how to write essays on ipad

How-To Geek

How to take handwritten notes on your ipad using the apple pencil.

Purchased an Apple Pencil with your new iPad? Forget your notebooks and take digital handwritten notes right on your iPad. Here's how.

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Apple pencil compatibility, how to take handwritten notes on ipad using notes app, alternative note app options.

The Apple Pencil is a versatile tool for your iPad. Not only can you use it for (virtual) drawing, painting, or coloring, you can also take notes and doodle. Here's how to take handwritten notes on your iPad.

Apple Pencil is available in two different models. The first-generation Apple Pencil comes in a round shape and was first introduced with the original iPad Pro. It also includes a Lightning connector under a cap for charging.

Here's a list of all iPads that support the first-generation Apple Pencil at the time of writing:

• iPad Air (3rd generation)
• iPad mini (5th generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st or 2nd generation)
• iPad Pro 10.5-inch
• iPad Pro 9.7-inch
• iPad (6th generation)
• iPad 10.2 inch (7th generation)

The second-generation Apple Pencil is quite a bit smaller, with a single flat edge. It now magnetically latches on to the edge of the iPad Pro and charges wirelessly.

The accessory is only supported on the following iPad Pro models with Face ID (again, at the time of writing):

• iPad Pro 11-inch (2018 and 2020 models)
• iPad Pro 12.9 inch (2018 and 2020 models)

It's quite easy to get started taking notes on your iPad as you don't even have to download an app. Simply use the built-in Notes app on your iPad.

Open the "Notes" app on your iPad and create a new note. From there, tap on the Expand button to make the note full-screen.

Now, you can tap the tip of your Apple Pencil on the screen to enter the handwritten notes mode. You'll see drawing tools appear at the bottom of the screen.

The canvas is now yours. You can doodle, write, or type anything in the note. When you're taking notes with the Apple Pencil, use your finger to swipe up and down.

From the drawing tools, the first is the Pen tool. Tap on it to see the option for the thickness of the nib and the transparency. You can do the same thing for the next two tools which are Marker and Pencil.

If you have the second-generation Apple Pencil , you can double-tap on the Action button to switch to the Eraser. You can also customize the Action button to switch to the last used tool instead.

Related: How to Change the Double-Tap Action on Apple Pencil for iPad Pro

The fourth tool is the Eraser. Tap on it to turn your Apple Pencil into an eraser. Move your Apple Pencil over anything that you want to erase.

The fifth tool is a Lasso-style selection tool. (Photoshop users might be familiar with it.) Once the tool is selected, you can circle over elements to select them. Once selected, you can use your finger to move them around. This can be a good way for you to move a doodle to a different place.

The last tool in the set is the Ruler. After you select it, you'll see a large ruler show up in the note area. You can use two fingers to move the Ruler and to change the angle.

Move your fingers around and you'll see that the ruler snaps to certain angles like 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and so on. Once you've used the ruler, tap on the icon again to get rid of it.

On the right edge, you'll see a color picker. You'll see five common colors that you can pick from, or you can tap on the color picker icon to choose from all available shades.

Now that you know all the tools, go ahead and start writing using your Apple Pencil.

Once you're finished writing, there's a nice hidden gem for you to discover. Apple Notes app has a handwriting recognition feature built-in. So, as long as your handwriting is legible, Apple should be able to recognize and index them.

This means that you can search for text inside your handwritten notes. To test it out, go to the "Search" field, and try to find something from your handwritten note.

Plus, you don't even need to unlock your iPad to start taking handwritten notes. Just tap on your iPad's lock screen with your Apple Pencil. This will create a new blank note that you can start writing in. Later, you can unlock your iPad to save the note.

You can customize the feature in the Settings app by going to Notes > Access Notes From Lock Screen section.

