In April 2020, a question was posted on Kokuyo's official Instagram account by a first-year high school student.

I just started high school, and I'm not sure whether to use loose-leaf paper or notes in class. I'm also really not sure which is better for reviewing five subjects!!

I sensed that the person on Instagram was seriously worried, so I wanted to give them a proper answer.

So, they decided to "ask high school students about their concerns!" and conducted an emergency survey using Instagram stories. Despite only being available for one day (24 hours), 492 people responded, far exceeding their expectations.
Some people even commented, "Actually, I was worried about this too. Thank you for taking the survey."

This spring in particular, schools have been closed due to the spread of COVID-19, and many first-year high school students have not been able to attend school at all. We hope that this will be of some help to those who are about to start studying without being able to interact with friends and seniors!

So, we will tell you about the actual usage of notebooks and loose-leaf paper by high school students, as revealed by the survey.

"Use them differently" 6More than 10%

A total of 492 people participated in this survey. While most were current high school students, there were also some university students who shared their experiences from their high school days.

As a result, the most common answer was "I use different notebooks for different purposes" (308 people/ 63%), followed by "I use notebooks for everything" (121 people /25%), and "I use loose-leaf paper for everything" (57 people/ 11 %).

In fact, Kokuyo Magazine once conducted a survey on the same topic among university students. The results showed that 70% preferred loose-leaf paper and 30% preferred notebooks. Even on the same topic, the results are completely different between high school students and university students. (For more details, click here.)

The reason for this becomes clear when we look more closely at each answer.

First, let's start with the most common response from those who prefer to use them differently, and explore the reasons for and how to use them differently.

The main reasons for using them are "school designated" and "submission"

Some classes require you to submit your work in notebooks, so I use them all. For self-study work that doesn't need to be submitted to school, I either prepare a notebook and write everything there, or I use loose-leaf paper and just work on it.

For subjects where notes were required, I used notebooks, and for math I used loose-leaf paper! For other subjects, the teachers handed out handouts, so I wrote directly on the handouts.

There are some subjects for which you cannot submit assignments on loose-leaf paper, so I use different paper for each subject. Also, when I have worksheets with a lot of questions, I try to use loose-leaf paper as much as possible.

The most common reason given for using different paper types was due to school (teacher) requirements and the need to submit documents. Many people seem to use loose-leaf paper for subjects that don't require submission or for self-study at home.

Use notebooks to view things chronologically, and loose-leaf paper for studying for tests.

In class, I use notes to make it easier to follow the order of what I learned, and when reviewing or studying for tests, I use loose-leaf paper to summarize only the necessary parts!!

Separate your notebooks for each subject into one for class and one for work, write the same content you wrote in class on loose-leaf paper, and when it's time for a test, carry only the loose-leaf paper with your weak points written on it.

For the type of material where I prepare in advance and receive explanations in class, I use loose leaf paper as I tend to write a lot, but for things like history where I need to memorize the flow, I use notebooks!

I used notebooks for all my classes, and loose-leaf paper to summarize my notes when studying for tests! I punched holes in the handouts that were often handed out when studying for tests, and the handouts used in class, and made a loose-leaf file for test study, and organized the loose-leaf paper and handouts into one booklet!

I generally use notebooks so that I can easily follow the flow of the content, but when I need to summarize important things, such as before a test, I write them on loose-leaf paper and put them all together in Smartring Slim Binder notebook so that they are easy to carry around. I also use loose-leaf paper when taking classes from teachers who don't write much on the board or when solving workbooks.

The good thing about notebooks is that they never get out of order. You can take notes on what you learned in what order, what the teacher said at each point, and so notebooks can be useful for remembering what you learned in class.

On the other hand, many people have found that loose-leaf paper, which allows them to carry around only the pages they need, is a good way to make their own summary notebooks at home, or to write down only the words they struggle with, and then carry around only the pages they need during test periods.

Notebooks for exercises, loose-leaf for memorization

I write down the memorization-based science and social studies subjects on loose-leaf paper, and Japanese and math in a notebook.

I use notebooks for practice questions and loose-leaf paper for reviewing notes and memorization! Loose-leaf paper is convenient for studying for tests because you can see multiple subjects all in one book.

