Placing the reverse R-circles above or below the following line

GeneralAymeric de Poyen6

Hello,

I read that The circle is placed above the next stroke after p and b, as in burn and bird, and below the next stroke in all others, as in charm and farm. There is a tendency in rapid writing to curve a straight line when it is followed by a circle.  Therefore the distinctive method of joining the circle when it is written with left motion after straight strokes is adopted to prevent any possibility of misreading. Compare germ and bird in the following drill. 

What about placing the circle below in all cases? At the moment I’m finding this movement much easier to execute than placing the circle above it, even after b and p. Actually, after S (as in concerning) I find it easier to write the circle below the N.

Is there a reason why this placement wasn’t adopted for B and P?

thanks.


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6 comments Add yours

  1. This is just a matter of practice and habit. It is not difficult to do, and once you do it many times it becomes second nature.

    The distinction is necessary as it is explained in the paragraph. The good thing is that this is only done for p, b, and left s (ser/sar), so it is not as frequent as the others.

  2. Thank you Carlos for your answer, but I’m confused.

    As I understand it, the paragraph warns against the risk of curving strokes, not of straightening curves. Hence the need to adapt the circle when it follows J/CH/SH and turn it into this little back-and-forth movement.
    It doesn’t mention anything as to why this same back-and-forth movement should not be used after a curve. So this was the question I was asking. Any idea? I hope I’m being clear enough.
    Thanks again!

  3. On second thought, maybe I misconstrued the modified back-and-forth circle as being a way to not curve the strokes, while in reality it does not prevent stroke curving, it simply is a way to understand that even if unintentionally curved, what comes before it is a stroke, not a curve?

    So the idea is that in fast writing most downward strokes can get curvy no matter what, and that’s where using different circles comes in handy, to tell a true curve from an accidentally curved stroke?

    Is this what the author says?

    1. Exactly. Whether you put the circle over or under the line is just a way of positive identification and has nothing to do with lines becoming curves at high speed — the latter happens whether there is a reverse circle or not.

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