Now this is counterintuitive -- a professor who prefers handwritten exams. They may be harder to read but Duke Law Prof. Eric Gerding at The Conglomerate says it's a quality thing:
I've found (in a non-statistical study) that blue book exams are not only more concise, but generally evidence clearer and more cogent thought. (Should any of my students from this past semester read this, don't take this as a commentary on your performance. I am only starting my grading later this afternoon). Unable to cut and paste with two keystrokes and a mouse click, blue book writers seem to take a lot more care in crafting their sentences and paragraphs. The big shift towards lap top usage may have a large downside not only for class participation, but for the quality of legal writing and analysis.
And, he says, same goes for academic writing. So, I guess, the question becomes -- ballpoints or fountain pens?
