Combinations

We're now ready to write some combinations. So what we're going to do is we're going to do a couple of lines of ij, and then iji, then itj, and then jit, and then tij, and then iji, and then titj, or just tit, which is a small bird, by the way. And then we're going to go ijij and jijji and jti, and other combinations that you can think of. Three letters or four letters at a time, and do at least two lines of each combination.

Worksheet 10

Worksheet 11

Worksheet 12

Checking

After you've drawn all that, you need to get your ruler out and your pencil and do your checking, which means the following. Draw lines through your letters, longer than they are, and check that they are equally spaced, and at the same angle, and the same distance apart. You will find that they probably will not be. And you need to correct yourself, and keep going, and keep repeating until you can get it right.

It's no good saying, "Oh, I got it wrong, well," and then stopping. No, no, no. You have to go over it and do it again, on a piece of scrap paper or whatever. And of course, the more you do this, the better you'll get at it. So carry a pen and some scrap paper around with you, and practise your writing here and there.

The letter j needs to be straight. So it goes down like a submarine, straight, and then it curves tightly at the bottom and then loops up. And then the connecting stroke is straight. It doesn't have a wiggle on it. It goes nice and straight, light up in a straight line to touch the next letter, and then dark down. Remember: light up, dark down. Press light on the way up, press heavy on the way down. And this will make your writing beautiful.