Today I thought I'd post about a few of my favourite school supplies. This is by no means an exhaustive list, just some of my best-loved stationeries.
WRITING INSTRUMENTS
As a general rule, I prefer writing in black (unless annotating handouts, which I do in blue so it stands out). If I'm feeling fancy/have time to write, I will use my Lamy, which has a fine nib (although I'm contemplating the purchase of an extra-fine, especially for use on narrow-ruled paper). I love how it writes, although it has the bleed-through issues of any fountain pen on certain types of paper.
These WHSmith biros are cheap, cheerful, and write surprisingly well. They produce quite a fine line, which is handy for my tiny writing, and they last for a decent amount of time. I usually use these pens for writing notes in lessons and occasionally for completing homework.
For essays, especially timed ones, my first choice is the BIC Velocity ballpoint pen. It's really comfortable to write with, as its shape stops me putting as much pressure on my hand/wrist as I usually do. And you can't really go wrong with a BIC pen.
These highlighters are my favourites by a mile. They rarely bleed through the page (even on poor-quality paper), have a vivid colour, and they lasted me for around eighteen months with constant use. Also, they're normal pen-shaped, which means that not only can I accurately highlight things, but they actually fit in my pencil case.
Coloured pens are an essential for when even your best-loved subject becomes a bore to revise. I got these fineliners on sale for £6.99 in WHSmith (not to mention my 20% off voucher), which considering their normal price is nearly £20, is great value. I love writing in fineliner, but the only issue is paper quality, since they're quite likely to bleed through (oh dear, another excuse to buy Oxford paper...).
My love for mechanical pencils stems from my love of not having a mess of sharpenings and graphite in my pencil case. These pencils are cheap but work very well, and I haven't had to refill the lead once yet! (Of course, if your courses involve drawing, I expect they'd run out a lot more quickly).
Yes, I am in Year Thirteen and yes, I have these pencils. Not only for the mess-avoiding reason as above, but there's endless entertainment to be gained from watching your friends try to press the top down as if they were retractable pens...
But seriously, good pencils. They've lasted me since the beginning of Year Twelve and it wouldn't surprise me if I can carry them through university, too.
But seriously, good pencils. They've lasted me since the beginning of Year Twelve and it wouldn't surprise me if I can carry them through university, too.
Mistakes happen. I prefer the pen shape since it fits in my pencil case and I still find the whole concept of Tipp-Ex in a pen rather novel. Although I find myself using it more often to correct my teachers' mistakes on handouts as opposed to my own.
PAPER & ACCESSORIES
(Plain Paper and Lined Paper [the latter has two different designs so here are both])
Ryman is definitely my favourite shop to source refill pads from. Not only do I get a 12.5% discount with an NUS Extra card, but their paper quality is a tonne better than that of places such as WHSmith. Recently, I've been buying wide ruled paper, but to be honest I like narrow ruled just as much. I use the 'superior' range because I cannot stand bleed through and I'm a fan of ink pens/press down hard when I'm writing with biros and use highlighters All. The. Time.
My school has bought into (that's right, you have to pay for) a 'thinking maps' system, so I've bought plain paper in order to deal with such atrocities (I'm sure they're great for some people, especially if you're a visual learner/have been brought up with them throughout your school career, but with information spread all about a page I become incredibly anxious and panic because I can't find anything, so it's a no from me). Also very handy for doodling etc.
(Stapler [no particular brand])
This has proved invaluable to me over the past year-and-a-bit. Whether it's stapling together a set of handouts or an essay, it's much easier to find everything in one go and teachers don't have trouble marking essays due to the second page out of three going missing.
Since I use a ringbinder-and-refill-paper system, it's also super-handy to have a hole punch. Not only is it entertaining watching my friends trying to figure out why it won't work when the lock is still on, but it means that I can keep my notes in whichever order I choose and I don't have to have arguments with sheet protectors at the end of every lesson.
So, those are some of my favourite school supplies. What are yours?
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