Factors Affecting the Clarity of Nondominant Handwriting Versus Dominant Handwriting.

Abstract

We are interested in shifting writing from the dominant hand to the nondominant hand in adults that suffer from repetitive strain injuries (RSI) or stroke. Anecdotally, some adults can already write on a whiteboard using their nondominant hand. In this investigation, we examine three factors that differ between dominant writing on paper and nondominant writing on a whiteboard: orientation of the writing surface (horizontal or vertical), grip size (pen size or marker size), and handedness (dominant or nondominant). We asked 180 members of the public to write the same short phrase in all eight configurations and to rank their writing from clearest to least clear. We then manually assessed the 1440 samples for clarity. Our analysis shows that the significant factors affecting clarity are the hand used for writing and the orientation of the surface, while grip size does not affect clarity. We also find that although writing clearly with the nondominant hand on a vertical surface with a marker is not a universal trait, 14 of our 24 (58%) left-handed writers possess this skill, but no right-handed writers do.