Many people do not know that 'Cursive' just means 'Joined-up'. It is not the name of any particular style. These rules apply to all Western handwriting regardless of the so-called copybook style. Good writing is based on a pattern of ovals and parallel lines.
All small letters start at the top.
All the downstrokes are parallel. All similar letters are the same height. All downstrokes are equidistant. The space between words is the width of the small letter o. 7. Ascenders and descenders are no more than twice the height of small letters, preferably less.