Penmanship is said to be the art of writing. Graphology - the study of handwriting and handwriting analysis - is now an accepted and increasingly used technique for assessment of people in organizations. Handwriting analysis is an effective and reliable indicator of personality and behaviour, and so is a useful tool for many organizational processes, for example: recruitment, interviewing and selection, team-building, counselling, and career-planning. The science of graphology uses at least 300 different handwriting features in its investigative approach. The graphologist's interpretation skill is in the psychological art of understanding the particular blend of handwriting features - an expert is able to see the writer 'step off the page'. Graphology is actually a very old and respected science - the study of handwriting and its analysis was first developed by the Chinese 3,000 years ago. The Romans used graphology, and through the centuries since then various civilisations and cultures have analysed handwriting to identify the essence of the person who produced it.
Some of its Features:
1. Direction of Lines The direction of lines may either be in straight, ascending, descending and combinations such as convex (ascends then descends) and concave (descends then ascends). Each means differently. With Rizal's handwriting, there are instances where the direction of his lines are descending (example is seen on the manuscript of Mi Ultimo Adios) which shows that Rizal is depressed in that time. In the original manuscript of one of his novels a straight direction of lines is very evident which showed Rizal as a very unyielding person. At times, he also wrote in an ascending manner. Just like the letter he wrote for a sibling which shows Rizal as an optimistic person.
2. SPACE BETWEEN WORDS The spaces between the words is directly been linked to the way a person speaks. The spaces in the words represents the pauses