A cursive capital S is one stroke: it sweeps up from the baseline to the top line, loops, curves down into a wide belly and ends with a small retrace back into the letter. A lowercase cursive s is also one stroke, rising to a point at the midline, curving down to the baseline and closing with a small tuck before it exits.
How to write S in cursive, step by step
These steps describe the Zaner-Bloser-style cursive taught in many US schools. The cursive capital S in this model looks nothing like the printed S, which is why it is one of the most searched cursive letters.
Capital S
Start on the baseline. Make a long upstroke slanting to the right, all the way to the top line.
At the top, loop to the left and start down along the same slant.
About halfway down, curve out to the right and around to form the large lower bowl. It should be the widest part of the letter.
Bring the curve back to the left along the baseline, then swing it up into the upstroke you made first.
Finish with a small curl or a short retrace to the left. Most models do not join the capital S to the next letter.
Think of the capital as a tall loop sitting on a round base. When the base is too small, the letter reads as an L. When the top loop is missing, it can pass for a reversed 2.
Lowercase s
Start at the baseline with an undercurve up to the midline. Stop at a sharp point; do not loop.
From the point, curve down and to the right, like the side of a small c reversed.
At the baseline, curve back to the left and touch the upstroke, closing the bottom.
Retrace a short way along the bottom and leave with an undercurve to the right.
The point at the top is the whole letter. Keep it crisp and the s will be readable at any size; round it off and it becomes an e or an o.
12 ways to write S
S is a good letter for comparing styles because almost every style handles its curves differently. Copperplate gives the capital a heavy shaded spine running diagonally through the middle. Brush lettering turns the lowercase into a single fat downstroke with hairline ends. Gothic breaks the curves into angled straight segments, and the italic s is narrow and leans steeply.
For monograms, the flourished and Spencerian capitals give you the most room for decoration, since the open top loop can be extended without losing the letter.
Common mistakes with S
the point at the top of the lowercase s is rounded off, so the letter reads as an e or an o
the bottom of the lowercase s is left open instead of tucking back to touch the upstroke
the lower bowl of the capital S is too small, so the letter looks like an L or a reversed 2
the exit stroke of the lowercase s starts from the outside of the curve instead of from the tuck
With both forms, check the slant first. An S that leans more than the letters next to it looks like it is falling over, even if every curve is right.
Joining S to other letters
Because the lowercase s ends with a tuck at the baseline, its exit stroke has to come out from inside the letter. That is the step people skip, and it is why "st" and "sh" often look like a separate s placed next to the word. Draw the tuck first, then let the exit rise into the next letter's entry. With "so", the exit climbs to the midline and turns over into the o.
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
St
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Se
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Sh
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Si
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
So
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Sa
Practice S
The free S sheet has the capital, the lowercase letter and a line of joins to trace, with blank rows below each. Print it at 100% so the guidelines stay at their true size.
The long s, written ſ, is a tall form of lowercase s that looks a bit like an f without the full crossbar. For centuries it was used at the start and in the middle of words, while the short round s was kept for the end. "Mississippi" would have been written "Miſſiſſippi". English printers dropped it around the end of the 1700s, and handwriting followed within a few decades. You will still see it in historical documents, in blackletter, and in some formal calligraphy as a decorative choice.
Why does the cursive capital S look like that?
School cursive is designed so that letters can be written without lifting the pen. The cursive S keeps the printed letter's double curve but starts at the baseline instead of the top, so the hand never has to jump up. The result is the loop at the top and the large belly at the bottom. Older styles such as Spencerian use a similar shape, which is where the school model borrowed it from.
How do you make a capital S for a signature?
Keep the long upstroke but let the top loop open wider, then carry the final curl into a line under the rest of your name. Because the capital S is already one stroke, it works well as a signature initial with no extra pen lifts.
Should a lowercase s be pointed or rounded?
In school cursive it is pointed at the top, and that point is what tells the reader it is an s. In modern calligraphy and brush lettering you will often see a rounder, print-style s, which is fine as long as the rest of the word uses print-like forms too. Mixing a pointed cursive s with rounded modern letters in the same word looks inconsistent. Decide which family you are writing in before you start.
A good test is the word "glasses". If you can write its three s's at the same size and the same slant, with the same tuck at the bottom of each, your s is ready for anything else.
