Basic strokes of cursive writing for Indian school children

Most children try to write the full letter on the first day. This is not wrong exactly, but it does make progress slower. Each cursive letter is built from one or two basic strokes. A child who knows the strokes first picks up new letters faster, and can correct height problems on their own because they can see which stroke went wrong.

These five strokes cover most of what happens in cursive writing on Indian four-line ruling.

What are the basic strokes of cursive writing?

The five basic strokes are the upstroke, downstroke, loop, arch and oval. Together they make up almost every cursive letter. Practising them on the four-line ruling trains the hand to move the right way and land at the right height before the letters themselves become the thing to focus on.

Upstroke

The upstroke is a thin line that goes up from the writing line, line 3, into the middle space. For small letters like i, u and w, it goes only as high as line 2. For tall letters like h and l, it goes all the way to line 1.

The key thing is that the stroke starts at line 3 and goes up, not down. Children who start at the top and drag down miss the upstroke and the letter looks shaky.

Downstroke

The downstroke is the opposite: a firm line pulling from line 1 or line 2 straight down to line 3. For letters like l, b and d, the downstroke gives the tall stem. For the tail letters like g and y, the stroke continues from line 3 down into line 4.

A good downstroke is what makes a capital letter look settled on the four lines. If capitals look wobbly, check whether the downstroke is vertical or drifting sideways.

Arch

The arch goes up from line 3, curves at the top and comes back down. It is the backbone of letters like m, n and h. The top of the arch in a small letter like m sits at line 2, not at line 1. Children often arch too high and the small letters start crowding into the capital space.

Draw one arch, then two arches connected. That is the letter m. Three connected arches make a good practice row before trying the full letter.

Oval

The oval is a circle drawn slightly tilted. It forms the body of a, d, g and q. On Indian four-line ruling the oval sits between lines 2 and 3, which is the middle space. It should not float above line 3 or sit below it.

Many children draw ovals that are either too round or too flat. A good oval looks like a slightly squashed circle tilted a little to the right. The left side should touch line 2 at the top and line 3 at the bottom.

Loop

The loop is a stroke that goes up, crosses back over itself and comes down or connects to the next letter. The lowercase l has a loop at the top. The g and j have loops at the bottom in line 4.

Loops need to stay small. A loop in l that fills from line 1 all the way back to line 2 is too large. The crossing point should sit just below line 2, not in the middle of the space.

How to practise the strokes

Practise one stroke at a time across a full row on the four-line ruling. Not a mix of strokes, not a full letter. One stroke, one row, enough times that the hand knows where to stop without the child having to think about it.

After two or three sessions on strokes, a letter like n is just an upstroke and an arch done together. It lands in the right place because the child has already practised landing there.

Should a child practise strokes before learning cursive letters?

Yes, at least for the first week or two. Strokes teach the hand where to go on the four-line ruling before the shape of the full letter is the main thing to think about. A child who learns the arch stroke separately writes a cleaner m on the first try than one who copies the full letter from a model.

Page updated 2026-09-15.