Cursive J, uppercase and lowercase
Stroke stepsJ in wordsPrintable practice sheet
The three guide lines work like this: red is the baseline, dashed is the midline where short letters end, and the top blue line is capital height. Each letter is set from the outlines of the same school-cursive typeface, so the numbers in the size table are read from the letters, not guessed.
The capital J has stroke steps here; the lowercase j is shown as a picture. The old manual describes small j only in one line, and its dot is a separate mark that our pen-path check cannot follow, so we leave the steps out rather than draw them loosely.
Uppercase cursive J
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1Start with an upward stroke on the left side, the way a reverse oval starts. Palmer puts the start just below the baseline; this typeface starts a little higher, at the tip of the left hook. [1][2]
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2Make the turn at the top round. [2]
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3Bring the stroke down to the baseline. The upper part is a little longer than the lower part, and twice its width. [2][3]
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4Finish with the lower loop below the baseline. This typeface draws it somewhat wider than half the upper width, about 60% measured on the center line. If J gives you trouble, Palmer sends you back to lessons 49 and 50. [3]
What the handwriting manuals say. The steps above use only these points; the letter drawn is the modern typeface, so small details of the old models differ.
“The reverse oval, it must be understood, begins with an upward stroke on the left side.”
“J should begin with an upward stroke from a point just below the base line; the turn at the top should be round; the upper part should be a little longer than the lower part, and twice its width.”
“Capital J is twice as wide above as below the base, and the lower part is a little shorter than upper part. Pupils who find the letter troublesome should review lessons forty-nine and fifty.”
J in joined words
Both J and j drop a loop below the baseline in this typeface, 519 units for the capital and 519 for the small letter, so a word with a J needs room under the line. Each word below is typeset with the same font, which supplies the joins between letters.
- Jill
- jump
- July
- Jack
- enjoy
- joy
How tall each letter sits on the lines
| Letter | Top of the letter | Bottom | Width |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowercase j | 159% of the midline height (795 vs 500 units), counting the dot, which floats above the dashed line | 519 units below the baseline, at the bottom of the loop | 676 units including the loop and the exit stroke |
| Uppercase J | 101% of capital height (1015 vs 1000 units): the round top just clears the top line | 519 units below the baseline, at the bottom of the loop | 743 units |
Units are the typeface's own grid, 1,000 to the em. Read from the font file of Playwrite US Trad; see how these are made.
Practice sheet
One page, fits US Letter and A4. Two rows for each letter: the first starts with one dark model to copy, then gray letters to trace, and the second is all tracing. Then two word rows and two empty rows for writing alone.