In Task 4, I wrote a 500-word story on roasting a turkey.

Do you normally write by hand or type?

In my undergraduate studies, I handwrote most of my notes to avoid the distractions of electronic devices. These days, I mostly type as it can be challenging to make out my illegible handwriting after the fact.

I find that I bring my laptop and smartphone everywhere I go. These devices are arguably more readily available than pen and paper.

Did you find this task difficult or easy?

I found this task to be challenging. It was not difficult to come up with the idea and words for a story. However, writing by hand presented a few challenges:

• I had to constantly count my words to see how close I was getting to the 500-word target. A word processor would have kept track of this for me automatically.
• Halfway through, my pen ran out of ink and I had for another one.
• Initially, I had trouble finding paper to write on.
• My hand started to cramp after a few lines of handwriting.
• The script was full of imperfections such as strikethroughs and inserted words, which took away from its visual appeal.

What did you do when you made a mistake or wanted to change your writing? How did you edit your work? Did your choice of media play a part in how you edited your work?

As I relied on a pen, I crossed out errors made and continued writing. When I finished, I reread the script, made small edits, and inserted punctuation where missing.

My choice of tools and media played a role in editing. I occasionally handwrite using a graphics tablet. With this device, I simply erase and replace mistakes. A choice between pencils and pens also changes my editing approach. I will cross out mistakes when I use a pen but erase my mistakes when I use a pencil. When using a laptop or smartphone, I will simply erase or revise my words. On these devices, I also take advantage of grammar and spell-check tools which give me additional peace of mind. When I write by hand, I rely purely on self-review and my knowledge of the English language as a final check. Finally, with smartphones, in particular, I will often let minor spelling and grammatical errors slide (if I believe the user can still interpret my script) or I will use abbreviations (e.g. lol for “laugh out loud”).

What do you feel is the most significant difference between writing by hand and using mechanized forms of writing? 

• It is easier to create mind maps and draw by hand. Inserting or drawing images in a mechanized text can be challenging, particularly on a computer or smartphone.
• When I write on paper, I tend to misplace it. Typing my notes allows me to upload them to the cloud, where I can access them on other devices.
• Mechanized forms of writing are often searchable. Handwriting does not provide for this.
• Mechanized forms of writing are easier to share, collaborate, and reproduce. I can easily share a document with others, have them edit it in real-time, and copy and paste it to different mediums.
• I believe that writing shows more of the writer’s personality. The writer’s pen, font, and colour choice can be telling signs of their personality.
• Studies have shown that writers retain and comprehend information better than typers. Smoker et al. (2009) found that hand-written vocabulary words were recalled better by participants than typed vocabulary words. Mueller & Oppenheimer (2014) found stronger test performance in students who took notes by writing.
• Ose Askvik et al. (2020) suggested that handwriting engages more of the brain areas associated with memory and encoding than typing does.

Which one do you prefer?

Overall, I prefer mechanized writing due to its efficiency and ability to share quickly. I find that I can write about 45-47 words per minute by hand compared to 119 words per minute when I type. I also enjoy the ability of word processors to check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

I must admit that I do find handwritten messages (likely because of their rarity) to be nostalgic and personal, so I will write congratulations and holiday cards by hand.

References

Mueller, P. A., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159–1168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614524581

Ose Askvik, E., van der Weel, F. R. (Ruud), & van der Meer, Audrey L. H. (2020). The importance of cursive handwriting over typewriting for learning in the classroom: A high-density EEG study of 12-year-old children and young adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1810-1810. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01810

Smoker, T. J., Murphy, C. E., & Rockwell, A. K. (2009). Comparing Memory for Handwriting versus Typing. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 53(22), 1744–1747. https://doi.org/10.1177/154193120905302218