Notes: Handwritten or Typed? Forum

[mirroroferised7]

I was in the middle of searching for the perfect, portable note-taking ultrabook/laptop/device. Then I found this:
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/20 ... 1.abstract

Basically, the point of the study is that students who wrote their notes did better on tests of the material covered both immediately after and a week after the lecture. It has to do with typed notes being verbatim and having less time to process the information.

My question is: Are there any students out there who actually hand-write their notes? Is it doable? Are there students who switched from handwritten to typed or vice versa? If so, why?

If I did decide to go with handwritten, I would eventually type them into a document for the purposes of exam taking and easy search-ability.

TIA

[bk1]

Do what works for you. A small portion of most law schools handwrites their notes so it's at least possible, but conforming yourself to what works for others rather than what works for you is generally a poor idea.

[arklaw13]

I've typed in all my classes except one. That prof didn't allow laptops. Didn't make a difference on that exam, but I definitely still prefer typed for easy searching.

[First Offense]

I handwrite all my notes and to date have done well. Do what works for you.

[rad lulz]

I've done both bc I broke my comp

Did about as well each time

That said comp was clutch for surfin the net during stupid parts of class (most of it)

[mirroroferised7]

Do what works for you. A small portion of most law schools handwrites their notes so it's at least possible, but conforming yourself to what works for others rather than what works for you is generally a poor idea.

I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something. Every law school that I visited and sat in on classes, all of the students were typing their notes. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't something about the volume of information covered, or the need to have an internet connection handy for looking up things would prevent someone from handwriting notes.

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

[cookiejar1]

If you do decide to go the typed notes route I'd suggest taking all your notes into the same document for easy crtl+f use. I'd also recommend you learn how to use styles in Microsoft Word as it'll allow for global formatting changes and it'll be super easy to make a table of contents too. Also back up your notes daily. Back up everything daily.

[arklaw13]

Would not recommend taking notes in Word. I use OneNote and it is the stuff of the gods.

[bk1]

The OneNote circlejerk on TLS can be obnoxious. It's honestly not that much better than Word.

[tachikara]

Would not recommend taking notes in Word. I use OneNote and it is the stuff of the gods.

Can you tell me why? I tried using it for a few minutes, but couldn't really get into it. What can it do that a simple outline in word can't?

EDIT: as for backing up, I'd recommend simply having your notes on dropbox or google drive. that way you'll have local copies synced on all your computers, as well as online backups

[A. Nony Mouse]

Do what works for you. A small portion of most law schools handwrites their notes so it's at least possible, but conforming yourself to what works for others rather than what works for you is generally a poor idea.

I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something. Every law school that I visited and sat in on classes, all of the students were typing their notes. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't something about the volume of information covered, or the need to have an internet connection handy for looking up things would prevent someone from handwriting notes.

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

No, handwriting is perfectly feasible. And some profs ban laptops in class, so you'd have to handwrite in such a class anyway.

One argument that gets thrown out there is that the danger of typing is that instead of listening and absorbing and distilling the lecture into notes the way that you do when handwriting, you just transcribe stuff without really processing it. So along those lines, the volume of information shouldn't make a difference (I transcribe just as much by hand as on the computer - it's just always been the way I take notes - so I don't really buy the argument, but lots of people make it).

[arklaw13]

Would not recommend taking notes in Word. I use OneNote and it is the stuff of the gods.

Can you tell me why? I tried using it for a few minutes, but couldn't really get into it. What can it do that a simple outline in word can't?

EDIT: as for backing up, I'd recommend simply having your notes on dropbox or google drive. that way you'll have local copies synced on all your computers, as well as online backups

I use it to organize my notes by day of the class. That way when I'm going back and outlining or just reading over my notes I can easily click to the particular day we talked about the subject. The search function can also be more useful than Word in certain circumstances because it will highlight every day that a term appeared in your notes, which can be helpful when outlining as well. On an individual level, there's nothing you can do in onenote that can't be done in word. Onenote is just better at organizing all of your notes in a format that's easy to get to.

Also, it's generally a lot easier on my computer to have onenote running than to have to open multiple word documents. I have an older computer and it tends to get angry when I do too much with multiple word documents.

[oblig.lawl.ref]

As far as i'm concerned bk is right. It's really hard to get as an 0L (I remember) but 1L isn't really all that different from UG IMO. I just type notes in Word because it's (1) you can take down way more info by typing than handwriting and (2) it makes it much easier to copy/paste into outlines. I've never used OneNote but I planned on it going into 1L bc of the OneNote circle jerk here but I can't imagine how it adds any value. I'd suggest you just relax and not over think things like notes.

[Nebby]

I handwrite only. All As. Whatever works for you works.

[03152016]

tag

[mirroroferised7]

Thanks, guys!

Would not recommend taking notes in Word. I use OneNote and it is the stuff of the gods.

Can you tell me why? I tried using it for a few minutes, but couldn't really get into it. What can it do that a simple outline in word can't?

