Bedani Timalsina

Woelke

IB English HL

March 20, 2024

Handwriting Instruction Synthesis Essay Revised

In today’s modern world, the use of paper and pen writing is not as common as before.

ABC News reported that over 41 states adopted the common core standards for English, but this

means that handwriting instruction is not a part of the curriculum. (Source A) Many schools

around the country are debating whether or not they should keep handwriting instruction as a

part of their school curriculum. (Source A) Handwriting instruction should play some role in

school because of the benefits it provides students, however it shouldn’t be prioritized over other

critical and important subjects.

Implementing handwriting instruction into students’ curriculum would aid students with

brain development, such as their skills in reading, writing, language use, and critical thinking.

According to Source D, “Handwriting is a foundational skill that can influence students’ reading,

writing, language use, and critical thinking.” Therefore, handwriting instruction at school could

enhance and improve these skills that students are already learning in the first place.

Furthermore, Source D states that “Students without consistent exposure to handwriting are more

likely to have problems retrieving letters from memory; spelling accurately; extracting meaning

from text or lecture; and interpreting the context of words and phrases.” Not only does

handwriting improve your penmanship, but it also pushes cognitive development and exercise

that is beneficial in the long run. Computers and technology today have a built in spell check tool

that assists users by correcting any misspelled words or grammatical errors for them. As this tool
starts being used more and more, students end up depending on it heavily to fix their errors for

them rather than them consciously improving and thinking about their spelling themselves.

Handwriting pushes students to think about what they’re writing and to be mindful of their

spelling and grammar. There’s no guarantee that students receive practice with handwriting at

home, so having instruction implemented into school curriculum would be very beneficial and

essential.

Handwriting also benefits students with memory and studying. In my own experience, I

remember the content in class and I learn better when my notes are handwritten compared to

when they are typed out. A study comparing students who took notes by hand and those who

typed found that those who hand wrote their notes showed better comprehension of the content

they learned and were more involved and paid attention during the class discussions. (Source D)

Yes, people may argue that typing is more efficient in terms of energy and speed, however, when

talking about how well one retains information, handwriting is the better option out of the two

because it forces more processing and thinking when you are writing.

On top of cognitive benefits handwriting provides, handwriting is also a useful skill to

have because it’s still used in today’s modern world, thus students should still be prepared to use

it and have good practice in it. In a 2013 national survey, teachers from 450 elementary schools

were asked how much of their time at school students spent writing on paper and how much of

their time they spent using technology. In the graph, as the grades get higher, the percentages are

displayed to increase with the grades. Students in grade 5 use it 58% of their instruction time,

highlighting the importance of handwriting skills in education areas and school. (Source F) I use

handwriting every day as well, and so does my family for important tasks. At school, I use it for

note-taking because it helps me retain information better, when planning out my essays and
annotating any important passages I need to analyze. If my family and I are filling out an

important form, such as at the doctor’s office, we are required to use a pen and paper and write

down important information they need to be informed of. Although it’s not used frequently

everyday as it used to be now that we are more dependent on technology, handwriting is still in

the little important aspects of our life. This shines light on the importance of practicing the skill

and teaching handwriting to children at school especially as technology becomes a greater part of

our daily lives.

While handwriting is important, there is a certain extent to what skills should be taught,

and that being that cursive should not be a priority. Cursive is not a skill that most people use in

their everyday life. Justin Pot stated that “It’s a staggering waste—but even worse, in retrospect,

were the reasons my teachers said it was important. “You’re going to use this every day,” I was

told. I don’t. “In college, if you can’t write cursive, you won’t be able to take notes fast

enough.” I didn’t use cursive; I kept up just fine.”(Source E) Normal print handwriting is what is

used more commonly on a daily basis. This would make learning cursive not worth taking away

time from educational subjects, and student’s could instead be working on their regular

handwriting skills. “There’s only so many hours in a day, so it’s important education systems

prioritize. Every hour spent learning an obsolete skill like cursive is time they’re not learning the

programming skills needed for great jobs, or other essential life-skills like managing your

money.”(Source E) In my classes, my peers don’t use cursive unless someone is creating a

decorative poster using calligraphy and word art. Cursive is hardly used in educational contexts

and more so aesthetic purposes. Dedicating class time for learning cursive is not an effective or

smart use of time and could be used for other important academic courses or life skills.
 Handwriting instruction is used in daily life and helps with the brain development of

children. Retaining information becomes easier when it is written down and it improves memory

and cognitive development. Although the use of pen and paper will decrease and technology

becomes more commonly used in schools and society, these benefits are important and should be

practiced in school so that everyone is required to practice it.