Three styles of handwriting
Children usually move through three styles. The letter shapes are the same in all three; what changes is how the letters connect.
The four letter families
Lowercase letters are grouped by the movement they start with. Learning one letter of a family makes the others easier.
Long ladder · l i t u j y
Start at the top and go straight down, then flick out at the bottom. The dot on i and j comes last.
Curly caterpillar · c a d o g q e s f
Start at the top right, just under the line, and curve round anticlockwise. This is the movement for c, and then for a, d, g and q with an extra line.
One-armed robot · r n m h b p k
Go down the stem, come back up the same line, then go over to make the arch or bowl.
Zig-zag · v w x z
Straight diagonal lines, starting at the top.
Starting points and direction
Most lowercase letters start at the top: tall letters at the top line and small letters at the middle line. The curly caterpillar letters start a little to the right and go round anticlockwise; e starts in the middle and goes across first.
Getting the start and the direction right matters more than neatness at first: it is what makes writing fast and comfortable later, and it is what makes joining possible.
How letters join
In joined writing the exit flick of one letter becomes the join to the next.
Diagonal joins
From the baseline, the join rises diagonally to where the next letter starts: up to the middle line for small letters and up to the top for tall ones.
Horizontal joins
Letters that end at the top (o, r, v, w) join straight across to the next letter.
Letters that don't join (semi-joined)
In semi-joined writing there is no join after b, f, g, j, p, q, s and y: lift the pencil and leave a small gap.
Common mistakes
- Writing b and d the wrong way round: remember that d starts like c (curly caterpillar), b starts with the tall stem (one-armed robot).
- Starting o, a or d at the bottom, or going clockwise. They start at the top right and go anticlockwise.
- Building letters from separate pieces, such as a circle plus a stick for a, instead of one movement.
- Capital letters in the middle of words.
- Tall letters that don't reach the top line, or tails that don't go below the baseline.
Tips for parents and teachers
- Little and often: five to ten minutes a day beats one long session.
- Sit at a table with feet flat on the floor and the paper slightly tilted.
- Hold the pencil between thumb and first finger, resting on the middle finger (tripod grip).
- Praise good starting points and directions before neatness.
- Use your child's own words (their name, this week's spellings): it keeps practice meaningful.
Teachers can check every letter's stroke order on the stroke-order reference.