Printable Handwriting Paper with a Dotted Midline, Letter or A4

Pick a row height and print three-line paper with a dotted midline at exact size on Letter or A4.

Print at 100% scale. On paper the rows are 1 inch tall.

Sheet

Paper size

1 inch handwriting paper 7 rows on Letter and on A4. Each row is 1 inch from top line to baseline, with the dotted midline at 1/2 inch. On Letter the 7 rows and 6 gaps fill the 10 inch drawing exactly. The size for first letters and numerals, when strokes are still big.

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Line color

Line weight

Next step Make a name tracing sheet in the same size Move up to plain lined paper

How it works

This printable handwriting paper comes as 25 sheets, with rows from 1 inch down to 1/4 inch. Each row has a solid top line, a dotted midline and a solid baseline. Story paper, four-line, shaded and slant-line sheets are included.

Read the full guide

What the three lines are for

Primary handwriting paper gives every row three lines. Capitals and tall letters start at the top line, and small letters fit between the dotted midline and the baseline. Of the 26 lowercase print letters, 14 have bodies that stay in that lower half, 7 rise above the midline (b, d, f, h, k, l, t) and 5 drop below the baseline (g, j, p, q, y).

Row heights for primary writing paper

A row is measured from top line to baseline. Start beginners on 1 inch or 3/4 inch rows and move down a size once letters sit on the baseline. The 3/8 inch sheet is the last step before wide ruled paper.

For a journal page, print story paper: the child draws in the box, then writes about it below.
If small letters float, try a shaded band sheet. The tinted lower half shows where a, c and e belong.
The slant-line sheets are penmanship paper for cursive. Their guides lean 52 degrees, the slant of Spencerian script.

Questions and answers

Is this free editable handwriting paper?

Partly, and it is free. You can change the row height, the paper size, the line color and the line weight before you print. You cannot type on the rows: they print blank. To print your own words, use the handwriting worksheet generator.

What is the difference between three-line and four-line paper?

Four-line paper adds a tail line half a row height under the baseline, so the child sees how far g, j, p, q and y should drop. It costs rows: the 3/4 inch four-line sheet holds 6 on Letter, against 9 on the three-line sheet.

How many handwriting practice rows fit on one page?

In portrait on Letter, 1 inch rows give 7, 3/4 inch give 9, 5/8 inch give 11 and 1/2 inch give 13. A4 is taller, so the 1/2 inch sheet holds 14 there.

All 25 sheets

Three-line rows, inch sizes 5

1 inch handwriting paper 7 rows on Letter and on A4. Each row is 1 inch from top line to baseline, with the dotted midline at 1/2 inch. On Letter the 7 rows and 6 gaps fill the 10 inch drawing exactly. The size for first letters and numerals, when strokes are still big.
1/2 inch handwriting paper 13 rows on Letter, 14 on A4. 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) rows. Small letters are 1/4 inch tall, the same as one space on narrow ruled notebook paper. Enough rows for a short paragraph or a full spelling list.
3/4 inch handwriting paper 9 rows on Letter and on A4. 3/4 inch (19 mm) from top line to baseline, so small letters are 3/8 inch tall. Each row is 7 1/2 inches long on Letter, room for a name or two short words at this size.
3/8 inch handwriting paper 18 rows on Letter, 19 on A4. Tall letters are 3/8 inch high, 1/32 inch more than the 11/32 inch between lines on wide ruled notebook paper. The last step before plain lined paper.
5/8 inch handwriting paper 11 rows on Letter and on A4. 5/8 inch (16 mm) rows with the midline at 5/16 inch. A middle size for children who have outgrown 3/4 inch rows but still need the dotted line to size a, c and e.

Show all 25 sheets (20 more)

Three-line rows, metric sizes 3

10 mm handwriting paper 17 rows on Letter, 18 on A4. Rows of 10 mm with small letters 5 mm tall, the height of one square on 5 mm squared paper. For older children who still want a midline.
15 mm handwriting paper 11 rows on Letter, 12 on A4. Rows of 15 mm with the midline at 7.5 mm, a round metric size between 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) and 5/8 inch (15.9 mm).
20 mm handwriting paper 8 rows on Letter, 9 on A4. Rows of 20 mm from top line to baseline with the dotted midline at 10 mm and a 10 mm gap under each row. A round metric size close to 3/4 inch (19.05 mm).