The advantage of loose-leaf paper is that you can write a lot of additional information, but the disadvantage is that you have to organize it frequently. In my case, I used loose-leaf paper for math because I wanted to add similar questions to problems I didn't understand. For everything else, I use notebooks. Notebooks are easy to manage!

Opinions differ on whether to use notebooks or loose-leaf paper when using a lot of pages or when writing extensively to remember something, but it seems that most people use loose-leaf paper when summarizing or memorizing.

Print lessons go well with loose-leaf paper

Depending on the class, there are classes where we write on the board and classes where we use handouts, so I use notebooks and loose-leaf paper! When we use handouts, I use loose-leaf paper so that it's easy to file!!

In high school, there are more handouts, so in order to make it easier to organize them, loose-leaf paper is generally used for classes where a lot of handouts are distributed, while notebooks are used for classes with fewer handouts or history classes where order is important!

Loose-leaf paper seems to be convenient for the recent increase in handouts in classes. Using a handout file or a two-ring loose-leaf binder makes it easy to store them together.

Those who use notes all value a sense of accomplishment!

Now, let's move on to the second most common response: "All notes."

There were quite a few teachers who didn't allow loose-leaf paper, and there was only one subject where I could use it lol, so I kept everything in A4 notebooks! It's certainly a pain to carry around, but these days you can easily find it by looking it up, and you don't have to worry about losing the paper, so I personally recommend it!

I'm not good at filing or managing handouts, so I tend to prefer notebooks... There are more and more convenient notebooks available, such as ones that you can stick B5 handouts on, so I think I can manage. I also have loose-leaf paper, but I only use it partially, for when I forget my notebook, to write quick notes, or to solve problems on loose-leaf paper because I don't want to write the answers in my workbook.

Loose-leaf paper tends to get crumpled when you put your study materials away in a hurry, and some pages can get lost, so I ended up just using notebooks.

Many people who use notebooks say they don't like losing them, having them fall apart, or getting crumpled. The advantage of notebooks is that they are easy to manage.

A notebook keeps a record of what you've studied, and I loved the sense of accomplishment I got from using it all up!

I feel a sense of accomplishment when I finish a notebook, and when I stack them up at the end of the year, I feel like I've studied a lot!

The good thing about notebooks is that you can "use them up." Looking at your notebooks as proof of your hard work can also boost your confidence for tests and exams. I understand that!

Some people are like this.

It's the easiest, cheapest, and least bulky option. I once tried to organize all my subjects in a thick binder using loose-leaf paper, but it became too heavy after about a month, so I gave up. However, binders for all subjects are expensive and bulky for a high school student, so I ended up settling on notebooks.

I see. Some people may find it difficult to use a binder. If you're going to have trouble with it, why not just use a notebook? I understand that a little.

I have so many cute notebooks I bought so many I have to use them.

That's right. Cute notebooks are surprisingly less useful once you start working, so use them now! (This is from my own experience!)

Those who prefer loose-leaf paper value rationality!

On the other hand, the top three reasons for those who prefer "all loose-leaf" were "it's easy to add more," "it's easy to carry around," and "I don't like having to carry over to the next fiscal year." Although the number of people who gave these reasons was small overall, most of them were rational opinions.

I hate the idea of my notebooks expiring at the end of the school year!

The number of subjects increases in high school, so it's difficult to carry a notebook! If you consider the subjects + workbooks, the main subjects simply double, so I thought it would be difficult to carry a notebook.

It's easy to carry around! Even if you make a mistake, it doesn't really bring down your mood.

If I take a break or fall asleep, I have to open a few pages in a notebook and copy them later, but with loose-leaf paper I can take my time writing down the parts I missed later.

I got the impression that many of the comments were in agreement with these points...try your best to stay awake during class (lol)!

summary

This time, we've compiled the "notebooks vs. loose-leaf paper" question based on an Instagram survey.

From what everyone has said, it seems that high school students should first check the procedures and policies of their school or teacher. If there are any instructions from their school or teacher, then they should prepare accordingly.

On top of that, when it comes to subjects you can use freely and things to use for self-study, please refer to the comments we've introduced here and try out a variety of different things. If you find a method that works for you, studying itself may become a little more fun.

I hope your high school life will be fruitful!

Additionally, KOKUYO's official Instagram also supports your studies and posts a variety of information about stationery. Be sure to take a look!