How to write a cursive n

Forming the cursive n

Teach n and m together as two-beat and three-beat versions of the same movement, then set both against u and w so the child feels the difference between arching over and dipping under. 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. Undercurve exit at the baseline, swinging away toward the next letter

How it joins

The cursive n 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 n 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

• A third hump creeps in and n becomes m.
• The arches are pointed rather than rounded, which pushes n toward a v shape.
• The bottoms flatten out and never touch the baseline, so the letter has no visible feet.
• n and u are muddled: n arches OVER at the top, u dips DOWN at the bottom, and the two feel completely different in the hand.

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.

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