How to write a cursive m

Forming the cursive m

m is a three-beat letter and the rhythm is what keeps it distinct from n, so count the arches out loud as they are written. Every arch bottom must actually touch the baseline, because those touch points are what the eye reads. Lead-in is an overcurve, exit leaves from the baseline.

Start: On the baseline, at the left

1. Overcurve lead-in: rise from the baseline and arch over at the midline
2. Come down the far side of the first arch to the baseline
3. Retrace up the same line to the midline, arch over the second hump and come back down to the baseline
4. Retrace up the same line to the midline, arch over the third hump and come back down to the baseline
5. Undercurve exit at the baseline, swinging away toward the next letter

How it joins

The cursive m 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 m 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

• Only two humps are written, and m becomes n, count them aloud while writing.
• The humps never quite reach the baseline, so the letter floats and reads as a wavy line.
• The three humps come out at different widths, which is the most visible legibility fault in this letter and in n, u and w.
• The retrace between humps is skipped, leaving daylight between them so m breaks into separate strokes.

Letters that move the same way

Arched overcurve letters: An overcurve lead-in: a shallow rise from the baseline that arches over at the midline before dropping to the baseline again. The arch is rounded in m and n, pointed in v, and used once as a launcher in x, y and z.

nvxyz

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 m page covers that form, andwhen cursive is usually taughtexplains why the timing varies so much.