Neat writing sits on the baseline, the way books sit on a shelf. Each letter also stays its own size: tall, short or tail, as in Tall, Short and Tail Letters.
Key idea
Every letter touches the baseline, and only tails go below it.
Why it works
When letters sit on one line, the eye can slide along the line smoothly. A floating or giant letter makes a reader stop and look twice.
Worked example: Find the problem
In Ava’s line, each word is a little bigger than the one before. What can she do?
- Look at the lines: short letters should stop at the middle line every time.
- Her letters grow past it near the end.
- She can slow down and check the middle line as she goes.
Answer: Keep short letters at the middle line all the way across.
Common mistake
Letters drifting up at the end of a line, or growing bigger as you go. Check: run your finger along the baseline. Every letter should touch it.
For the grown-up. Wide-ruled paper with a dotted middle line helps most at this stage; the Practice sheets page prints it in three sizes.