Do you prefer to type or handwrite revision notes?

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Deffinitely handwrite, mainly because I like to draw diagrams, and entering symbols i.e integrals, fractions and loads more (doing maths :/ ) can be a real pain on a computer
... but er, there's no poll option for just "always handwrite", I can't be bothered with making my notes look pretty by colouring and highlighting them

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 41

py0alb

Original post by SpiritedAway

For my A-levels I used to type them up, but looking back on it, all I was doing was typing and not learning. Now at uni, I make hand written revision notes from going through all my class and lecture notes and picking the most important. I don't really learn from notes though, I have to repeat them (actually speaking) over and over again and then it just clicks.

How funny, you're obviously one of those auditory learners you hear about.

I think just re-writing your original notes verbatim is a bit of a waste of time whether you type it or handwrite it because as you say, all you do is type and you don't learn anything. The learning comes in from condensing your 100+ pages of lecture notes into 40 pages of revision notes - meaning you have to actually think about what is important and how it should be organised, and then do the same process again by condensing it down to 10 pages, and keep going until you fit the entire syllabus on 1 page of A4 (sometimes you are allowed to take a single sheet of notes into the exam, so this is an ideal exercise for that).

Reply 42

JunePlum

Original post by Lewk

Deffinitely handwrite, mainly because I like to draw diagrams, and entering symbols i.e integrals, fractions and loads more (doing maths :/ ) can be a real pain on a computer

Couldn't agree with you more. :biggrin:

Definitely mind blowing when it takes 4 minutes to enter one algebraic fraction.

Reply 43

username547863

Original post by py0alb

Perfect? Why would they need to be perfect? They're notes, not a dissertation.

I ment perfect in relation to the specification and everything they ask for.

Reply 44

AAfc

I always hand write. I think typing is the lazy option and often to format things the way you like and annotate and highlight can often be more complicated than good old pen and paper.

Reply 45

Hellothere!!

If im happy with my progress and understand a topic i would type, if i dont know something or its a brand new topic eg the stages of respiration like glycolysis, krebs cycle, linke reaction and electron transprt chain then i write them as i feel writing notes is more effecient as when i sit in my exam and forget something i just visualise the page in which i wrote it and simply write it down. Use red pen to highlight important things!

Hope this helps.

Reply 46

Rachel08

I always write them. When it comes to revision, I usually write out/copy all my notes from the year because this is the only way I can remember it. I suppose the act of writing is what helps me learn/remember. I get really frustrated when teachers make you watch a film/talk to you in a way that means you can't write anything down cos I know I won't remember it. (this is for history.)

My other subjects are maths and french. Maths is past papers over and over again (i'll be swamped by them this summer cos I've got 2 maths exams for the first time plus a resit)
French, I make little cards for each topic with key vocab and flashcards with key phrases/sentence openers/opinions etc. :smile:

Reply 47

Limesasquatch

easier to remember if you handwrite :smile:

Reply 48

Hemzo

Hey there!
Good luck on your A level exams in the summer, got mine aswell, but when I was revising for my January exams, I started by re-writing all the notes/work I had into noteform. It helps you remember if you write it and go over it.

The only negative is that it really depends on the amount of exams you're revising, if you have a lot of exams to write notes for, it may take a long time depending on how you write them.
Any additional past paper questions marked with ways to improve is also a bonus too :smile:

Reply 49

.snowflake.

I'll certainly handwrite my bio and chem notes. German I'll probably do on the computer as I can move verbs around when I realise my word order's gone to pot.

Reply 50

The Polar Dude

for Biology AS i write my notes from 2 books and then highlight the key words/titles.
writing in your own handwriting is useful 4 me as i can remember it more quickly and easier

Reply 51

Miss-Mistified

Type them.... it gets done quicker.... and if you need to forgot something, you can just add them in later. =)

Reply 52

Nymthae

Handwritten. I like the fact controlling presentation is much easier, I guess. I'm quite artistic though so doing it neat as I go isn't too much problem. I don't actually do 'revision notes' mind you, more reference to my initial notes. I make them nice and tidy so I can use them to revise. I always write everything in black and box key things with red pen.

(Plus, I get far too distracted when i'm on the computer.)

I like presentation too much. If I write it then I remember it much better regarding the layout. If I recall the layout then I know what was where and mostly what it said :smile:

Reply 53

un-besito

I always write them out on paper under different headings/topics etc. For me, writing them by hand makes them sink in much more because I'm actually thinking about what I'm writing, which I don't really do as much as when I type.

Reply 54

twelve

Handwritten dfeinately.

I do like them to look nice, which might be a waste of time, but since I learn them mostly as I'm writing them out that isn't too much of a problem. I will read over them again afterwards, and then the fact that they are nice to look at it, means its not too horrific to be reading them :P And its easier for me to remember if I've got them laid out nicely, because I know where the information was on the page, and what colour it was in and that helps. Just looking at a page of writing knowing I need to learn it is horrible, but if I have a bright green box somewhere, I know thats important and I'll remember it.

It depends whether you learn by actually writing the notes and working it out or whether reading/saying them afterwards is how you learn. Definately write them if you are a 'doing' learner, but if you are visual/auditary, maybe better to type them because you'll get the actual note making done quicker, depending on your subject.

Reply 55

NeonIndian

Original post by py0alb

Don't take this the wrong way, but I almost made a comment just now along the lines of "I bet you're one of those people who still uses those ridiculous flashcards that are so popular with the 13-14 year old age group", but I thought that couldn't possibly be true of a degree level student. No-one still thinks thats an efficient method of revision... do they?

So you spend your revision time highlighting flashcards with pretty colours? Do you also have a pretty revision timetable that you colour in every day? Let me know how you get on in your degree. :smile:

You get quite passionate about this don't you. :fuhrer:

Reply 56

racaha

I handwrite mine because I'm learning as I write them whereas I tend to glaze over when I type.
Plus I draw pictures for everything to help me remember so that has to be handwritten anyway. :smile:

Reply 57

jlebb

I handwrite them in hope that my hands will one day develop their own memory, so when it comes to the exam I can just let them do their thing :smile:

(It has yet to happen yet...)

Reply 58

Deyn_08

handwriting

typing takes too long, i tried to do this method for psychology, it cost me getting a A grade.

Reply 59

chloe07

I find it hard to revise from notes that are typed up, I don't know why. Plus I take information in a lot more easily when I'm writing it, as opposed to typing it. :smile: