Pens at the ready! A gen-Z trainee takes on the Guardian’s ‘scribbler-in-chief’

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 5 min read 100% complete by Zoe Williams and George Francis LeeDecember 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM

Read Original Article

AI Summary

long article 5 min

The Guardian conducted an experiment to explore the debate around onscreen versus handwritten exams, prompted by concerns about students experiencing hand fatigue. The test pitted Zoe Williams, a seasoned columnist experienced with pen and paper, against George Francis Lee, a gen-Z trainee journalist. Both were tasked with copying from a media law textbook to see who could write the longest before experiencing discomfort. Despite Williams' extensive experience and initial confidence in her handwriting speed and endurance, the test revealed that she was no faster than Lee. The experiment highlights the generational differences in writing habits and the growing discussion around adapting exam formats to accommodate modern student needs.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

George Francis Lee 50% Zoe Williams ×480%

Keywords

pen and paper 90% onscreen exams 70% hand fatigue 70% gen-z 60% writing 60% exams 50% shorthand 50% ofqual 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.30

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

pen and paper onscreen exams hand fatigue gen-z writing exams shorthand ofqual

Explore Full Topic Graph