noun · neutral
penmanship
/ˈpɛn.mən.ʃɪp/PEN·man·ship
Band 5-6speakingtask1
the skill or style of a person's handwriting
Examples
“Her penmanship made the nineteenth‑century letters easy to read.”
“Good penmanship was valued in the past when most documents were handwritten.”
“He practised daily to improve his penmanship for the competition.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although digital communication dominates, legible penmanship still matters for certain official documents and archival records.”
Collocations
- good penmanship
- improve one's penmanship
- neat penmanship
Word family
penmanship nounpenman noun (a person skilled in writing)
Common mistakes
hand writing→penmanship
signature→penmanship
Say it for a higher band
5handwriting→6writing style→7+penmanship
Synonyms
handwriting
Easily confused
handwriting
“Her handwriting is neat but lacks the flair of a trained calligrapher.”
Related words
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In -ship
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