# Write notes in our own words Writing notes in our own words reveals gaps in our learning while reinforcing the learning already achieved. [[🔑 Highlighting, rereading, and cramming are almost useless|Copying excerpts is a waste of time]], but writing our own notes forces us to check our own comprehension and [[Good notes recontextualize information|take ownership of what we've learned]]. Because typing is so much faster, we can write notes verbatim without thinking, while handwritten notes are so slow that we can't possibly expect to catch everything, so we instead listen to [[Get the gist]] and write our notes concisely and in our own words. Writing notes by hand may feel slower and more difficult, but [[🔑 Learning requires effort]] Because of this, studies have shown that while students who type their notes remember the same facts as those who hand write, students with handwritten notes achieve a greater depth of understanding than those who type. But [[🔑 Awareness can catalyze change]], so typing notes can still work well, so long as we slow down and take the time to think as if we were writing by hand because. ## Related [[🦮 How to Take Good Notes]] [^1]: