A 20th century writing manual must of necessity be very different in many ways from a 16th century manual, and therefore the present book will not attempt to emulate all the advice and instruction contained in a book of that time nor to imitate one. The methods advocated have been tried and found suitable for 20th century use, in which ,because of the urgency and tempo of our times there will be eliminated much of the flourishing and decoration of the 16th century italic. The emphasis today is on the proper construction of letters in a style suitable for writing at speed. Loops are non-existent. Ligatures, which give lettering cursiveness, are vital, but not insisted upon all the time, especially where a break is deemed necessary for the proper rhythm of the writing. Above all, emphasis is laid on the proper drawing and preservation of the character of the individual letter forms in order to ensure that most important quality of all -- legibility.