How to write a cursive a

Forming the cursive a

a is the downcurve lead-in plus a retraced short stem, and it leaves from the baseline on a rising diagonal, so it joins easily into anything that follows. Ask for a definite pause at the one o'clock point before the stem comes down, that pause is what teaches the pencil to go back down the same line rather than alongside it.

Start: On the baseline, just left of where the oval will sit

1. Undercurve lead-in: rise from the baseline to the midline and stop at roughly the one o'clock position on the rim of the oval
2. Downcurve: roll back over the top of the oval and carry on counter-clockwise round its outside, finishing on the baseline
3. Run right along the baseline, then take the line back up the right-hand side of the oval to seal it at the midline
4. Retrace: come straight back down the right-hand side, keeping the pencil on the line you have just drawn rather than beside it
5. Undercurve exit at the baseline: leave the baseline on a rising diagonal toward the next letter

How it joins

The cursive a finishes on the baseline with an undercurve, which is exactly where the next letter begins. That is why cursive can be written without lifting the pencil: the exit of one letter is the entry of the next. Practise a inside a word rather than on its own as soon as the shape is reliable, because the join is the part that actually needs practice.

Common mistakes

• The oval is left open at the top, so the letter reads as u, or as c followed by i.
• The stem is drawn beside the oval instead of on top of it. The thin white sliver that opens up is what makes a look like ci or oi in a finished word.
• The turn at one o'clock is rounded off, so there is no straight edge to retrace down and the oval bulges out to the right.
• The child starts at the top of the oval out of print habit, which leaves no lead-in stroke for the previous letter to join into.

Letters that move the same way

Counter-clockwise oval letters: A downcurve lead-in: rise from the baseline to about the one o'clock position on the letter body, then roll back over the top and travel counter-clockwise round the outside of an oval down to the baseline. What happens after the oval, a short stem, a tall stem, a tail, or a level exit, is all that separates these six.

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Print first, then cursive

Cursive is usually introduced once print handwriting is automatic, typically around third grade. If a child is still thinking about how to form printed letters, adding a second script makes both harder. Theprinted a page covers that form, andwhen cursive is usually taughtexplains why the timing varies so much.