How to write a cursive y

Forming the cursive y

y is the first arch of n with a descender hung on the end of it. The contrast worth drilling is y against g: g opens with a downcurve oval, y opens with an arch, and everything below the baseline is identical. 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 arch to the baseline
3. Curve along the baseline and rise back up to the midline, pausing there
4. Retrace straight back down and carry on through the baseline into the descender space
5. Swing the tail round to the LEFT and bring it back up to the baseline
6. Undercurve exit at the baseline, swinging away toward the next letter

How it joins

The cursive y 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 y 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 tail loops to the right, which gives a shape belonging to q rather than y.
• The first stroke is arched too roundly and closes over, so y reads as g.
• The tail does not come back up to the baseline, so the next letter starts below the line.
• The descender is drawn too long and tangles with the writing below.

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.

mnvxz

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