The Research:
A recent study conducted at the Department of Psychology of the University of Waterloo in Canada asserted that typing with one hand could lead to better quality writing. The study was published in the British Journal of Psychology and was headed by Srdan Medimorec. Researchers asked 103 students to write essays in two different conditions – one by using one hand and the other using both hands. The university students were asked to write essays about an event that had a positive effect on them, or a memorable experience at school. They could also write about their position on prohibiting mobile phones on campuses.
The Conclusion:
Text-analysis software was used to evaluate the different elements of the essay, such as vocabulary range, sentence complexity and writing cohesion. The researchers concluded that the students who typed using just one hand employed more sophisticated vocabulary. The team said that slowing down the process by typing single-handedly allowed the writers more time to think of words, resulting in a broader lexicon being used. Conversely, those who wrote faster by typing with two hands were more likely to use the first word that came to mind.
In this study, those who typed with one hand slowed down to a similar speed as that of handwriting. Professor Evan Risko, one of the senior authors of the study, claims that this is the very first study to demonstrate that when one interferes with one’s typing, one’s writing can improve. His team asserts that regardless of tools, writing speed could affect the quality of writing, whether that is handwriting, typing or text-to-speech. It is important, however, not to slow down too much, as this can actually impair writing, as shown by previous studies.
Improve Your Typing Now:
If you are struggling to finish your schoolwork or that business letter, why not try typing with one hand and check out the results.
