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The top stationery essentials you need for uni
Computers, phones and tablets are a big part of uni life. You’ll use them for lecture recordings, reading course materials and submitting assignments. But classic stationery still deserves a spot in your bag. A paper planner lets you see your whole semester at once, and a notebook is often faster than a laptop for drawing diagrams or jotting down ideas during tutorials.
If you’re about to start at The Australian National University (ANU), or you’re still choosing where to study, here’s the stationery you’ll want to pick up before your first semester.
What stationery do you need for uni?
For first-year students, the core list is short:
- a planner for semester dates and deadlines
- two or three pens you like writing with
- a backup for your files
- a few highlighters
- a cute notebook or two
- and a bag that carries it all.
At ANU, most of your coursework is online, from weekly readings to submitting assignments on Canvas. Still, there are good reasons to write things down by hand. Taking notes this way can help you understand and remember key ideas, which is especially useful when exams come up.
1) A planner that sees the whole semester
A planner keeps your deadlines, classes and commitments together, making your uni workload easier to handle.
Uni is more independent than high school. Lecturers won’t remind you about overdue essays, and assignments from different courses can be due at the same time. A planner helps you notice these overlaps early, so you can start earlier and spread out your work.
Planners also help you balance study with other things, like part-time work, sports or meeting up with friends. When everything is in one place, it’s much easier to see when you’re free.
Planners are one of the best organisation tools at uni.
2) Pens you’ll reliably reach for
There’s nothing better than a pen that writes smoothly and looks good. You don’t need a full pencil case, but having a few reliable pens you like is always a win.
Try out a few pens before choosing your favourites. Gel pens write smoothly and quickly, while ballpoint pens are less likely to smudge if you’re left-handed. It’s also smart to buy a spare, since someone will probably borrow one and forget to return it.
If you’re looking for some cute options, check out places like Muji, kikki.K and Milligram.
A good pen can help make writing notes become actually fun.
3) Backups: USB drives, hard drives and the cloud
Mac users know the ‘rainbow spinny wheel of death’ all too well. It usually appears when your computer has stopped responding, bringing the terrifying possibility that anything you haven’t saved could disappear into the ether. Regularly backing up your files means that, even if everything crashes and burns around you, your uni work stays protected.
ANU students get free OneDrive cloud storage with Office 365, so saving your assignments there is a simple first step. Your second backup can be something you carry with you:
- A USB flash drive is handy for quick transfers, printing or plugging into a presentation computer.
- A portable external hard drive makes sense if you work with large files, such as design projects, video or big datasets.
A USB and portable external hard drive designed against an ANU branded gold background.
4) Notebooks: do you still need one if you have a laptop?
Most likely, yes. Even if you type your lecture notes, a notebook is still useful for drawing diagrams, writing equations, brainstorming, or jotting down notes by hand.
Paper also suits two techniques that the ANU Library Academic Skills team recommends:
- The Cornell method divides a single page into three sections – giving you space for notes, cues and a summary.
- Mind mapping helps you see how ideas connect, and it’s much easier to do this on paper in front of you.
One notebook or several?
Choose the system you’ll actually use. One notebook per course keeps things organised, while a multi-subject notebook with dividers means you only need to carry one. Either way, date every page. Academic Skills recommends starting exam prep in week 1, and dated notes make revision much easier.
Writing notes by hand is great for memory recall. Plus, there are so many cute notebooks out there!
5) Highlighters with a job to do
The highlighter might be the most useful tool in your stationery kit. Its main job is simple, but it’s easy to get carried away with all those bright colours. Still, if you use highlighters carefully, you can create a colour-coded system that makes your notes much easier to review when you study.
You could use one colour for key terms, a different one for supporting evidence, and another for anything you’re unsure about and want to look up later.
A colour-coded highlighter system is a great studying hack when you’re prepping for exams.
6) A uni bag to carry it all
All these supplies won’t help if you don’t have a reliable, comfortable and sturdy bag to carry them. Campus days can be long, so you’ll want a bag that can hold everything you need without any hassle.
Look for a bag with:
- a sleeve for your laptop, ideally padded
- a side pocket for your drink bottle
- an internal zip pouch so pens and small items don’t disappear into the lining
- comfortable straps for walking between classes
Your bag is also a way to show your personality, with lots of styles to choose from. You don’t have to stick with a traditional backpack - messenger and tote bags are popular again. Adding bag charms with your favourite characters is another fun way to personalise your look.
If you’re curious about what else to pack, check out our guide to the essentials for your uni bag. It covers everything you need to know.
Your uni bag should be functional but also showcase your personality.
Still deciding where to study? Download a student guide to see our study options here at ANU and picture which lectures you’d be taking notes in.
