Why handwriting makes you smarter

賓夕法尼亞大學 李勁松

題材社會 議論文體裁 篇幅 建議用時490詞 9分鐘

難詞探意

1.distraction /d?'str?k?n/ n.注意力分散

2.emerge /i'mз?d?/ v.出現；浮現

3.transcribe /tr?n'skra?b/ v.轉錄；抄寫

4.retain /r?'te?n/ v.保持

5.falter /'f??lt?(r)/ v.（嗓音）顫抖；支吾其詞

6.obsolete /'?bs?li?t/ adj.廢棄的；老式的；已過時的

Handwriting is gradually becoming a dying art.Few businesses can run nowadays without computers.Most college students type virtually everything.Elementary and high schools across thecountry now view typing courses as essential to their curricula.But what are we losing as handwriting loses its significance in society? It's brain power, according to some studies.

Researchers from Princeton University and the University of California, Los Angeles conducted a series of studies to demonstrate the differences between students who wrote out their notes and those who typed notes.Participants took notes on a lecture using one of the two methods and were tested on the material 30 minutes after the lecture and again a week later.The results of the research appeared in Psychological Science, and they were pretty telling.The authors of the study noted that, while past studies on this topic tended to focus on thedistractionsthat resulted from using a computer, in this study, participants were using the laptops only to take notes.And handwriting stillemergedas the champion.

That's not to say that typing doesn't have its benefits.There are reasons why typing has become so widespread.Clearvue Health recently took a deep dive into the findings of a study to assesspros and cons of writing and typing.The typists had a significant edge when it came to note-taking efficiency.They could copy down significantly more words than the writers, sometimes eventranscribingthe contents of the lecture word-for-word.But while more of the lecture's content wasretainedon paper when typing, it wasn't necessarily retained in participants' heads.The tests that the participants took proved this.On the test 30 minutes after the lecture, typists and writers did more or less equally well on questions about the basic facts of the lecture, but typistsfalteredwhen it came to more conceptual questions.So while having more precise, detailed notes can help in recalling facts in the short term, it takes the focus away from the main points of the lessons.Students who take handwritten notes need to quickly process the lesson and rewrite it in a way they can understand, giving them an advantage in remembering new concepts in the long term.

As for the later quiz, well, the results were similar.Students with handwritten notes were able to remember and still understand the concepts of the lecture after a week had passed.These participants were also more open to understanding new ideas.Clearly, writing by hand can make you smarter.

Computers aren't going away anytime soon, but that doesn't mean paper notebooks need to becomeobsolete.If your goal is to be able to set down facts, the efficiency of typing might best benefit you.But when it comes to truly dissecting information, truly learning from it in the sense of making connections between analyzing the material, and retaining it in the long run, writing by hand is a better choice.

閱讀自測

1.What can we know about the studies in paragraph 2?

A.Participants used two methods to take notes.

B.The studies were about the advantages of taking notes.

C.The results of the studies were published in Psychological Science.

D.The studies were conducted by researchers from Princeton University.

2.What can be inferred about typists from paragraph 3?

A.They used computers mainly for taking notes.

B.They could set down more contents of a lecture than writers.

C.They could remember new concepts for a long time by typing.

D.They did better on questions about the facts of the lecture than writers.

3.What does the underlined word “dissecting” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A.Analyzing. B.Protecting. C.Recalling. D.Considering.

文本探究

探究視角1：語言學習

Ⅰ.文本填空

1.Handwriting is gradually becoming a ________(die) art.

2.Participants took notes on a lecture ________(use) one of the two methods.

3.There are reasons ________typing has become so widespread.

4.The typists had a significant edge when it came ________note-taking efficiency.

5.Students who take handwritten notes need to quickly process the lesson and rewrite it in a way they can understand, ________(give) them an advantage in remembering new concepts in the long term.

