Cursive A

How to write uppercase A and lowercase a in cursive, one stroke at a time.

Cursive a is the first oval letter most people learn, and it sets up c, d, g, o and q. The lowercase is a closed oval with a short stem on its right side. The capital A here keeps the pointed shape of the printed letter, drawn with a curl at the start and a crossbar that flows into the exit tail. Both forms finish with an exit tail — the lowercase on the baseline, the capital at the midline — so a joins smoothly into any letter that follows.

Stroke family: Downcurve (oval) letters
Height: a is a short letter — it stays between the baseline and the midline. a and the other short letters
Joins the next letter: Lowercase: yes, from the baseline. Capital: yes. The baseline join a uses
Often confused with: cursive o, cursive d, cursive u

Print the A practice sheet Stroke by stroke

Cursive A and a: the pen path, drawn in order

How to write a lowercase a in cursive

Start at the midline; finish at the baseline, with an exit tail up to the midline. One continuous stroke.

Start at the midline. Curve back to the left and down (counter-clockwise) to the baseline, then round up the right side to close the oval back where you began.
Without lifting the pen, retrace straight down the right side of the oval to the baseline.
Finish with an undercurve that swings up to the midline — this tail is what connects to the next letter.

Lowercase cursive a — numbers mark where each part of the stroke begins

Capital cursive A

How to write a capital A in cursive

Start at the midline, on the left, with a small curl; finish at the midline, with an exit tail. Capital A ends with an exit stroke, so it joins the lowercase letter that follows without lifting the pen. A beside the other capitals that join

Start on the left at the midline with a small curl, then sweep up and to the right in one rising stroke to the top line.
From the top, slant straight down the right side to the baseline.
Lift the pen and add the crossbar: a level stroke through the middle of the letter, left to right, that runs on into an exit tail at the midline.

How to write cursive A: the pen path for uppercase A and lowercase a on ruled paper, with numbered steps on the lowercase a — Cursive A pen path — numbers on the lowercase a mark where each part begins; arrows show the direction.

Cursive A: uppercase A and lowercase a on ruled paper — Cursive A and a — blue top line, dashed midline, red baseline.

Common mistakes with cursive A

Leaving a gap at the top of the oval, which makes the letter read as a u.
Starting the retrace stroke too far left so a second bump appears and the letter looks like an o followed by an i.
Forgetting the exit tail — a lowercase a without its tail cannot connect and the word breaks apart.

Tips that help

Say "around, down, out" as you write: around the oval, down the stem, out to the next letter.
Keep the oval slightly tilted to the right so its slant matches the stem.

Practice words with a

Once the letter is comfortable on its own, write it inside words — that is where the joins happen. Watch how the exit tail of a rises to meet the next letter.

apple

and

alphabet

around

amazing

Want different words? Type a spelling list into the generator and print your own a sheet (letters A–Z and numbers, up to 24 lines of any length, US Letter or A4), or copy more words that use a from the word lists.

Free cursive A worksheet

Capital A and lowercase a: a model to copy, grey letters to write over, dotted letters to trace, two practice words, and blank rows to finish on your own. Prints on one US Letter page.

Prints on one US Letterpage. Choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog to download.

Cursive A practice sheet

Uppercase A · lowercase a · apple · and

Name ______________________ Date __________

Capital A

Lowercase a

Together

Words

On your own

cursivealphabet.pro — free cursive practice sheets

a and its stroke family

Downcurve (oval) letters begin at the midline with a counter-clockwise curve that rounds down and back up: a, d, g, o and q close the oval, c leaves it open. Master that curve once and you have six letters.

Families are also the order to learn in, rather than A to Z: the beginner’s guide covers when a is usually taught and the four strokes every letter is built from.

Cursive B →A in the whole alphabet

Cursive A questions

How do you write a lowercase a in cursive?

Start at the midline, curve counter-clockwise around to make an oval, close it at the top, retrace down the right side to the baseline, and finish with a short tail up to the midline. It is one continuous stroke.

How do you write a capital A in cursive?

Cursive capital A here keeps the pointed shape of the printed letter: a small curl on the left, a rising stroke to the top line, a slant down the right side, then a level crossbar added afterwards that runs into the exit tail. Some handwriting programs teach an enlarged lowercase a instead.

Does cursive capital A connect to the next letter?

Yes. The crossbar of capital A runs on into an exit tail at the midline, so it joins directly into the lowercase letter that follows, as in "Anna" or "April".

What are some good words to practise cursive a with?

Good practice words for cursive a are apple, and, alphabet, around and amazing. Close the oval of a each time before you move on; an oval left open at speed is the usual way it stops reading as a. Watch the height too: a should stop at the midline, level with the short letters either side of it. The practice sheet on this page rules the first two, apple and and; the worksheet generator will rule the rest.