This week I have a meeting middle about how experts use writing to solve crime, and it

tidbit about the phrase incold blood.

And now on to looking at how investigators use word choice and sentence structure, along

with other writing related characteristics to solve crime.

We learned about graphology, questioned documents, and forensic linguistics.

When you hear the term forensic document examiner, you may immediately think of someone who

analyzes handwriting.

Forensic document examiners do look at handwriting, but that's only one part of their job.

Let's start by looking at the differences between a graphologist and a forensic document

examiner.

The more common name for graphology is handwriting analysis.

A graphologist studies handwriting to try to determine a person's character in emotional

state.

Graphologist Andrea McNickel quoted in psychology today a few years ago, said, quote,

just a handful of lines can tip me off to a person's general intelligence, emotional

stability, characteristics as a leader or follower, their level of honesty, frequency of drug

use, and physical activity level, unquote.

Some consider graphology to be a fad or pseudoscience, however.

The CIA's online archive of documents from the center for the study of intelligence contains

an assessment of graphology.

And it states, quote, graphology is a means of assessment has been lumped with astrology,

frenology, and other systems for reading character from physical characteristics, such as length

...