Hello, lovely people of the world.
I'm Maria.
And my name is Rory.
We are the hosts of the IELTS Speaking for Success podcast, the podcast that aims to help you improve your speaking skills, as well as your listening skills along the way.
We started this podcast because we want you to know super high level vocabulary for a high score bad 9 score and to be able to answer some of the most common IELTS speaking questions with good grammar and super vocabulary.
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In the last episode, we talked about movies and film stars.
So, Rory, what do you think we're going to talk about now?
Oh, I don't know, maybe it's written in the stars.
Right, we're gonna talk about handwriting.
Rory, how did you learn to write?
Oh, I learned to write in school, like everybody else did, with very persistent and somewhat authoritarian teachers.
But I learned to write well through a love of reading and I wanted to be clear.
So that's how I developed my handwriting.
The motivation kind of came up from within after a while.
Do you usually write by hand?
I think when I was younger I would write a lot.
My first three books were actually handwritten before I typed them up.
And I used to enjoy it a lot, but now it's more of a burden.
It takes a lot of effort to write something by hand.
And of course I'm doing everything by computer now.
Maybe I'll get back into it once I finish my other things that I'm working on.
Why did you handwrite your first three books?
Because I hated typing.
Oh, wow.
I used to hate typing and I used to hate computers.
And now I've kind of got Stockholm Syndrome, so I feel like I need to use them.
So when you hand wrote three books, that like, whoa, that took you a while.
I think it took about, well, I mean, the first book that I ever wrote took about 10 years to write.
So yeah, that did take a while.
And after you hand wrote your three books, you typed everything up?
Well, I had them typed up.
I didn't type them up myself.
That's way too much.
I would like to point out though, that I have typed up everything else that I've written since then.
Like all of the articles I've written and all of the other bits and pieces that I've done for other books that I've worked on have been typed up.
It's just these ones.
So, so far you have what, 15 books?
No, I have three, and then I have another one coming out very soon, actually.
The manuscript has been handed to the editor, so hopefully it will be approved.
I think in the next two weeks, and then it'll be out.
Yay!
Yes, dear listeners, Rory is an author.
Again.
He writes books.
He writes books and articles.
Rory, but do you actually like writing by hand?
Like I say, I still get a little bit of pleasure out of it, but not so much as I used to.
Rory, do you have good handwriting?
I used to.
It's probably more, I suppose, blocky now, given that I write in block capital letters.
I used to write with lots of loops and I'd have tails on my Ys and things like this.
I used to have really nice handwriting.
Um, people said it looks a bit girly.
I don't know what that means um, but um, recently everything that i write is just in block capital letters.
You can see it on my diary actually i'm just looking at it now um so yes, it's um, it was nice.
It's less so now and hopefully it will be when i get back to writing normally in the future.
Do you like receiving handwritten letters?
I don't mind, really.
I suppose, regardless of if it's handwritten or electronic, it's nice to know that someone is thinking about you.
Unless it's my mum and dad, then I do quite like getting handwritten letters from them, although that's hardly ever because we live so far away from each other.
I keep all the emails and letters that I get from my family as well, for the sentimental value that they have.
So as you can imagine, I've built up quite a collection over the years.
And I suppose that, since emails are a bit more portable and lasting, it's probably better to get electronic ones.
But, like I say, the occasional handwritten email or letter, handwritten email, handwritten letter is quite nice.
Yeah, you can handwrite your emails.
You can handwrite your emails if you're completely insane.
You could actually.
I have a student that does this.
She writes her essays and then sends me the pictures, which is actually well efficient, but it does make things a bit more complicated for me.
How important is handwriting in your country?
I suppose not very in the digital age that we currently live in.
I think most people have quite untidy or quite messy handwriting.
And I can definitely think of a lot of people where I'm from where it's almost indecipherable.
However, on the flip side, my cousin does a lot of calligraphy and her handwriting is beautiful.
But I think that's a very rare thing from where I'm from.
Everybody just types things up.
What impression does a person's handwriting have on other people?
Oh, I think it really does make a difference.
I think people say that it doesn't make a difference, but I think people actually care more than they say they do.
For example, for me it really makes a difference.
