Baseline Joins

The baseline and why it organises everything

Think of the writing line as a railway. Most lowercase letters begin and end on it, and the baseline joins are the plain, low connectors that run along it. This covers a, c, d, e, h, i, k, l, m, n, r, s, t, u and x: they finish at the baseline with a small exit stroke, and the next letter takes over from there.

There are two kinds, and the only difference is where the next letter begins.

Whenever the next letter is one of a, c, d, g or q, the join is bottom to top. Otherwise it is bottom to bottom. Letters ending at the midline (o, v, w, b) are handled separately on the oh joins page.

Bottom to bottom

This is the lowest-effort join. In “in”, the i finishes with an upward exit and the n starts from the tail of that stroke. Nothing has to change direction in a hurry. The danger is not shape but consistency: the exit stroke has to be the same length and angle every time, or the word wobbles.

Three habits help.

1. End on the line. Look at where the exit begins. If it starts above the baseline, the whole word floats upward.
2. Match the angle. Pick a slope for connectors and repeat it, roughly the same as the slant of the letters.
3. Leave a visible stroke. A join that disappears into the next letter is really just two touching letters. A short, clear connector is what makes the word flow.

The overcurve hand-off

The trickiest bottom-to-bottom pairs are the ones where the next letter begins with an overcurve: m, n, v, x, y and z. The exit of the previous letter arrives on an undercurve, so the pen must roll up over the top without a sharp point. Think of it as one wave. In “in”, the exit climbs, rounds and starts down into the first hump of the n. In “um” it does the same.

If your pairs end up with a little spike where the two strokes meet, you are stopping and restarting. Slow down, keep the pen moving through the turn, and the spike disappears.

Bottom to top

When the next letter is a, c, d, g or q, you leave the baseline but arrive at the midline, because these letters begin with a counterclockwise curve starting near 2 o’clock. The exit stroke becomes the climb. In “ac”, the a finishes its exit low, the stroke rises and curves back on itself, and that curve is the start of the c.

Make the climb a smooth undercurve, not a straight diagonal. A diagonal makes a pointed corner at the top and the next letter starts with a visible angle. The curve is also what keeps a, c, d, g and q from looking detached.

Common baseline errors

• Floating word. Exits start above the baseline. Re-trace on a ruled page.
• Spikes. Stopping at the junction of an undercurve and an overcurve.
• Angular climbs. Straight diagonal exits before a, c, d, g, q.
• Uneven connectors. Some long, some short. Count them: use roughly one letter-body for each.
• Retracing. Going back over the previous letter’s stem to get to the next one. The exit stroke should carry on forward.

A short drill

Fill one line each, using lined paper with a clear baseline.

1. Low rolls: in in in, un un un, it it it, mi mi mi.
2. Rising joins: ac ac ac, ad ad ad, ma ma ma, ha ha ha.
3. Words: “limit”, “minute”, “dance”, “candle”, “mad”, “hand”, “machine”, “amazing”.
4. Whole sentence: “Nine men can calm a calm sea.”

The sentence is deliberately dull. It has many baseline pairs and almost no bridge or loop letters, so you can hear the rhythm of the join without other difficulties.

Where baseline joins fit in the whole system

Baseline joins are the foundation. Learn them first, then add the bridge for o, v, w and b, the ascender loops, and the descender exits. If a join feels wrong, return here: the problem is usually that the exit stroke, not the bridge or loop, is the part that is off. Individual letter shapes are covered one by one in cursive letters A to Z, and the full overview is on the cursive joins page.