story by Owen Schuettpelz | design by Roselyn Sanchez

When was the last time you sat down with a pen and paper to write something — an essay, homework or even just some notes? Chances are it’s been quite a while.

The use of handwriting has declined since the adoption of digital media. Most schools no longer emphasize penmanship, instead switching to typed assignments. While digital writing has many benefits, including efficiency and spell checking, the switch from handwritten to digital has not all been positive.

Mind and Body Writing Comprehension

Missing crucial information because you were too busy writing something said five minutes ago can be frustrating and typing notes practically eliminates that. Having your notes in a digital format, ready to be edited, reviewed or shared with others is simply too good to pass up on for most students.

But the many benefits of typing notes might give you the impression of a fix-all tool. Beneath the surface, this surge in typing and decline in handwriting might have some unforeseen consequences.

Given the fact that digital writing corrects punctuation and grammar, this could add to the decline of literacy rates. CWU Senior lecturer in the English Department, Reka Britschgi says, “When you write by hand, you really have to think about what you're writing down because you want to be efficient.” This extra effort put towards thinking, when writing by hand, is a very practical way to comprehend the information you are writing down.

“When you're writing on paper sometimes your handwriting changes,” says Ali Ünal, CWU assistant professor in the English department. “It actually creates … another neural pathway in your brain that makes you remember what you wrote.”

A 2021 PubMed Central research article found that, “handwriting practice fundamentally and positively affects written language learning, both for letter and word comprehension and production.”

In 2025, The Guardian published an article addressing the importance of the declining nature of handwriting, “We are far more likely to use our hands to type or swipe. We communicate more but with less physical effort, forgetting the vast evolutionary history that fitted us for physical movement and expression as a means of understanding our world.” As time progresses, sometimes we forget that handwriting was a luxury and a skill that not everyone had. For those who could master the art, more opportunities were readily available for them.

If memory recall and literacy aren’t important enough, “The students who complete my courses with the best results are the people who take notes by hand in class and outside of class,” Britschgi says.

Literacy

The use of handwriting is not the only thing declining, but literacy as well. According to the National Assessment Governing Board, which measures student achievement in various subjects nationally, “The 2024 average reading score is the lowest ever reported for 12th grade.”

But this isn’t the death knell of handwriting or literacy. Interestingly, as of March 2026, “Twenty-seven states now have laws mandating or encouraging cursive instruction in public schools,” according to an article published by the National Education Association.

Given the many benefits of handwriting in terms of memory recall and its positive influence on literacy, this is not to say that digitally written notes are useless. What matters when taking notes is the notes themselves.

Understanding the benefits and disadvantages of these two vastly different styles of writing, will allow you to enhance your own note taking abilities, while also not losing touch with the literacy and comprehension factors. The convenience and efficiency of virtual formats leave little to be missed and having notes this way is an amenity in and of itself.

With all this in mind, how will you be taking notes?

Literacy Lapse: Is handwriting beneficial for the brain?