The Many Benefits of Writing by Hand

With the widespread use of laptops and tablets in classrooms everywhere, students are naturally spending less time putting pencil to paper. But a growing body of research suggests that there are great benefits to writing by hand—it plays an important role in how students learn, remember information, and develop foundational literacy skills.

While typing is often faster and more convenient, handwriting engages the brain in ways that keyboards don't. The physical process of forming letters activates networks involved in memory, language, and motor processing, creating stronger connections that can support learning.

For younger students, these benefits can be particularly significant. In a 2025 study, kindergarten students who learned letters by writing them by hand outperformed their typing peers on several early literacy tasks. When asked to read words aloud, students who practiced handwriting achieved 72 percent accuracy, compared with just 38 percent among students who practiced typing.

The advantages extend to older students, too. Research suggests that taking notes by hand can improve recall and conceptual understanding, even days after learning new material. Because handwriting is slower than typing, students are more likely to summarize key ideas, make connections, and process information as they write, rather than simply transcribing what they hear.

A 2024 meta-analysis of 24 studies involving roughly 3,000 college students found that handwritten notes were also associated with stronger academic performance, with 40 percent of handwriters earning As and Bs, compared with 30 percent of students who typed their notes.

That doesn't mean digital tools should disappear from classrooms. Typing remains an important skill and can offer critical accessibility benefits for students who struggle with handwriting or need additional learning supports. But as schools continue to balance digital literacy with traditional learning practices, the research makes a compelling case for preserving opportunities to write by hand.

To learn more about the research cited in the video, check out the resources below.

• Eva Ose Askvik, F. Ruud van der Weel, and Audrey L. H. van der Meer’s study on the importance of handwriting over typewriting for learning (2020)

• Pam A. Mueller & David M. Oppenheimer’s research on the advantages of longhand over laptop note taking (2014)

• Abraham E. Flanigan, Jordan Wheeler, Tiphaine Colliot, Junrong Lu, and Kenneth A. Kiewra’s meta-analysis on college students’ achievement with typed versus handwritten lecture notes (2024)

For an even deeper look at the findings and to learn about additional benefits, read Youki Terada’s article for Edutopia, “Why Writing by Hand Beats Typing (in 6 Charts).”