And if I'm marking essays and someone has really untidy handwriting, then I do write a comment and tell them they've made a mess of it.
And it's annoyed me because I have then I had to work harder to decode it.
And I'm a really busy person and a lot of people are busy.
And I think that's true for most people that they feel that way.
Rory, do you think that a person is judged by their handwriting?
Well, if they're talking, sorry, if they're writing to me, then yes, they are definitely judged.
But kind of, for example, at work or in some other places.
Definitely.
Is it like clothes?
You know, like you have your first impression of a person, like looking at their clothes.
The same with the handwriting.
Yeah, I wondered briefly there if it might be more important than clothes, but it's probably actually on the same level.
But definitely, it's all part of your personal presentation, isn't it?
You have to make an effort to represent yourself well.
I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but whoever said that obviously hasn't been to a bookshop.
Some of the best books have the best covers.
Rory, let's take a look at the words that you've just used.
So, handwriting.
You can write by hand, right?
Yes.
I don't know what else you would write with.
Or you would write by.
You can also type things up, right?
Or you can type on a keyboard, right?
Yes.
That's a good phrasal verb, though, to type things up or to have something typed up.
So whenever you're using a keyboard, instead of saying like I use a keyboard, you could say I typed it up.
But about your books, you said, like, I had my books typed up.
Yes.
It means that you typed them up or somebody else did?
Somebody else typed them up for me.
The first three.
I typed up the most recent one.
And that took a long time.
And then you paid somebody to get it done.
Yes.
So the same structure we use about our hair, for example, if you go to hairdressers.
So I had my hair cut, right?
I had my book typed up.
I had my car serviced.
You can also write with a pen, right?
Or by a pen.
Yes.
And to find out more about pens, you can watch our podcast from season one about pens.
Yeah, we did talk about pens and pencils.
We did.
Yeah, so we say, like, write with a pen, right?
Or with a pencil.
When we talk about handwriting, we should use precise adjectives.
So, Rory, for example, you said that my handwriting is nice, girly, right?
Yes.
Yeah, it might be slightly sexist.
And I did point that out to the people that have said that to me.
I didn't know what having girly handwriting meant, but apparently it means that you've got lots of curves in your writing.
As opposed to straight lines.
But I don't understand how that makes it girly.
Someone's yet to explain that to me.
Yeah, so some handwriting can be manly and others can be girly.
What?
Apparently.
I don't know.
Right.
We can also say like cursive writing.
You can.
And Russians have cursive handwriting.
I often think that Russians have some of the most beautiful handwriting that I've ever seen in your language and in English as well.
Yeah, because cursive writing allows you to write in a flowing way, you know, comfortably.
But also we can write in print.
And you said that I write in block capital letters, right?
It means like write in print.
Yes.
So like it means your letters are not connected, right?
Well, yes, that's an important distinction to draw.
Block capital letters is when everything is in capital letters.
Printed is more like everything is separated and there is no connection between the letters.
And that can be capital letters or smaller, lowercase letters.
So those two things you shouldn't mix up.
Although...
I think people often do, to be honest.
Even native speakers.
Even native speakers do that?
Wow!
Native speakers make lots of ridiculous mistakes, like less and fewer.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
It's like again, like if a native speaker makes a mistake, it's not a mistake, it's just a sleep.
You know like they're tired.
But if a non-native makes a mistake, it's a mistake.
You have such a chip on your shoulder about this.
It's not that.
I always correct non-natives.
Sorry, I always correct native speakers when they make mistakes as well.
And everyone should.
And if you hear, dear listeners, if you hear a native speaker making a mistake, then you should correct them.
Unless it's me, then I'm not interested in anything that you have to say.
Only tell me how wonderful I am.
Do not correct any of the things, any of the mistakes I make.
Yes, it's not just like when you hear native speakers speak.
It's everything is correct what they say, right.
Sometimes they do make such slips, mistakes.
We can also say that my handwriting is untidy, messy.
Yes.
We can say it's beautiful, pretty or neat.
If my handwriting is neat, what does it mean, neat?
Neat handwriting is just like, well, it's tidy.
It's well presented.
But I think it's the most common collocation for describing handwriting apart from untidy.
