We live in the age of iPhones and tablets. The information has never been easier to find, and touch typing is now becoming one of the top preferred methods for writing essays, papers, and documents. So, why should you learn cursive?
The answer is because handwriting has important benefits that no one should ignore. Despite the undeniable benefits of using electronic devices, researchers have found that typing cannot replace handwriting when it comes to growing and maintaining critical thinking and language skills.
Why You Should Learn Cursive: Type or Handwrite?
When deciding whether or not to learn cursive, consider the fact that research showed that people who take written notes, students—in particular—tend to give better answers to more complex questions compared to students who used their laptops to take notes.
Why do students who take notes give a better answer to conceptual questions compared to students who use laptops?
The answer is because typing is more focused on speed, so the information is processed on a superficial level. This way, you process information in a more shallow way. Opposite to that, handwritten note-taking requires processing information and reframing it in your own words. This improves both the recollection and the understanding of the content.
Why You Should Learn Cursive to Improve Intellectual and Creative Skills
Are you struggling with academic work? Are you coping with brain fog and fatigue? Perhaps you are looking for more creative mindfulness activities or you are eager to learn different art forms. Great news! Cursive writing is supportive of all of those things!
| Cursive Writing Benefits | |
| Children | Overcoming obstacles, increased self-confidence, and motor and intellectual stimulation. |
| Adults | Mental clarity and sharpness, mindfulness, stress relief, and better intellectual and cognitive performance. |
The following are the health and developmental benefits of learning cursive:
Benefit #1: Writing Quality
Learning handwriting strongly correlates to improving writing quality. In addition to improving handwriting legibility, it also involves two important levels of skills:
- Low-level: grammar and spelling
- High-level: contemplating the topic, strategy, organization
You need both types of brain power to be proficient in intellectual work. If you do not hand write regularly, you might discover that you have a lack of mental strength for high-level operations, like analyzing a topic and drawing conclusions.
Learning how to write cursive helps you have better, more fluent handwriting. It also helps you have better concentration and have more brain power for performing high-level skills and tasks that are linked with reading and writing.
For this reason, many researchers advocate for cursive to be taught in schools as well as paper and pencil writing to be more prevalent compared to computer typing. These researchers advocate that people and students of all ages who do not spend enough time writing on paper will eventually fail at developing the full potential of their language and handwriting skills.
Benefit #2: Brain Power
Studies found that writing letters on paper instead of typing them engages more brain function. In fact, it was found that children who wrote on paper activated the same brain areas associated with writing and reading as adults, while those children who typed on a computer did not engage these brain parts.
On top of that, writing in cursive is more complex than typing. The hand movement tasks are more complex, so you make less typical motions with your hands and fingers. This stimulates visual recognition while writing connected letters is particularly beneficial for those who have dysgraphia and dyslexia.
Overall, researchers found that academic success tends to increase for those students who practice frequent and legible handwriting. Practicing handwriting excellence can not only improve your academic success but also sharpen visual perception, help with better focus, and enable you to better process complex information than if you were typing.
Practicing cursive writing is not only fun. It is beneficial on many intellectual levels and can help you better understand numerous academic subjects. If there is a topic you find difficult to understand, academic or not, writing down notes, facts, diagrams, and associations in cursive are bound to help you resolve the enigma and eventually fully understand whatever is challenging you.
Learning how to write in cursive is highly recommended to both children and students. Both students who are struggling and gifted students can set a goal to learn excellent handwriting and benefit intellectually along the way. Both children and young adults can, this way, unlock their hidden academic potential.
Children, on the other hand, learn to overcome different academic challenges. Learning cursive takes time and patience and is not easy on children. They need to master not only the proper movements for writing and connecting letters, but also strengthen their muscles to endure longer periods of writing and refine the nerves in their fingers to navigate the pen.
Benefit #3: Self-Confidence in Children and Adults
Self-confidence is beneficial for their motor, cognitive, and emotional development. The emotional benefits of children learning how to write in cursive, of course, include self-confidence. Self-confidence is one of the most important traits of every stable, successful, and happy individual. Children gain it through overcoming challenges and feeling satisfied with the visible results of their work, and cursive writing is a great way to provide that.
Like children, adults benefit greatly from learning how to write quality, easily legible cursive. As an adult, you benefit from relaxation, mindfulness, and playfulness that comes with taking the time to learn to write letter by letter in a particularly intricate form, and then learning how to connect these letters into words and sentences.
Benefit #4: Mindfulness
Cursive, calligraphy, and other different forms of graphic art help relieve tension and anxiety. If you just cannot stop thinking about your problems and pending to-do’s, then learning cursive could be one of the top relaxing activities. Taking the time to focus solely on the task of writing intricate lines is bound to help you forget your worries.
Benefit #5: Artistic Creativity
Learning how to write in cursive is a great way for both children and adults to express their personality in an artistic way. Every person has their unique handwriting, and nurturing that uniqueness can help one discover new, fresh sources of inspiration. It can help you find your unique inspiration and writing forms, which will help you stand out and identify with your unique esthetic.
On top of that, learning cursive can help you find your unique voice and style in writing. Learning should always encourage the development of a unique personality, and automated work—such as typing on a keyboard—is less likely to give you that.
Compared to that, taking the time to write with your favorite pen in a journal or a notebook of your choice is more likely to help you nurture authentic artistic expressions.
Aside from benefiting cognitive, emotional, and intellectual skills, cursive can be a form of art. It can also be used for journaling, scrapbooking, painting, making posters and cards, and as a base skill for learning calligraphy.
Cursive Writing FAQ
How Do I Start Learning Cursive Writing?
The best and the easiest way to start learning cursive is to start by exercising the lowercase letters of the alphabet. Practice starting from the letter u, and then proceed with b, f, and k. After that, you can continue with the remaining letters of the alphabet.
Once you have learned the lowercase letters, you can start learning the capital letters in the same order. Once you have learned the technique of cursive writing, you can proceed to learn writing in different fonts.
How Do I Start Practicing Cursive Handwriting?
You will need regular daily exercise to learn fine cursive writing. Make sure to exercise writing at least 20 minutes every day. The exercises can consist of writing a set of letters, phrases, or sentences. You can even write down inspiring quotes, lyrics, or draft your essays before typing them into your Word document.
What Is the Best Routine for Cursive Practicing?
There are several ways for you to learn cursive writing. As you know, you should practice for around 20 minutes each day. Of course, you can write for longer than that but not shorter. How you choose to distribute those 20 minutes is up to you.
However, it would be highly beneficial to make cursive writing a part of your daily scheduling, planning, and journaling. That way, you can include cursive writing into your morning and evening mindfulness routines.
How Can I Be Creative With Cursive?
There are multiple art forms that can be successfully paired with cursive handwriting. You can journal, write poetry, practice scrapbooking, write artistic cards, and so much more!
Conclusion
In this post, you learned about the benefits of cursive writing. Cursive writing can help you sharpen cognitive skills, de-stress, and boost creativity. If you find yourself feeling drained and fatigued due to computer work all day, then turning off your laptop and grabbing a pen and piece of paper is a great alternative.
Despite looking futile, handwriting relaxes your nerves, exercises the fine muscles and nerves in your hands and fingers, and sharpens your thinking. It will help you find your unique voice and inspiration, and spark creative expressions beyond what you could imagine!