EDIT: as for backing up, I'd recommend simply having your notes on dropbox or google drive. that way you'll have local copies synced on all your computers, as well as online backups

^Really helpful

As far as i'm concerned bk is right. It's really hard to get as an 0L (I remember) but 1L isn't really all that different from UG IMO. I just type notes in Word because it's (1) you can take down way more info by typing than handwriting and (2) it makes it much easier to copy/paste into outlines. I've never used OneNote but I planned on it going into 1L bc of the OneNote circle jerk here but I can't imagine how it adds any value. I'd suggest you just relax and not over think things like notes.

^Ha. This is what I suspected. Thanks for confirming!

And I'm actually kind of a procrastinator. I start class in less than two weeks. Time to start stocking up on pens and notebooks...

And don't worry, I plan to save multiple copies of my notes to dropbox and google drive when I type them up in Word. I remember using One Note in UG, and just being annoyed by it. I might give it a test run to see how much the functionality has changed (if at all.). Thanks for the advice, guys!

[Theopliske8711]

The class I sat in on in CLS was almost entirely notebook. I wonder if it was the prof's policy.

[encore1101]

(When I cared about grades) I always handwrote my notes because it forces you to paraphrase the professor on the spot, so you're paying more attention to what the professor is saying in order to intelligently take down notes. It also lets you draw diagrams and charts easier.

As a 3L, I typed my notes, and even though I was getting down more of what the professor was saying, I felt more like a stenographer-- just mindlessly typing away what words I heard.

But again, play around with both and see what works. Try doing a few weeks of each in different classes or something.

[HRomanus]

(When I cared about grades) I always handwrote my notes because it forces you to paraphrase the professor on the spot, so you're paying more attention to what the professor is saying in order to intelligently take down notes. It also lets you draw diagrams and charts easier.

As a 3L, I typed my notes, and even though I was getting down more of what the professor was saying, I felt more like a stenographer-- just mindlessly typing away what words I heard.

But again, play around with both and see what works. Try doing a few weeks of each in different classes or something.

In UG I was a handwriter in the classes I cared about and a typer in the classes I didn't. I am assuming I'll have the same practice in LS. How big are LS desks? That was another problem I ran into in UG typing - 3/4 of my desk was taken up by the laptop and I ran out of space for anything else. I'd assume having a casebook on your desk will further complicate that issue.

[MKC]

(When I cared about grades) I always handwrote my notes because it forces you to paraphrase the professor on the spot, so you're paying more attention to what the professor is saying in order to intelligently take down notes. It also lets you draw diagrams and charts easier.

As a 3L, I typed my notes, and even though I was getting down more of what the professor was saying, I felt more like a stenographer-- just mindlessly typing away what words I heard.

But again, play around with both and see what works. Try doing a few weeks of each in different classes or something.

In UG I was a handwriter in the classes I cared about and a typer in the classes I didn't. I am assuming I'll have the same practice in LS. How big are LS desks? That was another problem I ran into in UG typing - 3/4 of my desk was taken up by the laptop and I ran out of space for anything else. I'd assume having a casebook on your desk will further complicate that issue.

This is from Wustl. All of my classes are set up like this. Tons of space. I don't know about other schools, but I like the way they set it up here.

[dextermorgan]

(When I cared about grades) I always handwrote my notes because it forces you to paraphrase the professor on the spot, so you're paying more attention to what the professor is saying in order to intelligently take down notes. It also lets you draw diagrams and charts easier.

As a 3L, I typed my notes, and even though I was getting down more of what the professor was saying, I felt more like a stenographer-- just mindlessly typing away what words I heard.

But again, play around with both and see what works. Try doing a few weeks of each in different classes or something.

In UG I was a handwriter in the classes I cared about and a typer in the classes I didn't. I am assuming I'll have the same practice in LS. How big are LS desks? That was another problem I ran into in UG typing - 3/4 of my desk was taken up by the laptop and I ran out of space for anything else. I'd assume having a casebook on your desk will further complicate that issue.

[img]

This is from Wustl. All of my classes are set up like this. Tons of space. I don't know about other schools, but I like the way they set it up here.

Do you normally have that many students in suits?

[unlicensedpotato]

I have really bad handwriting so this may just be me but there are lots of times where I never could have kept up with the professor if I weren't typing.

[John Everyman]

http://m.theatlantic.com/technology/arc ... nd/361478/

Kind of goes back to what Nony was mentioning, but interesting nonetheless. Wondering if I should give handwriting a shot even though my handwriting is particularly egregious.

[MKC]

Do you normally have that many students in suits?

I'm pretty sure that's not a law class. Maybe a CLE thing.

[bropulous]

I switched from handwriting to typing after 1L year. Most of my 1L courses didn't allow laptops, so it didn't seem worth bringing one every day. I also realized how useful it would be to be able to search my notes during exams if necessary.

It definitely depends on the person though. I'm pretty good about not writing down every single thing the professor says or getting distracted by the internet, but I'm sure handwriting could work better for some people.