Séyès Paper (French Ruled)
The French school ruling: 8 mm rows split into four by fine lines, with vertical guides and a red margin down the left.
The French school ruling: 8 mm rows split into four by fine lines, with vertical guides and a red margin down the left.
Choose Séyès Paper (French Ruled) from the list. It opens with the usual size already set.
Pick the paper size, the grid and the orientation. Customize holds colours, margins and more.
Download the ready PDF, or print straight from the page at 100% scale.
A Séyès sheet has a strong line every 8 mm and three fainter ones between each pair, dividing the row into four 2 mm bands. Lower-case letters occupy the bottom band. Taller letters reach two, three or four bands up depending on the letter — t goes to two, d to three, l and the capitals to four.
That gives a much more precise instruction than a plain three-line ruling: not just "tall" or "short", but exactly how tall, letter by letter. It is why French handwriting instruction is so closely tied to this one paper.
The verticals, spaced at the same 8 mm, control letter width and slant. The red margin at four squares in is where the teacher writes.
Every sheet here is free, adjustable and prints at exact scale.
Grand carreau, or simply papier Séyès. It is named after Jean-Alexandre Séyès, who patented it in the nineteenth century.
Because it divides cleanly into four 2 mm bands, and 2 mm is roughly the height of a lower-case letter in a young child's hand. The whole system follows from that.
Nothing stops you, and it is popular with people learning cursive anywhere. It simply gives more height guidance than a three-line sheet.
