How to Write T in Cursive

How to write a cursive capital T

The traditional capital T is built from two strokes: a slanted stem that hooks to the left at the baseline, and a separate wavy cap across the top line that usually starts with a small loop on the left.

Start: Just below the top line, a little right of the letter's center, for the stem.

1. 1Start slightly below the top line and pull a slanted downstroke toward the baseline, keeping the same slant as your lowercase letters.
2. 2Just above the baseline, curve the stem to the left and finish with a small upward curl, like a shallow cane handle lying on its side.
3. 3Lift the pencil. Move to the top line on the left side of the stem.
4. 4Make a small loop or hook, then draw a wavy stroke to the right along the top line: up slightly, dip, and rise again past the stem.
5. 5Check that the cap overhangs the stem on both sides, with a little more on the right, and that it does not touch the curl at the bottom.

Connecting: Traditional capital T does not join the next letter. After the cap, start the lowercase letter close to the stem's curl so the word doesn't gap. Some books teach the cap first and the stem second; either order gives the same finished shape.

How to write a cursive lowercase t

Lowercase cursive t rises from the baseline in an undercurve to a point well above the midline, retraces straight back down without a loop, swings out, and gets its cross only after the whole word is written.

Start: On the baseline, or wherever the previous letter's exit stroke ends. · Letter family: Undercurve letters, with i, u and w: all begin with the same rising stroke from the baseline.

1. 1From the baseline, make an undercurve that rises past the midline and stops about halfway to the top line.
2. 2Stop sharply at the top. Do not loop, because a looped t reads as a lowercase l.
3. 3Retrace straight down along the upstroke to the baseline, so the stem is a single doubled line for most of its height.
4. 4At the baseline, curve out to the right with an undercurve that rises toward the midline, ready for the next letter.
5. 5When the word is finished, go back and cross the t with a short horizontal stroke just above the midline.

Connecting: Lowercase t joins on both sides. It picks up from the previous letter's exit and leaves with a baseline undercurve, and the cross is added later so the pen never stops mid-word.

Joining t to other letters

• thth: The t exits at the baseline and the undercurve has to climb all the way to the top line to make the h loop. Make that connecting stroke long and steep, and keep the h loop clearly taller than the t spike.
• tttt: Write both stems first as two retraced spikes of equal height, then cross them with one continuous bar. One bar across both is the traditional way and keeps 'letter' and 'butter' tidy.
• stst: Coming out of the closed s, the exit stroke heads straight up to the t's height instead of the midline. Keep the s peak at the midline so the two points don't end up the same size.
• tete: The t exit should reach the midline and then loop back for the e. If the exit is too flat, the e loop collapses into the t's stem and the pair looks like a single wide letter.

Common mistakes with cursive T

• Looping the lowercase t like an l

  Stop at the top and retrace down the same line. The only looped tall letters in this position are l, h, k, b and f; a loop makes 'tell' look like 'lell'.

• Making the t as tall as the loop letters

  Stop the spike about halfway between the midline and top line. A shorter t is how readers tell 'title' apart from a row of l's even before the crosses go on.

• Stopping to cross each t as you go

  Finish the word first, then cross every t in one pass. Crossing mid-word breaks the rhythm and usually leaves a gap where you lifted.

• Letting the capital T's cap sag onto the stem

  Keep the cap on the top line with clear space above the stem's start. If the cap touches the stem, the letter starts to read as a capital F without its crossbar.

Easily confused with: Cursive capital T is easily mistaken for capital F, which is the same stem and cap plus a short crossbar through the middle. A lowercase t written too tall or with a loop reads as l, and an uncrossed t can look like an i without its dot.

Practice words with t

• Tuesday
• Thomas
• letter
• the
• little
• street

Cursive T: questions