Mourning the Loss of Cursive Handwriting

I remember the first time my second-grade teacher permitted me to use cursive writing on my assignments. At the time, I viewed it as an accomplishment: I could now use cursive for all my assignments! Moreover, the teachers promoted cursive writing as more refined than print and linked to a sense of formality and elegance.

I also remember the day in seventh grade when I stopped using cursive and switched back to print handwriting. A teacher had each student in my class grade another student’s quiz—an obvious timesaver. The girl who graded my assignment couldn’t make out my cursive script, and I lost points because of it. In that moment, I resolved never to write in cursive again and to write only in print.

Cursive handwriting is a lost art, and like so many others, I lost touch with it. Apparently, I also lost the cognitive benefits of using cursive.

No longer a priority

It’s no secret that instruction on handwriting in elementary schools is on the decline. Nowadays, everyone is using keyboards in lieu of print and cursive. The Common Core State Standards introduced in 2010 effectively sidelined cursive, with a focus on other curricula instead.

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Today, only about half of U.S. states require instruction. Some argue that there has been a resurgence in cursive handwriting, with larger states like California and Texas now teaching it. This muted comeback, however, pales in comparison to cursive’s once hold on curricula in all states, and it’s unclear how effectively cursive instruction has been reintroduced into curricula in states that now teach it.

From my personal experience parenting a child going to school in California, the introduction of cursive is cursory, with 15 minutes a day devoted to the practice in fourth grade. But the beauty of cursive instruction is practicing it for longer periods of time on lined paper with an instructor demonstrating long loops and flourishes at the chalkboard.

Although my son is a good student, he still can’t write in cursive. He says it wasn’t prioritized in his education, with teachers never asking him to draft an essay in cursive—just individual lines and words.

Cognitive benefits of handwriting explained

In recent years, researchers have used neuroimaging studies such as MRI, EEG, and PET to understand the mechanisms of handwriting as compared with typing. These studies have provided insights into the neural mechanisms that underlie these two forms of written expression. This research has demonstrated that handwriting—both print and cursive—engages a broader and more integrated network of brain regions than does typing.

In the aggregate, compared with typing, handwriting recruits more sensorimotor and visuospatial circuits that support the complex coordination needed to produce script by hand. Handwriting more consistently triggers integrated brain regions, including those involved in motor planning, sensory processing, language, and memory. On the other hand, typing activates regions linked to repetitive finger movements, visual processing, and language.

In a 2021 experimental study published in Psychological Science, investigators analyzed the behavioral consequences of typing, writing, and visual learning. In the study, 42 adults learned a new alphabet under one of three conditions: handwriting, typing, or visual study.

The investigators found that handwriting produced faster learning than typing or visual study. “Our results clearly show that handwriting, compared with nonmotor practice, produces faster learning and greater generalization to untrained tasks than previously reported. Furthermore, only handwriting practice leads to learning of both motor and amodal symbolic letter representation,” wrote the authors.

Specific benefits of cursive

Regarding different handwriting styles, cursive writing produces stronger activation of motor-related brain regions than does print handwriting. The continuous, flowing movements that connect letters produce greater demands on fine motor coordination, sequential motor planning, and cerebellar control, according to authors of a 2025 review published in Life (Basel).

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The authors wrote that “cursive writing involves greater activation of the motor cortex and cerebellum, as it requires fine motor coordination and smooth transitions between letters. This fluidity enhances memory retention and cognitive engagement, as the writer must anticipate the next letter in a continuous motion. Conversely, block-letter handwriting, which involves lifting the pen after each letter, may engage discrete motor planning processes and different visual-spatial coordination patterns.”

The authors found that the greater focus involved in handwriting—especially cursive writing—contributes to more intense cognitive processing.

"Through its requirements of fine motor execution and spatial awareness, handwriting appears to promote stronger connections between visual, motor, and cognitive functions, thereby reinforcing memory and learning,” the authors stated.

Today, like countless others, I write in print only when necessary. Looking around, I see my scribble on scrap pieces of paper and Post-It notes I use for my work as a writer. I recently tried to write in cursive, and although the result was legible, it was nothing like those long flowing curves I drew as a child.

As for my son, he mastered only signing his name in cursive. Lightly used cursive workbooks are piled in the garage with neglected adult coloring books. When I asked him why he didn't bother to practice, he said he'd rather be playing Roblox.