Handwriting is linked to learning, memory and thinking

My daughter, a very early reader, learned to write the alphabet when she was three. She wouldn't quit -- "e" was very hard -- till she could write every letter. In kindergarten, demanded to learn script. Her fine-motor skills were nothing special, but she was great at pattern recognition and she had a will of iron. It took about three hours to get the "g" and the "q." She did it.

Writing by hand doesn't just develop fine motor skills, say researchers. It's good for the brain.

Students learn more and remember more when they write by hand, according to Edutopia's 10 most significant education studies of 2025. Typing on a keyboard is not as helpful.

Five-year-old pre-readers learned more letters and words when they practiced by hand rather than typing. Handwriting is an “important tool for learning and memory retention” for students of all ages, another study finds.

Writing by hand is closely connected to thinking concludes a meta-analysis of the research, writes Neil Franklin in Workplace Insight. There is "a clear and consistent link between children’s fine motor skills and how well they perform at school, across reading, writing, mathematics and broader cognitive measures."

Handwriting is a "powerful tool" for learning, write Elizabeth DeWitt, Cheryl Lundy Swift and Christina Bretz in The 74. "A recent study, Writing by Hand Helps Children Learn Letters Better, reinforces this, showing that the physical act of forming letters strengthens memory and accelerates learning."

Writing by hand "activates multiple areas of the brain by combining visual, auditory and kinesthetic input," they write. "Once letter formation becomes automatic, a child’s brain is freed to focus on higher-level thinking."

The benefits don't fade, researchers say."One study found college students who took notes by hand remembered more than those who typed, likely because writing by hand forces the brain to process and summarize information, not just copy it."