Although it may look like handwriting is becoming redundant, it’s one that is still today important in numerous areas of life. A handwritten letter imparts more gravitas than a typewritten letter; for example an application for a job, an invitation or an apology.

One might suppose it’s a recent phenomena of people eschewing hand writing for the keyboard, but way back to the late 1800s, there were cries that penmanship was being ignored because of the invention of those times : the typwriter. Nowadays, the blame is being connected to the ubiquitous use of computer keyboards.

Even so, there is still a healthy need for handwriting ability in in every area of day to day life. Hand-written missives are considered as more authentic, they evince the author has studied over her words, while evincing more deference to the recipient. During the modern age of templated responses, the hand-written missive has never been more noticeable.

I must confess to something. I have frequently been caught red-handed with my own poor hand-writing - made worse due to years of relying on my computer keyboard. In times in which I’ve had to put pen to paper, my words have been almost unreadable at times. What did I do? I wrote as often as I could, and it improved greatly. So it’s best to brush up on your hand-writing by practise.

Another piece of advice is to acquire a pen your hand is comfortable with, and it must accept refills. Good refills include the illustrious mont blanc pen. This permits you to polish your hand-writing with a single pen.