Related: 7 affordable ways to get your college degree “For content that requires drawing - graphs, unusual symbols, spatial relationships - it can be a lot more effective to write on paper than to use word processing,” explains Oppenheimer.

Working on paper can also make it easier if you need to jot down more than text alone. Plus, writing by hand has been shown to boost creativity and memory. In the original study, while there was relatively little difference in factual recall between the two note-taking styles, students taking notes by hand scored much better in conceptual understanding of ideas. “This act of summarizing is the sort of deep processing that facilitates learning,” says Oppenheimer. Having to distill ideas like this may help them sink in more.

“It isn't that one is better, but rather that each is better for different purposes,” says Oppenheimer.įor instance, taking notes by hand encourages you to summarize information in your own words, since your hand can’t move fast enough to jot down every single detail. While no note-taking style reigns supreme, they do each offer unique benefits.

We asked Oppenheimer what he took away from the study and how students can best utilize each method. That said, there are some things to consider when determining which note-taking style is right for you or is right for any given class.

Handwriting notes vs typing notes