Write OR Type notes? Which is better? (1 Viewer)

[d00d]

started summarising what i've learnt so far, writing notes is so annoying, takes a lot longer and its so much harder to fix up mistakes. however i heard that writing notes helps u memorise the information better.... any comments?

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

Pro's for handwritten notes:
-Info tends to sink in more
-You practice your writing, which is helpful for exams
- It keeps you away from a computer, and with that, the tempations of evils such as MSN!
-You tend to be more careful with what you're writing, because you can't just delete what you've written...also a helpful technique for exams.

Pros for typed notes:
-Neater, and thus-more appealing when you have to actually go back and read them.
-You can type for long periods of time-longer than writing by hand.
-Easy to go back and fix things up...whereas if you've handwritten a huge slab of notes then find something you don't like or that you've left out, you may not bother going back to change it.
-You can print off new copies with the flick of a button, which is good if a page of note gets lost, something spilled on it, or you start daydreaming and scribble stuff all over the page, etc etc...also, if you're a kind person, this also lets you pass them on to friends much quicker and easier.
-MUCH faster.



So yeah...pro's and cons for each. Maybe type them out when you're busy and don't have any exams coming up, and write them out if there are exams around the corner...

 

[del]

I did both.

For the trials I wrote all my summaries out by hand, then as part of my study for the HSC I typed another lot of summaries up again.

I typed them up the second time, as having written more or less the same out previously, I couldn't be bothered re-writing, also typing them was much more pleasing in terms of reading (make sure to 1.5 or 2 space your work...).. oh and if printing try and print of a laser... then when you highlight it won't go all yukky looking

 

[funkydish]

a very annoying con for typing out notes for me was that I didn't seem to be able to summarise as well as writing out notes since I could fit more on a screen than writing on paper.

 

[InfiniteQ]

I find that if I type notes I end up just copying the notebook instead of actually reading and typing up only what I need. Writing's slower yes but probably better in the long run because you're sinking all that info in.

 

[Jin-17]

I personally wrote it, because my typins is so slow

 

[InfiniteQ]

Originally posted by Jin-17
I personally wrote it, because my typins is so slow

I think I should pretend that I type really slow because I get really lazy about writing notes up and very frustrated too when I mess things up & feel like I have to start over again.

 

[GJ_JOE]

i drew mindmaps on A3 paper....works well cuz you remember it as a picture more than just paper with writing on it

 

[saladsurgery]

i did a mixture. depends on the subject, and how i'm feeling.

maths: no notes besides in-class, just do lotsa questions by hand.
chem: mostly handwritten
software: mostly typed.
art: a bit of both. probably more handwritten.
english: about 80% handwritten. mindmaps worked well.

but yes, handwriting does tend to make stuff sink in more, whilst typing is neater (and i prefer to do diagrams in illustrator than by hand). i think: do both.

 

[flyin']

type ... makes it look like there are less notes to learn ... and you can share with friends ... and its neatier (unless your a girl in which case your writing is probably very neat already) ... and you can reprint with amendments ... imo ...

 

[hgpstar]

i did both...write so it sinks in, then type so it sinks in better and you can study it easier...plus its easier to swap...and im a neat freak and liked to co-ordinate all my notes into subject and topic. much easier to do by using new fonts on the puter.

 

[Twintip]

At the moment (I'm doing year 12 next year), I type out my notes initially and then make myself write them out when I've finalised them, which seems the opposite way to quite a few other people. This ensures that the handwritten copy is neat, correct (hopefully!) and complete and it forces my typing to be concise (hey! I'm lazy!). I find that I can type autonomously so I feel handwriting them is essential. I keep the typed copy saved on my computer (and backed up on CD and, if I bother, stored at my uncles' house instead of my own) in case the handwritten set is lost or damaged. I haven't lost any yet so I don't know whether I'd bother re-handwriting the notes if it happened. Hopefully I will never have to find out!

For some reason, revising with the handwritten notes seems easier, as if less daunting "hey, I handwrote these... etc". It also means that any diagrams are easier to do in the end. I reckon that more than half the benefit of notes is gained when you compile them so remembering what you wrote down in the first place is the most important thing. That's why if you do them a long way out from your exams (which is good if we compile them gradually over the course of the year like we *should* hehe) they should be regularly revised.

Highlighting does bugger all. Your notes should be everything that you would otherwise highlight. Whenever you have highlighted notes, in my experiences, you only read the highlighted bits anyway.

I must say that I'm finding threads like these so useful! I am using them to modify my studying technique to be as efficient as I think it can be. Thanks BOS!

 

[luigi]

i type because it takes about a sixth of the time --- ie the time it takes me to type 20 pages, i will write about 3 --- i think typing's better-- i spose its because i dont really learn much from writing stuff out --- but i find typing does the same as writing --- then afterwards testing myself is the best way of learning stuff....

um yea but be careful,,, i became really used to typing and then found it a drag to write -- ie in exams, so practice writing

hmm...........

 

[jessika]

I preferred writing them out, cause it actually sunk it, and I could cool little pictures to remember stuff.

...

but I got lazy and so I decided I would type stuff out, which didn't cause if I was on the computer, stupid msn would distract me. Typing stuff is easier for photocopying and shit, I remember photocopying essays for friends and sometimes they wouldn't turn out properly cause I wrote in pencil.

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

Originally posted by GJ_JOE
i drew mindmaps on A3 paper....works well cuz you remember it as a picture more than just paper with writing on it

Yeah-mind maps are usually the best way to organise notes. Cos you can see the layout and the key words in your head when you're in an exam, and you can use shapes/colour to distingusish groups of ideas together, and you always remember that. And-it it causes you to actually think when you're organising where everything should go, so it really sinks in.

 

[kini mini]

Originally posted by Butterfly_Wings


Yeah-mind maps are usually the best way to organise notes. Cos you can see the layout and the key words in your head when you're in an exam, and you can use shapes/colour to distingusish groups of ideas together, and you always remember that. And-it it causes you to actually think when you're organising where everything should go, so it really sinks in.

Mindmaps are great if they work for you. Unfortunately they have never worked for me, as far as I'm concerned the priority is to get the information swirling into the brain and wait for it to fall into order .

I agree with the pros and cons listed by Butterfly Wings , FWIW I did both. For phys and chem, where I was constantly revising my answers to get all the required info in and getting the wording right, typed notes were the best. But in the days b4 the exam, I wrote out answers to etch them on my brain.

For maths I never wrote any notes, just practised, and for english I typed notes and hand wrote practice essays.

 

[pri]

since the HSC is handwritten (damn that) writing serves 2 purposes

1) the notes go in your brain quicker
2) you practise writing speeds for the exam

remember the faster and neater you write the more you can say and maybe even the better marks you can get

 

[Twintip]

I still like my method.

 

[Christine]

try typing up your notes originally (like as soon as you finish a topic) ten put them in a display folder so u can add to them later, then when u have exams summarise those notes by hand.

best of both worlds

 

[kini mini]

Originally posted by natstar
hey there is this special condieration thingy that allows you to do your exam on the computer-via word processor and print it out
thats a sik option but you have to have a valid reason

One of my friends managed to get that. Looking at his handwriting I have no objections . He can type incredibly fast too, but I think there were restrictions on the editing he could do.