Do you want to know a fast way to improve your grades and avoid a research-backed study mistake while you are here?

If so, read on to know what this fast way is.

Let’s cut right to the chase with the research.

According to research from Princeton University and UCLA, students who take notes by hand outperformed those who take notes with their laptops, citing an increase in their conceptual understanding of the material and hence higher test scores. This research can be seen here.

Additionally, the results were so profound the distribution of the test scores between those who took notes with pen and paper and those who took notes with a laptop had vastly different normal distributions in their test score averages. Have a look at these graphs here.

This is really serious considering our technology driven world has caused us to spend so much time behind computers.

Personally, I have never used a laptop to make notes at all. The reason is because of what the research says: laptops reduce the amount of material you comprehend even without distractions.

As a result, my scores were, quite honestly, way higher than everyone else to the point where I was consistently scoring the highest grades on tests during my last 2 years of college.

My classmates would always ask me “How are you getting all of these high scores? We have to study this material in groups and we still don’t get it, but we see you are doing all of this by yourself. That’s impressive.”

Now here’s the thing I noticed with my classmates. Usually during lectures, a good number of them would use the laptop in class. Many times, the professors would have to tell students something along the lines of “I suppose you are using the laptop to take notes.”

In essence, the professors knew they were not using the laptops to study. And even without distractions, they would mostly be on the laptop studying and taking notes on it. And I can safely say this. Along with not using the other study hacks I implemented in college which aren’t covered in this post, typing their notes into the laptop was a primary reason they did not score as high as me.

Why? Because using the laptop to take notes limited their ability to conceptualize the material to the point where they could create the solutions on the test without needing to memorize the material.

Now you might be asking the question “How does this apply to me?”

The reason it applies to you is because if you are currently struggling to take tests and you notice you are making the same study mistake of using laptops to take notes like I’ve outlined in this post or if you are getting ready to go to college and you want to avoid study mistakes so you do not suffer academically, this case study along with the corresponding research to support this case study can provide you an immediate answer to quickly resolving the issue of knowing how to study.

Author Bio: Evan Cruz is the founder of Join the Island, the blog dedicated to helping young adults become more productive, reach their full potential and navigate college with extremely insightful hacks and techniques. He is a graduate from Florida International University in Miami, Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (magna cum laude). http://www.jointheisland.com/college-tips/