So there are really two kinds of handwriting in English.
There's neat handwriting and there's untidy handwriting.
You don't really get a mixture.
Yeah, we can also say like tidy handwriting.
You can, yeah, but like you hear most often in conversation these two.
Yeah, we can also say it's like ordinary, difficult, terrible handwriting.
You could do, yeah.
You also mentioned loops and tails.
So if you take the letter Y, for example, usually you just do a Y and that's all.
But if you want to give it a tail, then you.
This is going to be very difficult to describe just through audio only.
So if you want to Google search this, listeners, then you can.
It's like when you draw... When you write a Y and you don't stop...
Under the line, you keep going up and back up again.
Yeah.
It's difficult to describe.
You need to see it to understand it.
Yeah, basically go to Google and check out some pictures of loops and tails in handwriting.
Loops and tails in handwriting.
Yeah, but the most important thing that your handwriting should be...
Legible, right?
Yes.
So legible handwriting, it means this is... Clear, understandable.
Yeah, and easy to read, right?
The opposite of legible is illegible.
Yes, which means it's totally impossible to read or understand.
Yeah, for example, in IELTS writing, it's very important for your handwriting to be legible if you take a paper-based exam.
So, the examiner can decode it.
And, Rory, you've mentioned this word, decode your handwriting.
It's...
It's also important, and if any of my students are listening to this, then they know exactly what I mean.
It's also important that your teacher can read your work.
Yes, respect your teacher.
Respect your teachers.
Don't just respect the exam.
Respect your teacher and respect their time.
Write neatly, please, for the love of God.
Yay.
Teachers should decipher your handwriting or decode it.
No, they shouldn't have to.
If you have to.
Deciphering and decoding are things that you do when you put a lot of effort into working out what something means.
But if handwriting is legible and well presented, then you shouldn't have to do this.
Sorry, I have such strong opinions about this, but I've wasted so much time on untidy handwriting.
I need the public to understand. and this feeling.
Yes, dear listeners, lovely people of the world, make your handwriting tidy and respect the reader.
So the verb is to decipher, and the adjective is indecipherable.
Indecipherable.
Indecipherable is an amazing word.
It sounds great.
Yeah, it means basically, well... I can't read it.
Yes, yes, indescribable.
I don't know what it means.
Rory, you said that you developed your handwriting, so we can develop our handwriting?
Yes, that means you just improve it, well, ideally you improve it over time.
When we talked about handwritten letters, you said that I do like receiving them, right?
So what does it mean if you say like, I do like it, I do enjoy it?
No, it's when you add emphasis to show how much something means to you.
This is important for pronunciation, though.
You can't just say, I do like it.
You have to say, I do, like stress do, to show that you really care about something.
That will be very important for a high score.
Handwritten letters have sentimental value to you, right?
So there are two main kinds of value that people talk about value when something is worth a lot of money, and sentimental value, when something has lots of value in terms of the memories or the importance that has to you as a person.
So this is sentimental value.
You've also mentioned a good one on the flip side.
Yes.
I mean, it's another way of talking casually about on the other hand.
You usually say this in speech.
You don't say it in your writing, especially not for formal writing, like what's expected of you in IELTS writing.
Yes, it's more like for speaking.
On the flip side, on the other hand.
Right, so we can also say that neat handwriting is an asset.
It is.
Is it an asset?
An asset is a nice one.
It is.
An asset is something that, well, creates value, essentially, or something that has value.
So good handwriting is an asset because it makes people think well of you.
It's like part of good presentation.
What else is an asset?
You are an asset.
Rory is an asset.
Oh, well, I'm... No, I can't say that.
Definitely the first three letters of that word.
Dear listeners, now you can listen to Rory's answers again, and this time notice all the gorgeous vocabulary he's just used about handwriting.
Rory, how did you learn to write?
Oh, I learned to write in school, like everybody else did, with very persistent and somewhat authoritarian teachers.
But I learned to write well through a love of reading and I wanted to be clear.
So that's how I developed my handwriting.
The motivation kind of came up from within after a while.
Do you usually write by hand?
I think when I was younger, I would write a lot.
And my first three books were actually handwritten before I typed them up.
