ugly95 I think I’m a slow writer too. I’d get nervous looking around the exam room. They’d had out 3 of the booklets at the start of the exam. I’d see other students with all the books filled out, and asking for additional books. And at the end, I think I’d maybe top out at a book and a half. I honestly don’t know what they hell they were writing so much about.
We have that in common too. The difference is that, at every level beyond high school here, they only ever issued one examination booklet as needed. Apparently, this was a security measure, as they believed that some students would hoard the booklets, then use them for nefarious or dishonest purposes. As the booklets were issued, invigilators would watch you write on the cover, including course details and date, and sign it. If you ever defaced a booklet, you were at risk of having your whole exam seized, being escorted out of the room, with an accusation of academic misconduct.
ugly95 Could be. I’m not sure how many right-handed people have the problem. I think a lot of left-handed people also write with wrapping their hand over the letters.
Smudging problem: yes, to an extent. I don’t have the problem with most pens with ink that dries relatively quickly (I have a fondness for the Staedtler tiangular pens and Uni-Ball Premier 207), but pencil can get messy, particularly if I am nervous while writing (important exam, employment pre-screening).
In my case, I write mostly level with the current line, rather than wrapped over (as with Obama). I have also known a few lefties who take pains to keep their hand below the line they are writing, but I always found that it negatively affected the legibility, whether cursive or printed, and took a toll on their speed, even compared to my slow writing.
I don’t understand, though; I have been told that I have “beautiful handwriting” by some, while I also had one graduate student looking to move into teaching complain that he was almost unable to read what I wrote. I knew he disliked me, but that criticism coming from someone who produced the sort of chicken-scratch that he did seemed a bit rich.