The principles are divided into three categories: academic study, forensic study, and pragmatic study. Introductory discussions cover the basics of handwriting and preliminary examinations of a document. Academic study of handwriting is discussed in terms of class features, individual features, and idiosyncratic features of the writing being analyzed. Sources of known standard writings of suspects are listed and explained. The preparation of charts for courtroom presentation, the use of mathematics and psychology in handwriting analysis, report writing, and courtroom procedures are also detailed. Examples of handwriting, a discussion of computers in handwriting analysis, an index, and a bibliography listing 29 references are supplied.