Landscape rows 4

1 inch handwriting paper, landscape 5 rows on Letter and on A4. The page is turned sideways, so each row is 10 inches long on Letter against 7 1/2 inches in portrait. A whole short sentence fits on one row in large writing.
1/2 inch handwriting paper, landscape 10 rows on Letter and on A4. Ten long rows of 1/2 inch. On A4 they use 184.15 mm of the 184.6 mm drawing height, so nothing is cut off on either paper.
3/4 inch handwriting paper, landscape 7 rows on Letter, 6 on A4. On Letter the 7 rows and 6 gaps fill the 7 1/2 inch drawing exactly. Turned sideways, A4 is 210 mm tall against 215.9 mm for Letter, so it holds one row less, but its rows are 271.6 mm long.
5/8 inch handwriting paper, landscape 8 rows on Letter and on A4. Sideways 5/8 inch rows for sentence copying: write the model sentence on the first row and the child has 7 more to fill.

Story paper with a picture box 4

1 inch story paper with picture box 3 rows on Letter and on A4. A blank picture box fills the top of the page, 5 1/2 inches tall on Letter and 157.3 mm on A4. Three big rows under the drawing: enough for a label or one short sentence.
1/2 inch story paper with picture box 6 rows on Letter, 7 on A4. A blank picture box fills the top of the page, 5 1/2 inches tall on Letter and 138.2 mm on A4. The most writing room of the story sheets, for a full journal entry under a drawing.
3/4 inch story paper with picture box 4 rows on Letter and on A4. A blank picture box fills the top of the page, 5 1/2 inches tall on Letter and 157.3 mm on A4. The child draws first, then writes about the drawing on the rows below.
5/8 inch story paper with picture box 5 rows on Letter and on A4. A blank picture box fills the top of the page, 5 5/16 inches tall on Letter and 152.5 mm on A4. Five rows on Letter make room for two or three sentences about the picture.

Four-line and shaded rows 6

1 inch handwriting paper with shaded band 7 rows on Letter and on A4. The 1/2 inch band between the dotted midline and the baseline is tinted, so the child can see where small letters belong. The largest rows with the strongest cue, for a child who is just learning which letters are small.
1/2 inch four-line handwriting paper 10 rows on Letter and on A4. A fourth line sits 1/4 inch under the baseline and shows how far the tails of g, j, p, q and y should drop. Each set is 3/4 inch tall, with three equal zones of 1/4 inch for tall parts, small letters and tails.
3/4 inch four-line handwriting paper 6 rows on Letter, 7 on A4. A fourth line sits 3/8 inch under the baseline and shows how far the tails of g, j, p, q and y should drop. The extra line costs rows: 6 on Letter against 9 on the three-line sheet.
3/4 inch handwriting paper with shaded band 9 rows on Letter and on A4. The 3/8 inch band between the dotted midline and the baseline is tinted, so the child can see where small letters belong. Useful when small letters float above the baseline or grow as tall as the capitals.
5/8 inch four-line handwriting paper 8 rows on Letter and on A4. A fourth line sits 5/16 inch under the baseline and shows how far the tails of g, j, p, q and y should drop. Each set of four lines is 15/16 inch tall from the top line to the tail line.
5/8 inch handwriting paper with shaded band 11 rows on Letter and on A4. The 5/16 inch band between the dotted midline and the baseline is tinted, so the child can see where small letters belong. A step down in size that keeps the visual cue before the child moves to plain three-line rows.

Penmanship paper with slant lines 3

1/2 inch penmanship paper with slant lines 13 rows on Letter, 14 on A4. Light guide lines cross the rows at 52 degrees from the baseline, the slant of Spencerian script, one every 1/2 inch. For first cursive, when letters are still large.
1/4 inch penmanship paper with slant lines 27 rows on Letter, 28 on A4. Tall letters are 1/4 inch high, the full line spacing of narrow ruled notebook paper, so practice here carries over to a notebook. For teenagers and adults rebuilding an even hand.
3/8 inch penmanship paper with slant lines 18 rows on Letter, 19 on A4. The same 52 degree guides on 3/8 inch rows, one every 3/8 inch. Keep each downstroke parallel to the nearest guide and the slant of the whole line evens out.

How this list was compiled: Own work. Every row count was worked out twice. Row spacings, the 52 degree Spencerian slant and paper sizes were checked against Wikipedia in September 2026. Licence: own work