How to Write in Cursive

This article was reviewed by Tami Claytor. Tami Claytor is an Etiquette Coach, Image Consultant, and the Owner of Always Appropriate Image and Etiquette Consulting in New York, New York. With over 20 years of experience, Tami specializes in teaching etiquette classes to individuals, students, companies, and community organizations. Tami has spent decades studying cultures through her extensive travels across five continents and has created cultural diversity workshops to promote social justice and cross-cultural awareness. She holds a BA in Economics with a concentration in International Relations from Clark University. Tami studied at the Ophelia DeVore School of Charm and the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she earned her Image Consultant Certification.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

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Writing in cursive is a good skill to have if you’d like to handwrite a letter, a journal entry, or an invitation. Start by improving your writing skill by making adjustments. You can then practice lowercase and uppercase letters in cursive, working your way through the alphabet. Make sure you also perfect your technique by practicing once a day and challenging yourself to write long sentences or paragraphs in cursive.

Starting Off

• You should not write at a desk that is too low or too high for you. Make sure you do not have to crouch or strain yourself to sit comfortably at the desk.

• You can also use pencil to write in cursive, especially if you want the option of erasing your letters and starting again. Get a B pencil with a triangular barrel, as it will be softer on the paper and easier to write with.

• If you’d prefer plain paper so you have more room to try the flowing, loose movements of cursive, you can use it. However, it may be more difficult for you to make your letters uniform without lines on the paper.

• Angling the paper will make it easier for you to slant your letters as you write. In cursive, your letters should slant up and to the right by 35 degrees.

Use your non-writing hand to move the paper up as you write. This will ensure your writing is even and controlled. Guide the paper with your hand so you are always writing at an angle.

Grip the pen or pencil lightly at a 45 degree angle. The pen or pencil should rest on your middle finger and be held in place by your thumb and index finger. Maintain a loose, relaxed grip. Do not grip so tightly on the pen or pencil that your fingernails turn white or your fingers become stiff. [4] X Research source

Creating Lowercase Cursive Letters

Practice “a." Make a curved stroke upward from the bottom line to the dotted line. Then, do a rock backward to form the slanted “o” shape of the “a.” Touch the top of the dotted line at the end of the “o,” and swoop back down, ending the swoop below the dotted line. [5] X Research source

• Once you master "a" and "c," try doing letters that follow similar strokes like “d,” “q,” and “g.”

Try “i." To write “i” in cursive, make a stroke upward to the dotted line. Then, slide back down to the bottom line. End by putting the dot above the center of the “i,” just above the dotted line. [6] X Research source

• You can also try other letters that follow similar strokes, such as “w” and “t.”

Do “e." To write an “e,” start with a stroke upward from the bottom line. Then, curve downward, behind the upward stroke. End by extending the downward stroke just above the bottom line. [7] X Research source

• You can try other letters that follow similar strokes, such as “h,” “k,” “b,” “f,” and “j.”

Practice “n." Begin with an upward stroke to the dotted line, followed by a straight downward stroke to the bottom line. Then, make an upward stroke to the dotted line and curve it downward. End with a short swoop just above the bottom line. [8] X Research source

• Once you master these letters, try letters that follow similar strokes like “v” and “x.”

Doing Uppercase Cursive Letters

• An uppercase "A" in cursive is similar to a lowercase "a" in cursive. It should touch the top and bottom lines.

• The letters “O,” “M,” and “N” in uppercase follow the same strokes as lowercase. The only difference is that the uppercase letters cover more space on the line.

• An uppercase “B” is written very differently in cursive than a lowercase “b.” You may need to practice it a few times to get it right.

• An “E” in cursive looks a lot like a backwards “3.”

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Practice "L." Begin with a loop towards the right, just below the dotted line. Curve the loop upward until it touches the top line. Then, extend the stroke downward to the left until it hits the bottom line. Draw a small loop upward towards the right and then extend the stroke so it slopes just below the bottom line. [13] X Research source

Practice "Y." Start with a small loop that extends downward to the right. Curve the stroke to the bottom line and then pull it back up so it sits just above the dotted line. Draw a slanted line downward so it extends past the bottom line and then curve it upward towards the right. [14] X Research source

Perfecting Your Technique

• Look for letter guides online. You can also ask your instructors or teachers for letter guides.

• You can also try doing a pattern of a different letter on each line of the page.
• If you find certain letters difficult, challenge yourself to do a pattern of the letter.

