Do Cursive Capitals Connect?

The short answer

In traditional cursive about half the capitals join the next letter and the other half do not, and the dividing line is the last stroke. A capital that finishes with a low undercurve on the baseline has an exit stroke to carry into the lowercase letter, so it joins. A capital that finishes at the top line or on a closing curve has nothing low to leave from, so the model tells you to lift the pen and start the next letter beside it.

The lists below follow the individual cursive letter pages, where each capital has its own description of the join.

X sits in the middle: in many books the first stroke of the X leads into the next letter and the crossing stroke is added later, in others the model lifts. Look at your own chart.

Note that some letters change status between models. Zaner-Bloser and D’Nealian disagree about a handful, and Palmer-trained writers may join or lift differently again. Treat the table as the traditional pattern, not a universal law.

The capitals that join

A, C, E. These finish with a rounded undercurve on the baseline. A’s last stroke becomes the lead-in to the lowercase letter, so “An”, “Ca” and “Em” come out in one piece. Palmer-style A is sometimes pointed at the top, which does not change the join.

H, K, R. Their last stroke is a curve that swings toward the right at the baseline. “Ha”, “Ke” and “Ro” flow without a lift. Older forms start with a small hook or loop at the top of the stem, which is an entry detail, not a change in the join.

J, Y, Z. The three descender capitals finish with a loop below the line and a rising exit stroke, which carries into the next letter. “Jo”, “Yes” and “Zoe” join smoothly, as long as the loop crosses at the baseline. See the descender joins page for the crossing point.

L, M, N, U. All four end on a low undercurve. A tall L takes its baseline loop into “La” or “Lu”, and M and N lead into the lowercase with an undercurve, as in “Ma”, “Ni” and “Un”.

The capitals that stop

O, V, W. The O closes with a small inner loop at the top, and V and W end at the top line. There is no low exit. Lift, then start the lowercase letter close beside the capital, at the baseline for “Vi” and “Wi” and at the midline for “Oa” and “Ol”. Since the lowercase o, v and w use a bridge, the pair follows the rules on the oh joins page after the second letter.

B, D, P, F. B, D and P all finish on a bowl or a hooked stroke that points away from the next letter. F ends with a crossbar added afterward. In “Beth”, “David”, “Paul” and “Fred” the lowercase letter starts close to the capital, about one narrow letter-width away.

G, Q, S, T. G and Q usually finish with a tail or a hook, S with a final curl, and T with a cap added after the stem. Each is followed by a pen lift. A simplified G or S in modern programmes sometimes ends on the baseline and does connect.

I. Its last stroke ends at the midline heading right across the letter, so the traditional I stops. D’Nealian’s I, being closer to print, also stops. Starting with a small loop, as Palmer-trained writers do, makes no difference to the join.

How to connect a capital that joins

1. Finish the capital’s last curve on the baseline. If it ends above the line, the next letter starts too high.
2. Carry on in one motion. The exit is a normal undercurve, the same size as any lowercase exit.
3. Start the lowercase letter in its usual place. After the exit, the letter begins at the baseline, or at the midline for a, c, d, g or q.
4. Keep the capital twice as tall as a small letter. Heights matter more than joins for readability.

For example, in “Mark” the final stroke of the M rises into the a, the a exits low into the r, and so on. The join into the a is a bottom-to-top join, covered on the baseline joins page.

How to handle a capital that does not join

The aim is to look intentional, not gappy.

1. Lift cleanly. Do not drag a stray stroke across.
2. Place the next letter close. The gap should be about the width of a narrow lowercase letter, not a full letter space.
3. Match the baseline and slant. The capital and the lowercase letter should look like members of the same word.
4. Add the finishing strokes later. The cross of an F or T and the cap of a T are done after the word, as you would dot an i.

Names, initials and signatures

The real test of capitals comes in names. “Olivia” and “Oscar” start with O, and the pen lifts after it, so the O sits slightly apart. “Jordan”, “Kate” and “Maya” start with capitals that connect, so the whole name flows in one stroke. Mixed pairs such as “Beth” and “Ruth” show the contrast in a single line.

Signatures and personal writing often ignore the model. Adults commonly join capitals that the model lifts, or lift ones that it joins, and nobody counts it as a mistake as long as the name is readable. If you are writing a formal address, an envelope or a form, readability matters more than purity, and a small gap after the capital is often clearer than a long connecting stroke.

Practice list

• Joining capitals: Anna, Carla, Ethan, Hannah, Jack, Kevin, Laura, Maria, Nora, Ruth, Uma, Yara, Zoe.
• Lifting capitals: Beth, David, Fiona, Grace, Isla, Olivia, Paula, Quinn, Sara, Tom, Victor, Walter.
• Mixed names: “Henry Davis”, “Maya Brooks”, “Olivia Reed”.

Write each name three times, once slowly, once at normal speed, and once with your eyes only on the page. Check that the capital is the same height each time. Then compare with the cursive joins overview to see where each type of connector fits into the whole system.