Write a paragraph of text in pen on plain paper, ensuring that your paragraph is at least three or four lines long. Align the first line of your writing on the plain paper with the first printed line on the lined paper. Study the height and width of your current handwriting for a general sense of how much or little your writing will need to change in size.
Rewrite the paragraph on the lined paper in pencil, focusing on keeping the letters within the lines. Ensure that your writing remains proportional if any changes are made. Uppercase letters should fill the full space between lines, with lowercase letters filling one-half or two-thirds of the space. Hanging legs of letters, such as those in lowercase "y" and "g," should drop onto the next line.
Practice until your writing comfortably fits between the lines on the paper and you are comfortable writing in this new size. Rewrite your paragraph of text in pencil, focusing on legibility. Write slowly at first, leaving plenty of space between words and only joining words where it is comfortable to do so. Avoid connecting letters with loops because these take up valuable space and often make your writing more difficult to read.
Read over your work, identifying problem letter groupings that require further attention and concentrating your practice accordingly. Continue to practice in pencil, paying attention to proportionality and legibility, until you have developed a fluid writing motion or "running hand." Change to writing in pen when sufficiently confident for a more permanent and professional appearance to your work.