The first cursive letters all start with an undercurve, the swing up you met in The Basic Cursive Strokes: i, t, u and w.
- i: undercurve up to the middle line, slant down, undercurve out.
- t: undercurve up higher, almost to the top line, slant back down, undercurve out.
- u: i twice without the dots: up, down, up, down, out.
- w: like u, then up once more, ending with a little bridge at the middle line.
Key idea
Undercurve, slant down, undercurve out. Dot the i and cross the t after the whole word is written.
Why it works
Waiting to dot and cross keeps the pencil moving through the word. Then you go back once and add every dot and cross.
Worked example: Write it in cursive
In what order do you write the word it?
- Undercurve up to the middle line, slant down, undercurve: that is i without its dot.
- Keep going: undercurve up for t, slant down, undercurve out.
- Lift the pencil. Dot the i. Cross the t.
Answer: Write the whole word, then the dot and the cross.
Common mistake
Stopping to dot i and cross t in the middle of a word, or making t as tall as l. Check: the top of t stops a little below the top line.
For the grown-up. Palmer teaches i, u and t together; see the guide for small i, u and t. Left-handed writers make the same strokes; the paper tilts the other way.