How to write the letter Q

Forming the capital Q

Q is the one capital that does not stay entirely inside the top-line-to-baseline band in most published models: its tail crosses or drops past the baseline. If your sheets state that every capital sits on the baseline, either footnote Q or use the variant that keeps the tail tucked inside the oval, programs genuinely differ. Lowercase q descends with its whole stem, which is a useful contrast to name.

Start: Top line, at the centre of the letter space

1. Make a closed O: from the top centre, curl left and down counter-clockwise all the way round and back to the starting point.
2. Lift, then add a short straight tail on the lower right of the oval, slanting down and to the right and stopping on the baseline.

Forming the lowercase q

The circle is the same one used for a, d and g, so the tail is the only thing to learn: q runs straight down, or kicks slightly right, while g curls back to the left. Most sequences hold q until late because it is rare in words and easy to reverse.

Start: Just below the midline at the upper right of the letter space

1. Make a complete counter-clockwise circle: up and left to the midline, over the top, down the left side, along the baseline and back up to seal at the starting dot.
2. Set the pen on the midline at the right-hand edge of the circle and draw straight down through the baseline into the descender space, ending either straight or with a small kick to the right depending on the style you have chosen.

Common mistakes with q

These are the errors that actually show up on the page, rather than a generic list. Watching for them while a child writes is far more useful than correcting the finished sheet.

• Flipping the letter into p.
• Curling the tail back to the left, which turns it into g.
• Keeping the tail above the baseline, which leaves the letter reading as a.
• Running the circle clockwise, or placing it on the wrong side of the stem.

And with the capital Q

• Attaching the tail on the left of the oval, or up at the top.
• Drawing the tail flat instead of slanting it down and to the right.
• An oval left open, so the letter looks like a C with a stray mark beside it.
• Forgetting the tail altogether and producing an O.
• A tail so long it runs into the letter that follows.

Letters that move the same way

Letters that begin with a counter-clockwise curve: The pen starts just below the midline at the upper right of the letter space and travels counter-clockwise, up and left to the midline, over the top and down the left side. c leaves the shape open, o closes it, a/d/g/q close it and add a line on the right, and s reverses direction halfway down. Teaching c properly buys most of this family for free.

Teaching these together is more efficient than working through the alphabet in order, because the hand is learning one movement rather than several unrelated ones.

coadgs

Practise Q with words

Once the letter is reliable on its own, move to words that start with it. Letters learned in isolation often fall apart the first time a child has to join them to anything.