A professional who analyzes handwriting to appraise personal characteristics. Responsibilities include:

• Obtains handwriting specimen to observe overall appearance of writing and detailed formation of letters.
• Measures height of letters and slant of writing, using calibrated templates.
• Observes individual writing strokes to determine unique or distinguishing characteristics, using ruler and low-power magnifying glass or microscope.
• Evaluates handwriting sample and interprets findings, according to theories of handwriting analysis.
• May use diagram to plot writing characteristics.