National Stationery Week: Handwriting & Stationery

27th April 2016

National Stationery Week – which runs from 25th April to 1st May this year – celebrates the written word and all things stationery.

Writing, and being able to write by hand, matters and is as important as ever, even in an increasingly digital world. According to YouGov research commissioned by National Stationery Week, 92% of adults think that writing by hand is important and 97% think it is important for children to be taught to write.

National Stationery Week aims is to get people all over the world talking and writing about stationery, along with highlighting the importance of handwriting.

2015 marked the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, and is a reminder of how handwriting has stood the test of time. It also saw the launch of the first World Stationery Day in April, as part of National Stationery Week.

Why is handwriting still important?

Technology has become increasingly integrated into our daily lives and the act of writing with a pen has been somewhat forgotten. However, the act of writing should not be forgotten and – aside from its charm – it still has much more utility than it is often given credit for.

Handwriting is less restrictive than its digital counterpart and has many advantages. It also still forms a unique part of our culture and identity.

Educational benefits

Handwriting still forms an integral part of our education system, due to the fact that most of our examinations are still handwritten. Therefore, it still serves as a very functional skill. This means that despite the incorporation of computers into the classroom, focus should still be placed on students’ ability to write without the help of technology.

Cognitive benefits

Writing notes by hand also has many cognitive benefits. Whilst it has been argued that typing notes at the time may allow us to focus more on what we are actually listening to, research has suggested that writing notes by hand means that we are more likely to remember them. It also allows you time to re-evaluate what you have written and digest your notes.

Creativity

The physical act of writing can also have other benefits, in particular creativity. Writing with pen and paper can help you rid yourself of the distractions of the digital world. When typing, there can be a tendency to edit as you go rather than letting your ideas flow.

This can be counterproductive to the creative process. With a blank piece of paper, you tend to just write, get your ideas onto paper and leave the editing until later. Creative and elaborate penmanship is also very pleasing to the eye.

Less restrictive

Pen and paper can allow you to think more freely when doing things such as brainstorming. You have a blank page, pen and no restrictions as to where you can write – this allows you to link things together, circle important points, add side notes etc. Many will argue that this can now be done on a computer, but distractions – as mentioned – can interrupt creative flow.

Culture

Writing forms a unique and irreplaceable part of our culture. This is particularly the case for written languages made up of characters such as Mandarin but also for letters in English. Handwriting styles are unique to the individual and something which simply cannot be replicated with a keyboard.

Stylish stationery from WH Smith

Pens, pencils, highlighters, post-it notes, folders, erasers – all essential to help organise your homework. But it does have a bit of a reputation for being ‘boring’. Thanks to WH Smith in Garden Square, this doesn’t have to be the case!

If you’re going to be spending some time sat at a desk brushing up on algebra and ionic compounds, then at the very least you should be using fun, colourful and novelty stationery that will help keep your work eye-catching and appealing.

WH Smith believe that the key to successful studying is getting organised and staying motivated. And so their range of stationery has been designed with this in mind, balancing lots of fun colours, designs and features with practical elements to ensure it’s efficient and easy to use.

Let’s face it, reading page after page of a textbook about a subject you’re not that interested in, only results in spending more time on your phone complaining to your friends than with your nose in the book.

But fill that textbook with colourful arrows pointing to key information, speech bubbles with important quotes and neon sticky notes that will catch your eye, and suddenly that big bulky textbook is looking much easier to digest!

Pop into WH Smith in the Square to browse their stylish selection of stationery this week, and then put pen to paper and practice your handwriting!