How to write a cursive z

Forming the cursive z

The detail children miss is that the second arch is only half the height of the first, mark that half-height point on the practice line and it usually fixes itself. z is also the rarest letter in English, so it needs revisiting long after the others are automatic. 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 and pause there
3. Retrace back up the same line, but only about halfway to the midline
4. Arch over to the right at that half height and come back down to the baseline
5. Carry straight on through the baseline into the descender space and loop round to the LEFT
6. Bring the loop back up to the baseline and leave on the undercurve exit toward the next letter

How it joins

The cursive z 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 z 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 second arch is taken to full midline height, which turns z into a misshapen n or y.
• The descender loop is dropped altogether out of print habit, leaving the letter sitting on the baseline with no tail.
• The tail loops to the right instead of the left.
• A printed zig-zag z is substituted, which has no lead-in or exit and cannot be joined.

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.

mnvxy

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