Learning to Write in Cursive
It seems like, with every year, the skill of writing in cursive is slowly becoming a thing of the past. With people building such close relationships with computers and gadgets, the need for writing is falling short. Even in education, we start to rely on computers more and more. Still, learning how to write in the script is a valuable skill to have, and it can be necessary for so many unpredictable situations. Also, when you have beautiful cursive handwriting, you can always brag about it in handwritten characters. Even more, you can even do journaling without fear of not understanding what you were saying. That’s already a lot.
Overall, it’s never late to master your handwriting techniques. So, here is how to write in cursive for beginners step by step guide. Hope you will find it helpful in your journey.
Get Ready for the Lessons to Learn Cursive Writing
When learning how to do cursive writing, you need to do some preparations first. So, before you start, you need the right instruments and materials. Obviously, you should have a pen and a piece of paper. In addition, if you want to be more professional about it, you should get the right tools for your practice. So, first, you need cursive writing sheets. Basically, this is lined paper, with an additional dotted line in the middle. This middle line will help you create equal-sized letters when you practice. Of course, any lined paper will do if you can’t find the cursive writing sheets.
Next, you need a good ink pen. Choose pens with dark ink, like black or blue, so it’s easier to see them. Ink pens are better than gel ones since they release the fluid more smoothly and even than the rest. You can use a pencil if you’d like. Just keep it sharp, though. Also, seek some examples of fronts that you can copy in your practice. Some cursive sheets even come with character examples at the beginning of each page.
Once you have everything you need, get ready to start. For that, you need to find a comfortable position at your desk. Sit straight. Have the elbow of your writing hand on the table for extra stability. Have good lighting, so you won’t tire your eyes. Place a paper at the needed angle (right-handed - right angle on top) to help yourself with the letter tilt. Your non-writing hand should be on the paper, holding and moving it up when necessary. That’s it! You’ve just learned the first lesson in how to write in a cursive step-by-step guide. Let’s move to the lessons on how to write cursive letters now.
Work Your Way through the Alphabet
You can’t just decide and start writing in cursive right away. At least, you won’t be perfect at it, to put it softly. Hence, you have to practice. The best way here is to master each character individually before you begin to unite them in words and words into sentences.
So, there is no other way of learning how to write the alphabet in cursive but working through each letter in the alphabet, one by one. You can’t take a shortcut here or leave some of the letters behind just because. You will need to practice all the signs as it’s the only way to master every detail, twist, and shape. Overall, the best tip here is to start with lowercase and move on to uppercase only when you are done with the former.
Cursive Writing: Lowercase Letters
Learning how to write in cursive lowercase letters is not that difficult. All you need to do is to follow the examples. Now, it’s best to start in alphabetical order. This way, you won’t miss any letters and stay better organized throughout your practice. Besides, the beginning of the alphabet is pretty easy to master. a, b, c, d, - are the ones you should not fear much. However, if you struggle with those, start with u, or o, as these are the easiest ones in the entire alphabet. You can do them in one easy stroke.
Most lowercase letters will only take half of the line (that’s where the midline will be really helpful). Only a few will take the entire space from the bottom to the top. However, these letters, such as b, d, f, h, etc., should take exactly that space without reaching over the lines. Only a few examples here, such as g, p, or q, will take half of the space below the bottom line.
Cursive Writing: Uppercase Letter
Once you feel comfortable about your lowercase skills, you can do an upgrade to the uppercase letters. Now, this practice will be a bit harder to master as these letters grow in their complexity. For example, there are many more curved lines and volumes. Still, with a little bit of time and some good examples at hand, you’ll nail them pretty soon. Also, keep in mind that uppercase means you have to start from the bottom line (or below) and end at the top line in all cases.
If you want to start with the easiest characters, you can begin with C, E, G, L, and O. They are not much different from their lowercase versions. Only after those, can you move on to R, J, I, F, and similar more complex letters. Also, keep in mind that most of these uppercase letters will vary in writing style depending on the font you choose to use.
How to Do Cursive Letters: Final Tips
Before everything else, you want to keep your pages neat. Of course, there is no way you can avoid errors during your first few tries. However, try not to cover up your mistakes or create a mess on your lines. It’s best to keep it clean, so you can see your progress and weak spots. Also, messy pages may appear when you are rushing too much or not being forgiven for your mistakes. So, learn to trust the process and don’t push yourself too hard. It's better to go slower but further.
Also, cursive writing is a lot about your control over the pen. For example, don’t press it too much. You don’t need the pressure to write beautifully. In fact, you need a relaxed hand to do that. Somehow, people always tend to apply too much pressure at first, as if it can make letters listen to you better. It won’t. Keep that grip a bit loose. Also, find a perfect grip on your pen. You should be comfortable holding it and maintaining a slight angle when writing.
Here are some more tips to make your cursive writing easier:
- don’t overdo it and don’t be too harsh with yourself;
- pace yourself. Take your time to master each character;
- pick a font early on and stick to it;
- if you find this practice hard, start with simple letters, like u and o;
- try tracing letters, if you can find pages with such markings;
- practice regularly for at least 15 minutes per day.
Overall, there are multiple ways you can practice. With time, you will find ways that help you focus and perform at your best. However, at first, we recommend sticking to these tips. Thus, at the very least, you can avoid making mistakes during your first lessons.
The Bottom Line on How to Write in Cursive
Those who want to improve or master cursive writing should definitely give it a try. Learning how to write in cursive can even be a nice hobby to entertain you after a long day at work. This task requires a lot of attention and precision. Yet, it has the ability to distract your mind and almost put you in a meditative state of mind. Also, it’s fair to mention that beautiful handwriting is a talent many people desire, and only a few have. So, your hard work here will definitely pay off with the first beautiful handwritten card or journal entry.
Overall, we hope this guide will be of use to you, and you will reach the level of proficiency that you want to very soon. We wish you good luck!