Ⅱ.話題表達

as for 至于

a dying art 消亡的藝術

become obsolete 變得過時

in the long run 從長遠來看

take notes by typing 鍵盤輸入記筆記

have an advantage over 比……有優勢

the efficiency of typing 打字的效率

process and retain the information 加工并保存信息

typing has become so widespread 打字已經變得非常普遍

be more willing to understand new ideas 更樂意去了解新的觀點

view typing courses as essential to...認為打字課程對于……是很有必要的

handwriting loses its significance in society 手寫失去了它在社會中的重要性

giving them an advantage in remembering new concepts 讓他們在記住新概念方面占有優勢

Ⅲ.寫作推薦

1.Elementary and high schools across the country now view typing courses as essential to their curricula.現在全國的小學和中學都把打字課程視為必修課。

【信息提取】view...as...意為“把……視為……”。

【句式仿寫】他被認為是一個勤奮的人。 (diligent 勤奮的)__

2.Clearvue Health recently took a deep dive into the findings of a study to assess pros and cons of writing and typing.最近，Clearvue Health 對一項評估寫字和打字利弊的研究結果進行了深入研究。

【信息提取】take a deep dive into...意為“對……進行深入研究”。

【句式仿寫】科學家們對近幾年的氣候變化進行了深入研究。

探究視角2：語篇分析

在未來，電腦的用途會越來越廣泛，但這并不意味著紙質筆記本會過時。 本文是一篇議論文。本文的基本結構包括引論、本論和結論。 引論提出論點，本論擺出證據，結論重申作者的觀點。 常見的論證方法有舉例論證、道理論證、因果論證、比喻論證、歸謬論證和對比論證。本文主要運用的是對比論證，通過研究使用電腦記筆記的學生和用筆、紙記筆記的學生之間對信息接收的不同效果，來證明手寫筆記可以讓信息更長久地存在于大腦中，學生對信息的理解也更深、更透。

篇章結構梳理：

Structure Topic Paragraph(s) Main idea(s)Para.1 We're losing brain power as handwriting becomes less important.Findings Para.2 &Para.3●Handwriting emerged as the champion.●Students taking handwritten notes can remember new concepts in the long term.Conclusion Suggestion Para.4 Writing by hand can make you smarter.Para.5 If you want to learn from the material and remember it in the long run,writing by hand is a better choice.

探究視角3：思維拓展

白紙黑字：文字書寫的意義何在？

鍵盤輸入文字的方式似乎正在慢慢取代文字書寫，手寫正面臨著消亡的危險。 但是，鍵盤輸入的只是無差別的語言符號，它在承載人類情感方面有著很大的不足。 因而，書寫在這個人類愈加重視精神生活的時代里顯得比以往更加重要起來。 換句話說，在人類“詩意化的生存”中，書寫是一個達到這種意境的重要途徑。 與書寫相關的英文句子表達有：

1.Handwriting is gradually becoming a dying art.書寫正逐漸成為一門瀕臨消亡的“藝術”。

2.What we are losing as handwriting loses its significance in society is brain power.隨著書寫失去在社會上的重要性，我們的腦力也在慢慢退化。

3.Computers aren't going away anytime soon, but that doesn't mean paper notebooks need to become obsolete.電腦不會很快消失，但這并不意味著紙質筆記本會過時。

4.Students who take handwritten notes need to quickly process the lesson and rewrite it in a way they can understand, giving them an advantage in remembering new concepts in the long term.采用手寫筆記的學生需要快速處理課堂內容，并以他們能夠理解的方式重寫，這使他們在長期記憶新概念方面具有優勢。

5.Handwriting helps with memory, improves expression, and supports fine motor skill development.手寫有助于記憶和改善表達，并支持精細運動技能的發展。

6.Studies show that the sequential finger movements necessary for handwriting can activate the region of the brain involved in thinking, memory, and language.研究表明，手寫所必需的連續的手指運動可以激活大腦中涉及思考、記憶和語言的區域。

7.Technology should not be a replacement for handwriting, but should be used as a tool to keep children learning and engaged.科技不應該取代手寫，而應該作為一種工具，讓孩子進行學習和參與。

8.Whether the child has special needs or not, getting them to practice handwriting skills is important to their educational growth.無論孩子是否有特殊需要，讓他們練習手寫技能對他們的教育成長至關重要。

寫作實踐

假定你是李華，你所在的班級最近舉行了一場以“Take notes by typing or handwriting?”為主題的辯論賽。 請根據下表內容，用英文寫一篇短文說明該活動并談談你自己的看法。注意：

支持鍵盤輸入理由：方便；快捷；在短時間內記下很多信息；……支持手寫理由：鍛煉大腦；有利于理解信息并長久保存在大腦中；……

1.詞數100左右；

2.開頭已經給出，不計入總詞數；

3.可以適當增加細節，以使行文連貫。

Recently, a heated discussion about “Take notes by typing or handwriting?” was held in our class.Different students hold different opinions.