Writing as a Thinking Tool

How writing shapes memory, critical thinking, creativity, language, and wellbeing

Writing is far more than a way to record ideas, it is a cognitive tool that actively shapes how we think, remember, create, and communicate. Extensive and diverse research has established links between writing and key mental capacities: memory, critical thinking, creativity, verbal skills, and overall health.

The sections below draw on research compiled by the MSU Denver Writing Center to explain how writing functions as a thinking tool, and offer practical takeaways for your own writing process in this course.

Five Ways Writing Develops Your Mind

Writing and Memory

Writing by hand creates deeper neurological connections that improve both information recall and conceptual understanding.

Writing and Critical Thinking

Writing requires and develops analysis, reflection, and careful reasoning, not just the storage and retrieval of information.

Writing and Creativity

Regular writing practice is associated with higher scores on creative indices and more flexible, generative thinking.

Writing and Verbal Skills

Challenging yourself to write clearly and creatively expands vocabulary and strengthens your ability to communicate complex ideas.

Writing and Health

Expressive writing has been shown to reduce stress, support emotional processing, and contribute to positive mental and physical health outcomes.

Writers on Writing

“You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.”

Octavia E. Butler

Kindred (1979)

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

Stephen King

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000)

“I write to be a part of something, a world made up of words and ideas.”

Rafia Zakaria

Against White Feminism (2021)

“Writing for me is a kind of compulsion, so I don't think anyone could have made me do it, or prevented me from doing it.”

J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1997)

“Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose which path to follow. Education is neither Eastern nor Western, it is human.”

Malala Yousafzai

I Am Malala (2013)

References

  • Lotze, M., Erhard, K., Neumann, N., Eickhoff, S.B., & Langer, R. (2014). Neural correlates of verbal creativity: Differences in resting-state functional connectivity associated with expertise in creative writing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 1–8.
  • Mangen, A., & Velay, J. (2010). Digitizing literacy: Reflections on the haptics of writing. In M.H. Zadeh (Ed.), Advances in Haptics (385–402). London: IntechOpen Limited.
  • Mueller, P.A., & Oppenheimer, D.M. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159–1168.
  • Naber, J., & Wyatt, T.H. (2014). The effect of reflective writing interventions on the critical thinking skills and dispositions of baccalaureate nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 34, 67–72.
  • Quitadamo, I.J., & Kurtz, M.J. (2007). Learning to improve: Using writing to increase critical thinking performance in general education biology. CBE Life Sciences, 6, 14.
  • Watson, C., Fraser, S., & Ballas, P. (2019). Writing therapy. MedScape.
  • Wolsey, T.D. (2010). Complexity in student writing: The relationship between the task and vocabulary uptake. Literacy Research and Instruction, 49(2), 194–208.

Content adapted from the MSU Denver Writing Center, Writing as a Thinking Tool. Used for educational purposes.