How to write a cursive w

Forming the cursive w

w is the hardest of the four high-exit letters, because its body is built from up-and-down swings that all land on the baseline and then the exit has to break that pattern and stay high. Teach it last, and let the child say 'and hold' as the exit leaves. Lead-in is an undercurve.

Start: On the baseline, at the left

1. Undercurve lead-in rising from the baseline to the midline
2. Come down on a slant to the baseline, forming the first valley
3. Rise back up to the midline
4. Come down on a slant to the baseline, forming the second valley
5. Rise back up to the midline
6. Level midline exit: a short, near-flat stroke that leaves at midline height instead of dropping to the baseline

How it joins

The cursive w is one of four letters that finish high, at the midline, rather than dropping to the baseline. The others are b, o, v and w. This is what makes them the connectors children find hardest.

A letter following w has to start from the midline instead of rising from the baseline, so its shape changes slightly. That is normal and is worth pointing out explicitly, because a child who has only ever practised letters in isolation will try to start the next letter from the baseline and produce a broken join.

Our sheets currently draw w with a baseline exit, which is a legitimate and widely taught join, so the letters connect cleanly. If your school teaches the high exit, use these sheets for the letter shape and teach the join separately.

Common mistakes

• The exit is dropped to the baseline, so w reads as uu or ui.
• Three valleys are written instead of two, and the letter dissolves into a run of u shapes.
• The valleys are rounded off rather than pointed, which makes w indistinguishable from a doubled u.
• The exit sags during the join, which shows up most in 'wh' and 'wa' at the start of common words.

Letters that move the same way

Undercurve valley letters: Repeated undercurve swings between the baseline and the midline, dipping at the bottom rather than arching at the top. These are the letters most often confused with the arched pair n and m, and drilling the two groups against each other is the fastest way to fix that.

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