As students trade pen and paper for digital devices, research reveals that screen notes might be hurting memory, focus and learning.
- A brain study reveals that handwriting activates deep neutral networks essential for memory and focus.
- Typing relies on simple, repetitive key presses that cause students to forget key details.
- Picking up a pen this September will help students actively engage with content to improve academic performance.
While many view a handwritten letter as a lost art, science shows that giving up pen and paper comes at a steep cognitive cost. September 1, marks World Letter Writing Day, an annual event meant to encourage people to put down their digital devices and write by hand.
A 2024 brain study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology proves that handwriting fundamentally changes how the brain learns. Researchers attached 256 sensors to university students to track their brain waves while they wrote with a pen versus typing on a keyboard.
A comparison of the cognitive effects of handwriting versus typing. by Rearabilwe Tsebela
The results showed that writing by hand activated widespread interconnected networks across the brain, particularly in areas responsible for memory formation and encoding new information. Shaping each letter requires careful visual and physical control, movement that stimulates deep brain connectivity and improves memory, spelling accuracy and attention.
By contrast, typing involves simple, repetitive finger presses on identical keys, engaging far fewer brain circuits. Students who type notes process information shallowly and forget key details quickly.
Lerato Seohatse, a senior consultant at the Wits Reading and Writing Centre, explains that writing functions as an active thinking process rather than a mere final product.
“At the Wits Reading and Writing Centre we work with the idea that writing is thinking,” Seohatse said. “Handwriting plays a big role in cleaning out ideas. It slows down the writing process and therefore, the cognitive processes involved in writing”.
Seohatse notes that starting with physical tools allow students to map out concepts freely without the pressure of perfection. “One might start with a mind map, which is so much easier to construct through handwriting. At this stage, the topic is explored freely without pressure. Good writing often starts with a pen on paper,” he added.
On campus, students confirm the visual and mental benefits of sticking to traditional pen and paper.
Keletso Molapo, a first-year BSc electrical engineering student relies on handwriting his school notes to retain information. “When I handwrite, I am able to store information easily. The more I hand write is the more information I am able to obtain,” he said.
Lethabo Mofokeng, a third-year bachelor of arts student double majoring in media and African languages, shares that “I think I performed better academically when I wrote my notes by hand. The main reason is that handwriting made me actively engage with information, I could summarize difficult concepts, underline important words and create my own structure instead of simply typing everything from a lecture or textbook,” Mofokeng said.
While digital devices offer speed, neuroscience and some student experiences suggest that picking up a pen this September might be the best revision tool for Witsies.
FEATURED IMAGE: A visual prompt asking if pen-to-paper writing is now reserved for formal signatures rather than everyday note-taking. Graphic: Rearabilwe Tsebela
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