Yesterday morning I hand wrote a gift card for an order. While I try to print as neatly as possible, I’m never happy with the results. And I have to print — my cursive or script looks like the stereotypical unintelligible doctor scrawl. Later, when I went to read the paper at lunch time, what did I find but an op ed piece saying we can all start writing legibly if we use italics rather than cursive.
The authors, Inga Dubay and Barbara Getty, give examples, a lesson, and room on the page for you to practice the letterforms. So I got out my pen and tried it. It’ll take a bit of practice, but this might make me cringe less when I write out gift cards! The authors have also written books and manuals on italic handwriting, for more examples and more practice.
The winner, chosen by 
