Point three: legible caps
A handwriting model should have simple capitals of classical proportions. In comparison, words in capitals of most copperplate-based hands look illegible and silly.
What works in the classroom?
T hese four points are important, I think, in an italic handwriting model.
One. It should be taught as a movement that leads to lettershapes: a simple zig-zag, which is the backbone of italic.
Two. It should be monoline. It should look right when it’s written with a ballpoint pen, a pencil, a crayon. In our time, the broad-edge pen is a charming exception.
Three. It should have simple capitals of classical proportions.
Four. The model should be a foundation, not an end in itself. Rigid italic will never suit everybody. Some people like to write sharp zigzags, others prefer loops. Young people want to develop their own handwriting. Let them. Even when they affect an illegible scrawl, their hand will still know how to write.
These are excellent aims, to be sure. Do they work? Sometimes.
