The Alphabet
Forming Letters
The dots and arrows below will show you exactly how each letter is formed. Keep in mind that one of the main
goals of cursive is speed. For that reason, many of these letters can be created without ever lifting your pen off the
page! There are a few exceptions (for example: F, t, T), and those exceptions have been marked with numbered
dots.
Cursive Exemplar | © The Postman's Knock | Page 1
Letter Connections
Cursive is all about connections: you can connect all lowercase letters to the letters positioned before or after
them.
Most letters have a final stroke that finishes near the baseline (the bottom guideline that you use to keep your
cursive from sloping up or down. It’s usually easy to figure out how to connect those letters to other letters. For
example, in the word “in”, the i connects to the n at the red circle below:
Other letter connections aren’t so easy to figure out because the letter ends higher than the baseline. Examples
of such letters include b, o, v, and w. Here are examples of how you can connect those letters to letters that are
positioned after them:
Over half of the capital letters connect to the lowercase letter that comes after it. Those letters include: A, C, E, H,
I, J, K, L, M, N, Q, R, S, U, X, Y, and Z. Here’s an example:
B, D, F, G, O, P, T, V, and W do not connect to the letter that follows. Here’s an example:
Crossing the i’s and Dotting the t’s
Since cursive concerns itself with efficiency, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that you should wait to dot
your i’s (and j’s) and cross your t’s (and F’s) after you’ve written the entire word. For example, if you write a
phrase like “itty bitty”, it should start out looking like example 1, and end up looking like example 2.
example 1 example 2
How to Learn Cursive
The only way to learn cursive is to practice it. The good news is you are familiar with a lot of the letters from
print! The letterforms that you’re not familiar with can be memorized ... try paying special attention to F, G, I, Q,
S, Z, b, r, s, and z.
Using cursive for practical, everyday tasks can help it to become second nature. Use it to write out your grocery
lists, short notes, or addresses on envelopes! Feel free to reference the exemplars on the previous page as you
write; they can really help to remind you how to make letters. At first, you’ll probably write very slowly as you try
to remember letter formations and connections. After a few days, though, you’ll get the hang of it!
Cursive Exemplar | © The Postman's Knock | Page 2
