Common cursive mistakes and how to fix them
When cursive looks messy, the cause is usually one of a few habits. Find the habit and fix that, and the handwriting improves as a whole.
1. The slant changes along the line
What it looks like: some letters lean right, some stand upright, and a few fall backward.
Why it happens: the paper is square to the desk, or the writer is reaching across the page and the angle of the hand changes.
The fix: tilt the paper, and slide it up as you write instead of moving your hand across it. Practice on the medium ruled paper with slant lines until you can feel an even lean without the guides. The guide to paper angle explains how.
2. Ovals that are not closed
What it looks like: an a with a gap at the top reads as a u or an o. A d that does not close looks like a cl.
The fix: the oval letters, a, d, g, q, c and o, all start with the same oval. Practice it on its own. The pen goes up and over to the left, round the bottom, and up the right side until it meets the start. Slow down at the top, where the two ends should meet.
3. The loop of the e is filled in
What it looks like: a solid dot where the e should have a small open loop, so e looks like i or l.
The fix: the e is a small loop, and it needs to stay open. Use a lighter touch and a sharper pencil, and slow down on that loop. Writing it a little larger than you want to helps, and you can shrink it later.
4. Wrong number of humps in n, m and u
What it looks like: a word like minimum becomes a wave of identical bumps that nobody can read.
The fix: count out loud. n has two humps, m has three and u has two dips. Write the word slowly and count each shape. Writing the word minimum, or the letters in mum and nun, over and over is boring, but it is the quickest cure.
5. Letters that float above the baseline
What it looks like: the letters in a word drift up and down so the line looks bumpy.
The fix: use ruled paper with a clear baseline, and make every join end exactly on it. If the writing climbs, the joins are probably too steep. If it sinks, the writer is probably tired or pressing too hard.
6. Tall letters that are not tall enough
What it looks like: an l the same height as an e, or a b that looks like an h with a hump. Words become difficult to read because the tall letters carry the shape of the word.
The fix: the tall letters, b, d, f, h, k, l and t, should reach up to the topline. The t is shorter, about three quarters of the way up. The small letters should stay at the midline. On ruled paper with a dotted midline, check each word by looking for the tops. The letter l is a good one to practice, since it is only a loop and the height is the whole point.
7. Joins that are too long, too short or missing
What it looks like: letters crowd into each other, or sit apart in a row of separate letters like print.
The fix: a join should be short and curved, about the width of a small letter. Practice pairs, not single letters. The guide to joins covers the three patterns, and the letter joins sheet has pairs to trace.
8. Crossing the t and dotting the i too early
What it looks like: the crossbar of the t floats off to one side, or the dot sits far from the i, because the pen stopped part way through the word.
The fix: finish the whole word first. Then go back and cross the t's and dot the i's from left to right. That keeps the flow of the word and lets you place the marks squarely over the letters. Put the dot directly above the i, and cross the t at the same height every time.
9. The r and the s look alike
What it looks like: a word like sore turns into a row of small peaks.
The fix: the r rises to the midline, slides right along it in a short flat shoulder and then slants down to the baseline, while the s rises to the midline and then curves back on itself without a flat top. Practice them side by side in the pairs rs and sr, and slow down at the top of each one.
10. Pressing too hard, or writing too fast
What it looks like: shaky lines, a sore hand and letters that get worse as the page goes on.
The fix: loosen the grip, and write with the whole forearm. Speed comes after the shapes are accurate, not before. If you notice the writing deteriorating halfway down the page, take a break and shake out your hand.
How to check your own writing
Write the same short sentence, such as The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, once a week. It uses every letter in the alphabet. Keep the pages, and compare them after a month. The improvement is easier to see on paper than in the moment. When one letter keeps going wrong, go to its page, watch the animation, and trace the sheet again. The mistake is usually in the first stroke.