Everyone can agree that typed notes are convenient, quick, and effortless, but does this mean they’re the most effective? While typed notes may save students time and hand pain, typing is not necessarily the smartest way to retain information. 

Studies suggest that because writing something out by hand takes fine motor skills, you are more likely to recall that content later on, which can be helpful if you’re studying for a test. Despite this, when you’re in class and faced with a slideshow filled with notes, the idea of writing it all by hand, word for word seems tedious and difficult.  

Writing by hand takes so long, and there’s only one simple solution: don’t copy your notes down word for word. Instead, skim over the text and pull out any information you think will be useful. This way, you are putting content in your own words and simplifying complex ideas into concise concepts, which is how many would learn best. 

While this method is an effective way to absorb information, it isn’t always perfect. When teachers are going through a slideshow faster than I can blink, and I don’t have time to paraphrase every bullet point. This is where typing comes in and I’m able to later rewrite them in a notebook or binder when I get home! 

I get that this may feel superfluous, and you may be asking what the point of all these extra steps is, but I can assure you that developing these recall skills and re-teaching yourself subjects just through hand-writing your notes will pay off when it comes time to test your knowledge.