How to Write E in Cursive

How to write a cursive capital E

Traditional cursive capital E looks like a backward 3: a smaller upper curve, a tiny loop pointing left at the middle, and a larger lower curve that ends with an undercurve on the baseline.

Start: Just below the top line, slightly right of centre.

1. 1Make a small hook at the top: curve up to the top line and back down to the left.
2. 2Continue down in a small curve that bulges left and comes back in toward the midline.
3. 3At the midline, make a tiny loop pointing left, so the stroke crosses itself and heads down again.
4. 4Draw a larger curve that bulges left and rounds along the baseline.
5. 5Swing out to the right with an undercurve that ends near the midline, ready to join.

Connecting: Capital E joins the next letter in Zaner-Bloser and D'Nealian cursive, since it ends with an undercurve. Some writers who learned Palmer make the middle loop larger and the top curl fuller, but the join works the same way.

How to write a cursive lowercase e

Lowercase cursive e is a narrow slanted loop: an upstroke that curls back to the left at the midline and crosses itself on the way down to the baseline.

Start: On the baseline, where the previous letter's stroke ends. · Letter family: Loop letters (e, l, h, k, b, f); e is the short member of the family, with a loop that stays at x-height.

1. 1Start on the baseline and make an undercurve that rises to the right toward the midline.
2. 2Curve back to the left just below or at the midline, forming the top of a small loop.
3. 3Come down the left side, crossing the upstroke about halfway up the loop.
4. 4Round the bottom on the baseline and exit with an undercurve to the right.

Connecting: Lowercase e joins on both sides from the baseline. Its exit is the same undercurve it starts with, which is why runs like 'ee' and 'eve' feel rhythmic.

Joining e to other letters

• erer: The e exits low and the r climbs to a peak just above the midline. Keep the r's peak sharp; if it softens into a loop it looks like a second e, and 'her' becomes 'hee'.
• eses: Both letters rise from the baseline. Give the e a round loop and the s a pointed tip, so the contrast between the two shapes stays clear in words like 'yes' and 'press'.
• eaea: After the e's exit, keep climbing to the midline and go over and back for the a's oval. A low exit makes the a start too early and the e and a merge into one blob.
• oeoe: The o leaves along the midline, so the e begins high. Dip the bridge slightly, then form the loop; otherwise the e collapses into a sharp point and reads as i.

Common mistakes with cursive E

• Making the lowercase e loop too tall

  Keep the top of the loop at or below the midline. A tall loop looks like an l, so 'feel' can be read as 'flel'.

• Closing the loop completely

  Leave a visible eye inside the loop. A filled-in e looks like an i without its dot or like a slanted c.

• Writing capital E as a printed E

  Use two curves stacked on a small middle loop. Straight bars cannot connect and look out of place in a cursive line.

• Making both curves of capital E the same size

  Keep the upper curve smaller than the lower one. Equal halves make the capital look like a reversed number 3 rather than a letter.

Easily confused with: Lowercase cursive e is confused with i (closed loop), l (loop too tall) and the peaked s or r if the loop is rounded off into a point. Capital E can be mistaken for a reversed 3 or for capital C if the middle loop is too small.

Practice words with e

• Emma
• Ethan
• every
• letter
• green
• eleven

Cursive E: questions