Here's What Your Handwriting Really Reveals About You

Do you write with large or small letters? How much pressure do you put on your pen when you are scribbling? Do your handwritten words slant one way or the other? Do your letters look a particular way? 

You may not know it, but your handwriting (like your birth order) could reveal more about your inner self than you might realize. The practice, also known as graphology, is supported by the theory that handwriting is one way for you to express or assert your personality. Writing in big, bold letters can be an indication of ambition, and wielding your pen with a light hand can indicate that you are able to move from one place to another with ease, graphologist Kathi McKnight advised the Independent. She added that people whose words lean to the right are sentimental and close to family and friends; those whose handwriting lean in the opposite direction are introspective.

Your character can also be revealed in the way you write certain letters. The way you write your lowercase 'a' could indicate how discreet you might be, while the positioning of the cross on your lowercase 't' can indicate how goal-orientated you are (via Good Housekeeping).

Even though graphology is widely practiced — the Independent says handwriting analysis is used by a handful of companies to weed out unsuitable job applicants — its validity is questioned by scientists. In an article for The Guardian, British psychiatrist Raj Persaud noted that hundreds of studies into graphology "have failed to establish associations between personality and handwriting of any practical value." Even companies who might have tried to use graphology in picking job applicants say handwriting experts are unable to predict how well someone might do a job based on his or her handwriting alone. 

Science considers graphology to be no more credible than phrenology, which involves the study of one's skull to determine character. Historically, JSTOR Daily says phrenology was used to support highly questionable theories including the superiority of once race over another and that of men over women. So if scientists are putting phrenology and handwriting analysis in one basket, it could actually turn out to be as phony as a three-dollar bill.