I’ve always found that when my notes look nice, I feel better about studying. Having pretty class notes makes me feel like I have my life together and I know what I’m doing. Learn what are the best pens for note taking.
I’m 100% more likely to get started on learning if I let myself spend some time adding additional artistic flair to my work. I’ve even spent an hour or several looking at #studyspo on instagram and tumblr to get me in the mood to start working.
Here’s an example of my class notes:
If you, like me, appreciate pretty class notes, this is the article for you.
If you’re trying to make your own notes gram-worthy, here are my #studyspo school supply essentials for pretty class notes, plus which types of activity I personally recommend that they’d be best for.
Table of Contents
1. Mildliners
If there was only one writing utensil I could recommend beyond all others, it would be Mildliners. They’re pastel-colored highlighters so you can color-code and emphasize your notes without the intensity of regular highlighters.
I personally get overwhelmed looking at a page lit up by neon colors, so Mildliners have been perfect for me. I can easily use the yellow mildliner as a traditional highlighter or take advantage of the set to organize my notes. In the photo above, you can see I even use them to add to diagrams.
These highlighters come conveniently with a tip on each side – one in a regular highlighter shape, and one with a fine point. The fine point makes it especially easy to do detailed work in diagrams and add colored titles or notes without needing to write in size 64 handwriting.
Also Read: 20 Cute Pens and Pencils for College
2. Paper Mate InkJoy Pens
InkJoy pens are perfect for when you want to color-code your notes or add extra captions to your work. These pens write smoothly and come in a variety of sizes. They also don’t smear and only bleed minimally, even on thin paper.
I personally recommend these pens if you just want to have a lazy day of writing, rather than doing fine calculations or detailed notes. They come in a zillion colors and roll along with the page easily, allowing you to write quickly.
Aside from taking class notes, these pens would be great for dream journaling, guided journaling, or writing anything that requires the easy transference of words to paper.
3. Muji Pens
Muji gel ink pens are basically the opposite pole of the size spectrum from InkJoy pens. When it comes to color-coding detail work, these are your best bet. Their most popular sizes are 0.38 mm and 0.5 mm, and I recommend them for when you’re feeling really aggressive towards writing.
They’re great for doing focused work and taking notes in small spaces. They’re not so great when it comes to lackadaisical or free-form writing. These are your “I’m going to get some BUSINESS DONE” pens. I recommend them for any time you really need to think about what you’re writing, such as taking notes on a difficult or complicated subject.
4. Sharpie Gel Highlighters
Sharpie gel highlighters are worth buying almost just for their novelty of them. Instead of a marker, they are basically just a gel-like solid in the shape of a pen. You twist them along and scrape the gel onto the paper.
These highlighters are perfect for highlighting in textbooks or other books with thin or glossy pages were bleeding through is a concern. They’re also good for rapid highlighting when you’re rushing through last-minute cramming.
Finally, I recommend giving these highlighters a try simply for the sake of novelty. The gel creates a feeling of highlighting, unlike any other writing experience I’ve tried.
5. uni-ball Jetstream Pens
One of the biggest debates in the pen world is rollerball vs ballpoint. Those on the side of rollerball pens cite their easy ink flow and dark, crisp, lines. Ballpoint pen users argue that rollerball pens smear too easily, while ballpoint pens allow you to write quickly without fear of touching your paper.
The perfect compromise is in the uni-ball JetStream pens. They write smoothly and easily, leaving dark lines, but have a ballpoint pen’s lack of smearing. It’s the perfect combination of every positive trait found in any pen. Since they come in both 0.7 mm and 1.0 mm sizes, you can use them for either detailed or quick work. I personally recommend the 1.0 mm pen because it has a smoother feel to it.
These pens have no specific Christi-recommended purpose because they are perfect for everything. Use them for planning a vacation, for taking notes on metaphors in Hawthorne‘s early works, or for describing the transmission and symptoms of Hepatitis. They are the perfect pen.
What are your go-to writing supplies?
Everyone has their secret favorite pen or pencil. Which one do you recommend beyond all others? Comment below and I will try them and review them dramatically.
If you like this article about the best pens for note taking, consider checking out these other college life tips and ideas posts below –
No mention of Pilot’s Frixion pens??? Sacrilege!
I always have to have them, I mess up too much not to have erasable pens.
I love them too its just that sometimes they come out to easily lol
I love the medium tip papermate flair pens for notes.
I agree, they are smooth to write with and bleed way less than most thin marker pens
I am a fountain pen user. The TWSBI mini is my personal favorite when it comes to note-taking. However, I like using highlighters and find that they smear fountain pen ink. If you need to takes notes and want to highlight text without smudging the ink, I highly recommend either ballpoint pens (Paper Mate Inkjoy 100 ST are my personal favorites; comes in a variety of colors). I also recommend Jetstream Hybrid ink pens. You can highlight over either of these pen’s ink without worrying about smudging.