And I used to enjoy it a lot.
But now it's more of a burden.
It takes a lot of effort to write something by hand.
And of course, I'm doing everything by computer now.
Maybe I'll get back into it once I finish my other things that I'm working on.
Why did you handwrite your first three books?
Because I hated typing.
Oh, wow.
I used to hate typing and I used to hate computers.
And now I've kind of got Stockholm syndrome, so I feel like I need to use them.
So when you hand wrote three books, that like, well, it took you a while.
I think it took about, well, I mean, the first book that I ever wrote took about 10 years to write.
So yeah, that did take a while.
And after you hand wrote your three books, you typed everything up?
Well, I had them typed up.
I didn't type them up myself.
That's way too much.
I would like to point out though, that I have typed up everything else that I've written since then.
Like all of the articles I've written and all of the other bits and pieces that I've done for other books that I've worked on have been typed up.
It's just these ones.
So, so far you have what, 15 books?
No, I have three, and then I have another one coming out very soon, actually.
The manuscript has been handed to the editor, so hopefully it will be approved.
I think in the next two weeks, and then it'll be out.
Yay!
Yes, dear listeners, Rory is an author.
Again.
He writes books.
He writes books and articles.
Rory, but do you actually like writing by hand?
Like I say, I still get a little bit of pleasure out of it, but not so much as I used to.
Roy, do you have good handwriting?
I used to.
It's probably more, I suppose, blocky now, given that I write in block capital letters.
I used to write with, like, lots of loops, and I'd have tails on my Ys and things like this.
I used to have really nice handwriting.
People said it looks a bit girly.
I don't know what that means.
But recently, everything that I write is just in block capital letters.
You can see it on my diary, actually.
I'm just looking at it now.
So yes, it was nice.
It's less so now and hopefully it will be when I get back to writing normally in the future.
Do you like receiving handwritten letters?
I don't mind, really.
I suppose, regardless of if it's handwritten or electronic, it's nice to know that someone is thinking about you.
Unless it's my mum and dad, then I do quite like getting handwritten letters from them, although that's hardly ever because we live so far away from each other.
I keep all the emails and letters that I get from my family as well, for the sentimental value that they have.
So as you can imagine, I've built up quite a collection over the years.
And I suppose that, since emails are a bit more portable and lasting, it's probably better to get electronic ones.
But, like I say, the occasional handwritten email or letter, handwritten email, handwritten letter is quite nice.
Yeah, you can handwrite your emails.
You can handwrite your emails if you're completely insane.
You could actually.
I have a student that does this.
She writes her essays and then sends me the pictures, which is actually well efficient, but it does make things a bit more complicated for me.
How important is handwriting in your country?
I suppose not very in the digital age that we currently live in.
I think most people have quite untidy or quite messy handwriting.
And I can definitely think of a lot of people where I'm from where it's almost indecipherable.
However, on the flip side, my cousin does a lot of calligraphy and her handwriting is beautiful, but I think that's a very rare thing from where I'm from.
Everybody just types things up.
What impression does a person's handwriting have on other people?
Oh, I think it really does make a difference.
I think people say that it doesn't make a difference, but I think people actually care more than they say they do.
For example, for me, it really makes a difference.
And if I'm marking essays and someone has really untidy handwriting, then I do write a comment and tell them they've made a mess of it.
And it's annoyed me because I have then I had to work harder to decode it.
And I'm a really busy person.
And a lot of people are busy.
And I think that's true for most people that they feel that way.
Rory, do you think that a person is judged by their handwriting?
Well, if they're talking... Sorry, if they're writing to me, then yes, they are definitely judged.
But kind of, for example, at work or in some other places.
Definitely.
Is it like clothes?
You know, like you have your first impression of a person, like looking at their clothes.
The same with the handwriting.
Yeah, I wondered briefly there if it might be more important than clothes, but it's probably actually on the same level.
But definitely, it's all part of your personal presentation, isn't it?
You have to make an effort to represent yourself well.
I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but whoever said that obviously hasn't been to a bookshop.
Some of the best books have the best covers.
Thank you very much for listening.
We'll see you next time.
Bye.
Have a good one.
Bye.
