Whether you are in middle school, high school, college, or graduate school, typing your essays has become the standard practice. Handwritten essays are rarely accepted these days as teachers and professors prefer essays to be typed for legibility and format consistency. While some students still prefer to write out their essays by hand first before typing, most students do all of their drafting, writing, and revising on a computer. Here are some of the key reasons why typing your essay is generally the expected and recommended method:
Neatness and Appearance – Typed essays are much neater and cleaner looking than handwritten essays. With typing, your writing is standardized in font style and size and there is no variation that can occur with handwriting in terms of style, size, slant, etc. Professors prefer the neat, uniform appearance of typed essays as it is easier on the eyes when grading many papers. Sloppy or messily-written handwritten essays make a negative first impression.
Legibility – Most people’s handwriting is not as clear or legible as typed text. Cursive writing especially can be difficult for others to read. With typing, there is no concern about not being able to read words or misreading sloppy handwriting. Professors want to focus on content, not spend time deciphering handwriting. Typing ensures everything you have written can be easily read.
Formatting – Word processors make it simple to format your essay properly with consistent margins, line spacing, page headers/footers, citations, and bibliographies. Formatting by hand is time-consuming and error-prone. Computers allow you to check formatting requirements easily and adjust automatically. Poorly formatted handwritten essays make a bad impression and suggest you did not take the time to follow formatting guidelines.
Spell Checking – While typing, basic spelling errors can be automatically caught and fixed with spell check features. No such luxury exists for handwritten work – spelling mistakes will be permanent. Professors notice spelling issues and it undermines credibility. Computers help catch careless errors that should have been fixed.
Editing – It is simple to edit your work on a computer. You can cut, copy, paste, drag and drop, highlight, add/remove text freely. Correcting or rewriting by hand is tedious and difficult. Typing allows unlimited editing to polish and perfect your ideas without creating eraser marks or cross-outs. Professors expect well-edited, revised work.
Word Count – Most essays have specific length or word count requirements. With a computer, you can easily check your count and know how much more text is needed or where to trim. Estimating length from handwritten pages is difficult. Computers help ensure you meet length standards.
Time Management – For longer essays especially, typing is a much more efficient use of time than handwriting multiple drafts and pages. You can type faster than writing by hand, allowing more time for research, outline revisions, and quality content development. Professors want to see efficient time management from students.
References & Sources – When typed, your essay allows for in-text citations and a reference list or bibliography in the required format (APA, MLA, etc). Managing sources by hand is a chore. Computers simplify integrating references to support your ideas seamlessly. Professors expect proper source citation.
Printing & Submitting – Unless specified otherwise, essays are expected to be submitted in a printed paper copy, not a handwritten document. With a digital file, you can easily print professional copies. Handwritten work requires rewriting neatly, risking errors. Typing enables convenient, quality printing and submission of final assignments.
Special Formatting – Some essay types like lab reports, literature analyses, research papers, and theses have prescribing formatting for sections, graphs, tables, images, appendices, etc. Only with computer software can these complex layouts be accurately achieved. Handwritten documents just cannot meet formatting expectations for certain advanced assignment types.
Accessibility – Professors appreciate typed essays because they can be easily read electronically on a computer screen using text-to-speech software, magnification tools, screen readers, etc. This allows for disabled students or those with visual impairments fair access. Handwritten essays exclude some students. Typing promotes inclusion for all.
Storage & Organization – Digital files are small and can be easily saved, backed up, organized within folders in any naming system, and retrieved across multiple devices. Managing paper can be bulky and prone to loss or damage. Computers provide a more permanent storage solution and way to organize your work. Professors prefer the reliability of digital files.
Career Readiness – In most professional environments, reports, documents, proposals, and communications are expected to be typed, not handwritten. Colleges aim to prepare students for career and life demands. Completing only typed assignments instills important computer skills expected by employers, especially word processing competence. Professors believe this better prepares graduates for tomorrow’s workplace.
While there may be some rare exceptions where teachers allow handwritten essays, it has become overwhelmingly expected that college and university level work will be typed. Even if you do an outline or early drafts by hand, the final submission should always be a clean, polished typed document following all formatting guidelines. Choosing to type your essay ensures you present your ideas in the clearest, most organized, professional manner possible – giving your paper the best chance of a high mark. So whether required or not, typing is really the only practical option for students wanting to succeed at higher academic levels.
Andrew Stroud