A in Cursive: How to Write It
Lowercase a is the oval family: the same opening as c, d, g, o, and q. Close the oval or the letter reads as a u. The sample is an open-source cursive font; your hand will round it differently.
a
The letterforms on this page are rendered in Cedarville Cursive, an open-source font — school styles like Zaner-Bloser or D'Nealian differ in details. Treat the steps as the source of truth for stroke order; let the sample show you one possible shape.
Write it step by step
- 1Start the cursive a on the baseline. Swing up to the midline, then roll left and around into a small oval.
- 2Close the oval where the stroke meets itself near the midline. An open gap here is what turns a into a u.
- 3Pull a short downstroke to the baseline and exit to the right, ready to join the next letter.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving the oval open. If you can see daylight on the right side, the a collapses into a u the moment you speed up.
- Starting at the top, like a print a. Cursive a enters from the baseline so it can connect from the letter before it.
- A huge oval that crashes into the headline. The bowl of a lives between the baseline and the midline, not up in l territory.
Practice words
apple · and · cat · rain · happy
Turn this letter into a practice sheet
Opens a cursive tracing sheet with this lesson's words filled in. Download the PDF and print it.
See this letter on the alphabet chart and download the sheet →
Frequently asked questions
Does a cursive a connect on both sides?
Yes. The entry comes up from the previous letter, and the short exit on the baseline runs into the next one. That is why a feels easy inside a word and awkward when you write it alone.
Why does my cursive a look like a u?
The oval never closed. Slow down at the top of the bowl and make the stroke touch itself before you drop to the baseline. A closed a stays an a even when the ink is light.
Is the cursive a the same stroke as o?
They share the roll-over opening. o stops as a closed circle; a adds the short downstroke and the exit. Practice a and o on the same line so the shared start becomes automatic.
Voice to Handwriting · voicetohandwriting.online