Grain Valley News
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community
    • Community Guide
    • Best of Grain Valley
    • Events Calendar
    • Job Board
    • 2025 Garage Sale Directory
    • Voter Resources
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member

​news

​How to tap into the benefits of using pen and paper

2/17/2022

 
     (StatePoint) February is International Correspondence Writing Month (InCoWriMo) -- a challenge to handwrite a piece of correspondence each day of the month -- meaning there’s no better time to tap into the power of the handwritten word.
     “With our many digital forms of communication, we have gained immediacy but lost intimacy,” says Ariann Langsam, vice president of marketing for Pilot Pen, whose background is in biology and neuroscience. “But handwriting is scientifically proven to solidify both cognitive connections needed for learning and comprehension, as well as emotional connections between individuals. We can make a powerful impact on the lives of others by connecting through the written word, and there are neurological and social benefits that keep writing by hand relevant not only during International Correspondence Writing Month, but all year long.”

It’s Good for the Soul
    In an era when digital devices and social media seem to dominate how we connect with loved ones, the art of letter writing has become rare. But sitting down to write correspondence by hand can be a much more personal way to connect than modern modes of communication. A recent study conducted by Pilot Corporation of America reinforced the emotional social benefits that come from putting pen to paper. A remarkable nine out of 10 respondents perceived cards with handwritten messages as more thoughtful and heartfelt than cards with printed messages. Even more respondents (92%) shared that they have saved handwritten cards or letters from a loved one as a cherished keepsake. When asked what emotions they felt when receiving a handwritten card, respondents reported they felt “appreciated,” “touched,” “cared for,” and “recognized”. We could all use a bit more of these feelings. This month, consider taking a few minutes to send a handwritten note to a loved one or friend.

It’s Good for the Brain
     The benefits of handwriting are firmly grounded in principles of learning and memory. For children, learning to handwrite letters plays a role in fostering the transition to literacy. Mounting evidence suggests that handwriting practice, particularly in preschool and early elementary school, may provide children an advantage in learning this vital skill.
     Writing by hand serves students well beyond those early years. Researchers at Princeton and UCLA discovered that college students who took handwritten notes outperformed students who typed their notes. The study authors believe this is because typing notes lends itself to taking down information word-by-word. Taking notes by hand, however, required students to think more deeply about the lecture content and be judicious in what they wrote down.
     You may no longer be in school yourself, however you still likely need to record information. Whether it’s instructions from your boss, recommendations from your doctor, or thoughts before book club, consider jotting things down by hand to help you better synthesize information.

Make it Count
     To impress your pen pals during the month of correspondence and make your InCoWriMo challenge a success, you’ll need to gather some supplies: stationery, envelopes, stamps and a trusty pen. To take on a month-long writing challenge, Pilot suggests the G2, America’s number one selling, longest-lasting gel ink pen. You’ll be able to glide well beyond 28 days of penning handwritten letters, taking notes, tackling to-do lists and anything else that comes across your desk. For tools and inspiration, visit PowerToThePen.com.
     From the classroom to correspondence and beyond, rediscover the art of handwriting and make a bigger impact by putting down the digital device and picking up a pen.
Picture

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    5 Questions
    Arts
    Beacon: Missouri
    Best Of Grain Valley
    Burton Kelso
    Business
    Cathy Allie
    Celebrations & Transitions
    Census
    City Of Grain Valley
    Civics 101
    Columnists
    Community Profile
    Covid-19
    Covid19
    Downtown Grain Valley
    Dr. Bug
    Economic-development
    Education
    Elections
    Financial-health
    Fitness
    Food Inspections
    Good News
    Good-news
    Grain-valley-assistance-council
    Grain Valley Fair
    Grain Valley Historical Society
    Grain-valley-partnership
    Grain Valley Schools
    Health And Fitness
    Health-and-fitness
    Home And Garden
    Jackson County
    Kansas City Royals
    Kindness Awards
    Ld
    Letters
    Local News
    Looking Back
    Lorne-meinershagen
    Missouri House Of Representatives
    Missouri Independent
    Missouri Senate
    Musings From The Middle
    Neighborhood View
    On-the-job
    Pets
    Police Blotter
    Public Notice
    Quick-news
    Rdn
    Recreation
    Sally-whitaker
    Scene In Grain Valley
    Seniors
    Senior-send-off
    Sports
    State Of Missouri
    Sunshine Week
    Technology
    The Beacon
    Tracey-shaffer
    Transportation
    University Of Missouri Extension
    Waynes-world

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

Grain Valley News

This work by Grain Valley News is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Contact Us

PO Box 2972
​Grain Valley MO 64029

Privacy Policy
​
(c) 2025 Grain Valley News
Picture
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community
    • Community Guide
    • Best of Grain Valley
    • Events Calendar
    • Job Board
    • 2025 Garage Sale Directory
    • Voter Resources
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member