23=

Be sure that the motion is oval in starting capital O. Trace the letter with the pen in the air. Let the pen strike the paper when moving rapidly downward.

If all conditions are favorable and the movement is free, about sixteen of these should be written in a minute.

LESSON 24

=Drills 24 and 25=

Study the upper line closely, and notice particularly that the nine exercises at the right are the enlarged form of an inverted figure six.

Fix clearly in your mind the direction of the moving pen as it comes into contact with the paper in making the beginning loop. Do not make this loop larger than it is in the drill. For business writing it would be better to make a dot than a large loop. Energetic practice of the drill at the left in the first line will help to develop the right motion. In that part of the drill a count of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, should be used. In the nine forms at the right in the first line, the count may be 1–2, down over; or down, over; or one stop for each; but each form should stop abruptly at the base line in a blunt stroke.

As this form is used for the beginning of twelve capitals, it should be thoroughly studied and practiced now, and frequently reviewed.

In the lower line, observe that five drills extend across the page, with ten parts in each drill; with the paper held in the right position, the downward strokes should be made toward the center of the body, and the over-motion is applied in making the turns at the top. The count should be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and sixteen completed exercises should be made to the minute.

Turn to page twenty-nine and pick out the twelve capitals in which the inverted figure six is used. Use this style hereafter in beginning those capitals.

This is a lesson that should be reviewed frequently.

LESSON 25

You should not forget the usual three to five minute practice period devoted to the compact oval, and the small o and m drills.

=Drills 26 and 27=

Study capitals M and N closely before trying to make them. Compare their parts in relation to slant, height, and width. Your attention is particularly directed to the finishing lines in M and N. Dropping this line below the base, and lifting the pen without stopping the motion, forces freedom, continues the rotary motion and develops an automatic movement preceding and following each letter, so that the motion is continued, even when you are not actually forming the letters.

The capital M should be made in a count of 1, 2, 3, 4, at the rate of thirty a minute, and capital N in a count of 1, 2, 3, at the rate of forty a minute.

LESSON 26

Review lessons twenty-four and twenty-five.

LESSON 27

Perhaps you have forgotten something; perhaps you were about to begin your practice of drill twenty-eight without the review of the compact oval, and small o and m. If so, do not forget again.

=Drill 28=

In penmanship, constant repetition is essential, and in connection with drill twenty-eight the best results will be secured by practicing the word several minutes. We prefer to have pupils at first use the style of capital given in the first line, in which the finishing stroke is carried below the base, and the pen lifted from the paper before the small letters are made. Later the final stroke in capital M may be connected directly with any small letters following, as in the second line. You are expected to write six words on a line, as in the copy, writing from fourteen to seventeen a minute.

=To the Teacher=: If you have studied the lessons in advance, have practiced the different drills and mastered them before giving them to your pupils, a good plan to follow in word-practice is sometimes to sit at your desk, or a pupil’s desk writing the words with them and spelling as you write. Thus: M-o-o-n, M-o-o-n. This will enable you to help your boys and girls to master the correct speed, and to secure uniform motion.

Never attempt to use the count for individual letters when practicing words; it is confusing.

LESSON 28

=Drill 29=

Make a few lines of capital N as a movement drill before practicing the word Noon. Repeated letters and words should always be considered movement drills. Strive for a firmer, lighter motion constantly. Examine all letters and words practiced with special reference to firm, smooth lines, their direction, size, distances between letters, height and width of the different parts, connecting lines, the finishing lines in the final letters, and every little detail.

Write from fifteen to eighteen words a minute.

LESSON 29

FOR STUDY AND COMPARISON

Small a is, in the main, a reduced copy of capital A, and the first parts of small d, g, and q are identical with it. Fix the resemblance in the mind; it will help you. In business writing it is best to make the looped small d. It is just as legible as the stem and can be made more rapidly. The loop below the base line in small g should be made without finger motion. We favor the blunt style of small g and y at the end of words, and this ending should be shorter than the loop. Fix in your mind the length of this abbreviated g. Small q is a little shorter below the base line than g. The g ending bluntly below the base line, is just like the figure nine.

=Drill 30=

It will pay you to practice the small a drill a great deal. Try to make a half-dozen or more lines of letters as small and as uniform as the copy. Students should not forget to study the copy constantly and to make frequent comparisons of their work with it. A count of 1, 2, should be used for each small a, and in connecting five letters it is a good plan to count 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10.

Small a in groups of five should be made at the rate of seventy a minute.

LESSON 30

=Drill 31=

Reckoning small o, one-sixteenth of an inch high, as one space, small g should extend three spaces, or three-sixteenths of an inch below the base line, while the loop of q and abbreviated g should extend two spaces below.

The loop of d extends about two and one-half spaces above the base.

Writing which is good in other respects is often spoiled in the written page because the loops are too long, extending into the lines above and below.

The count for each letter in groups of five should be 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, and the speed should be: small d, from sixty-five to seventy; g, from sixty to sixty-five; and q, about fifty to the minute.

=Are you studying the instructions? They tell you just how to succeed.=

LESSON 31

=Drill 32=

Review lesson thirty before you study and practice this drill.

If you use your eyes to good advantage, you will see that the first g begins one space above the base line, there being no initial line starting from the base; also that the first parts of small g and d are of the same height as a, o, m, and n, to which special reference has already been made. Practice speed, twelve words in a minute.

LESSON 32