Variations
What prints with the starting settings
| Paper | US Letter — 215.9 × 279.4 mm (8.5 × 11 in) |
|---|---|
| Line spacing | 8.73 mm = 0.344″ |
| Ruling | Wide ruled |
| Writing lines on this page | 26 |
| Margins | 1/2″ |
| Line weight | 0.18 mm (bold 0.35 mm) |
| Print setting | Scale 100% / Actual size |
Who wide ruled paper is for
Wide ruling is the bridge between primary handwriting paper and the tighter lines of middle school. Children who have just learned to form letters on third-grade handwriting paper still write fairly large, and 8.7 mm gives their lowercase letters room without the support of a dashed midline. That is why elementary teachers often list “wide ruled” for spelling notebooks, writing journals and math facts practice.
It is not only for kids. Adults with large or loose handwriting, people writing with a felt-tip or gel pen that spreads, older writers who prefer bigger letters, and anyone with a tremor or dysgraphia often find college ruled cramped. Wide ruled is also a good choice for letters and cards that need to look relaxed rather than dense.
Homeschooling families often keep a stack for copywork and dictation, the short passages younger children copy out or write down as a parent reads aloud.
Setting up a classroom sheet
For a worksheet that goes home, add the name and date header from the variations above. If papers live in binders, switch on the 3-hole punch guides; the dashed circles sit on the left margin at the standard binder spacing, so pupils can punch along them neatly.
Teachers printing a set for the week can raise Pages in the PDF to 30 or more. Each page is identical vector artwork, so the file stays tiny and prints quickly on a shared school printer. Students who are distracted by bright blue rules often settle better on the soft grey variant.
Wide or college ruled?
Choose wide ruled when the writer’s lowercase letters sit at or above about 4 mm high, or when the work is mostly handwriting practice. Move to college ruled when the writer needs more lines per page for notes and their letters have become smaller and steadier. The ruling-by-grade guide walks through the usual progression from kindergarten to high school.
Print at Actual size so the lines stay true; at the wrong scale a sheet can lose almost a full line of space. If the page is still too tight, 10 mm lined paper goes wider still.
More lined paper sheets
- College ruled paper (Letter & A4)
- Notebook paper (college ruled, with holes)
- A4 lined paper (8 mm feint with margin)
- Narrow ruled paper (Letter, A4 & Legal)
- Writing paper (wide lines for letters and stories)
- Genkō yōshi (Japanese manuscript paper)
- Legal pad paper (yellow, Legal & Letter)
- Seyès paper (French ruled)
- A5 lined paper for journals and planners
- Arabic lined paper (right-hand margin)
- Wongoji (Korean manuscript paper)
- Pitman ruled paper (1/2 inch lines)
Frequently asked questions
How far apart are the lines on wide ruled paper?
11/32 inch, or about 8.7 mm, from one line to the next. That is roughly 1/16 inch more than college ruled, enough to make a visible difference for young writers.
How many lines are on a sheet of wide ruled paper?
The Letter version has 26 writing lines below the header space, with half-inch margins. A4 fits 29 lines. Adding the name and date header uses one line on Letter, leaving 25.
What grade uses wide ruled paper?
Many US schools ask for wide ruled from about second or third grade through fifth grade, once children move off primary handwriting paper with dashed midlines. Supply lists vary, so check your school's list.
Is wide ruled the same as legal ruled?
Yes, the spacing is the same. Yellow legal pads use 11/32 inch lines too, which is why our legal pad template uses this ruling on a longer sheet.
Where is the margin line?
The red vertical margin sits 1¼ inch (31.75 mm) from the left edge, matching American school notebooks. You can move it, or switch it off, in the generator.
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