• You can also try writing your name in cursive, especially if it is short.

• As a fun challenge, you can try writing out sentences or phrases that you like from books, songs, or movies in cursive as part of your practice.

Community Q&A

You need to practice more. Your hand is not used to writing differently, so it will take more time for it to get used to it. Also, don't worry about being able o write quickly right away; start slow, if you need to.

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Two consecutive upper case letters would not be joined together, but when an upper case letter is followed by a lower case letter, these are joined.

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You write them like you normally would, but slightly slanted to the right. You can find pictures if you search.

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Brush pens are often used for cursive lettering to achieve swooping, calligraphy-style lettering. However, you should stick to normal pens when starting out so you don't over-complicate things.

If you're really struggling with a certain letter, adapt it slightly to work for you. If you're stuck on a lowercase "b," for example, alter the form slightly to look more like a printed "b."

Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

• Practice with phrases that use nearly every letter of the alphabet, like "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," "The five boxing wizards jump quickly," or "Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow."
• Try using cursive instead of print in your everyday life. For example, take notes in cursive during class or write your grocery list in cursive.

Sample Alphabets and Practice Page

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1. ↑https://www.readingrockets.org/article/importance-teaching-handwriting
2. ↑https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/11/how-improve-your-handwriting
3. ↑http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/12/16/improve-your-cursive-handwriting/
4. ↑http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/12/16/improve-your-cursive-handwriting/
5. ↑http://www.kidzone.ws/cursive/
6. ↑http://www.kidzone.ws/cursive/
7. ↑http://www.kidzone.ws/cursive/
8. ↑http://www.kidzone.ws/cursive/
9. ↑http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive/animation/uppercase.htm

1. ↑http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive/animation/uppercase.htm
2. ↑http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive/animation/uppercase.htm
3. ↑http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive/animation/uppercase.htm
4. ↑http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive/animation/uppercase.htm
5. ↑http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive/animation/uppercase.htm
6. ↑https://libraryguides.centennialcollege.ca/c.php?g=712179&p=5076896
7. ↑http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/12/16/improve-your-cursive-handwriting/

About This Article

This article was reviewed by Tami Claytor. Tami Claytor is an Etiquette Coach, Image Consultant, and the Owner of Always Appropriate Image and Etiquette Consulting in New York, New York. With over 20 years of experience, Tami specializes in teaching etiquette classes to individuals, students, companies, and community organizations. Tami has spent decades studying cultures through her extensive travels across five continents and has created cultural diversity workshops to promote social justice and cross-cultural awareness. She holds a BA in Economics with a concentration in International Relations from Clark University. Tami studied at the Ophelia DeVore School of Charm and the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she earned her Image Consultant Certification. This article has been viewed 2,097,914 times.

To get started writing cursive, it helps to have the right materials. Use a pen with ink that flows smoothly, such as a felt-tip pen or a gel pen. You can also write cursive with a pencil, which will make it easier to fix mistakes as you learn. Choose writing paper with lines to help make sure that your writing comes out straight and the sizes and shapes of your letters stay consistent. If possible, get three-lined paper that has a dotted line in the middle of each set of solid lines. As you write, keep the paper tilted at a 35° angle, which will help give the letters the correct amount of slant. Keep a relaxed grip on the pen or pencil and hold it at a 45° angle relative to the paper. Practice writing the lower-case letters first, since these are the ones you’ll use the most often. You might find it helpful to use a cursive letter chart that shows the steps to write each letter. For example, when you’re writing a lower-case a on 3-lined paper, begin with an upward stroke that starts at the solid bottom line and curves up until it meets the dotted line in the middle, then goes back down slightly. Then, trace the line backwards, but this time swoop back up and around to meet the end of the first stroke. Swoop back down to make a curving “tail” that ends just before it meets the dotted line. After you’ve mastered the lower-case letters, get to know the upper-case ones. While some of them, like A, are basically bigger versions of the lower-case letters, others look completely different. For example, you’ll need to use a totally different technique to make an upper-case F from the method you use to write the lower-case version. Once you’re used to writing all the letters, it’s time to put them together. Part of what makes cursive different from print is that the letters connect, which helps the script flow smoothly while you’re writing. Practice writing connected rows of letters, then move on to writing out words and sentences in cursive. It may feel awkward at first, but with about 20 minutes of practice a day, you’ll soon be writing beautiful, flowing cursive. If you want to learn how to improve your penmanship while writing cursive, keep reading the article!