Write Neatly Using Lines and Grids

When you start using the Notes app to take handwritten notes, you'll realize that your handwritten notes are quite haphazard. There's one way to make things neat and tidy. When you first create a blank note, tap on the Share button. It will show a single "Lines & Grids" option. (You'll also find the option in the Share sheet. )

From the pop-up, select the kind of lines or grid layout that you want.

This will now become the background of your note, making it much easier to write in straight lines.

The Apple Notes app is a good place to get started with handwritten notes on the iPad, but if you want more features, you'll have to look at one of the many third-party apps on the App Store. Here are our recommendations.

GoodNotes 5 ($7.99)

GoodNotes 5 is the most versatile notetaking app when it comes to Apple Pencil. You can customize virtually every single part of the handwritten notetaking interface. You can switch between different pen styles and scrolling direction. You can add shapes, images, and text to the note. The app comes with a myriad of templates, and there's a feature that lets you zoom in to a particular part of the page.

Notability ($8.99)

Notability is a popular notetaking app among students. It lets you record audio, type out notes, and take handwritten notes, all in a single interface. Plus, it can sync audio along with your notes, which is handy during revision time. You can also import and annotate PDFs and work on two notes side-by-side.

If you have an iPad Pro and a newer Mac, you can connect your iPad to your Mac and turn it into a fully functional secondary display and drawing tablet (with Apple Pencil support) using the new Sidecar feature in macOS Catalina and iPadOS.

Related: How to Use Your iPad as an External Mac Display With Sidecar

How to Convert Handwriting to Text With Scribble on iPad

Using an Apple Pencil to type on the iPad is incredibly slow. Convert your handwriting to text with Scribble instead.

Scribble is an incredible Apple Pencil feature that transcribes handwriting on your iPad into typed text in real-time. It allows for an immersive experience on the iPad since you can write anywhere instead of having to type.

Below, you'll learn everything you need to know about using Scribble with your Apple Pencil on the iPad.

How to Set Up Scribble on the iPad

Scribble is active on your iPad by default. But if you have trouble using it, head over to Settings > Apple Pencil and turn on the switch next to Scribble .

You can also test how Scribble works by tapping the Try Scribble option on the same screen.

Scribble works on every iPad model that supports the Apple Pencil (both the first and second generations), so you don't need to worry about compatibility issues.

Just install the latest version of iPadOS to make sure that you don't run into any snags while using the feature.

Related: How to Use the Apple Pencil With an iPad or iPad Pro

How to Use Scribble on iPad

With Scribble active, you can start using your Apple Pencil to scribble in any text input area that you come across on your iPad—search fields, web forms, chat boxes, and so on. Your iPad will kick into gear automatically and convert your scrawls into typed text within a couple of seconds.

If you're searching for something in the Universal Search bar or Safari, for example, you can simply write out your query. It beats having to peck away at that gigantic keyboard with your Apple Pencil, right?

You don't have to constrain your handwriting within the confines of a text area, either. Feel free to go over the edges slightly, and Scribble should still detect your writing without issues.

Scribble also brings up a floating toolbar containing various useful options that change depending on the app you're using.

If you start writing out a task in Reminders , for example, it'll allow you to add dates, flag items, add images, and so on with a quick tap from the Apple Pencil. This really ramps the immersion factor up another notch.

Related: The Best Apps for the Apple Pencil

How to Edit Text With Scribble

When you use Scribble, you may run into instances that require you to correct or edit text. That's where the Scribble-specific Apple Pencil gestures come into the picture. They are both intuitive and fun to use.

• Scratch: Scratch out letters and words to delete them.
• Touch and Hold: Touch and hold to insert text between letters and words.
• Slice: Draw a vertical line between letters and words to separate or join them.
• Circle: Draw a circle around the text to select words and paragraphs.
• Double-tap: Double-tap a word to select it.
• Triple-tap: Triple-tap a word to choose a whole section.

You'll probably end up using the Scratch gesture a lot to delete mistakes. But you can also select a word or phrase—by drawing a circle —and start writing again to replace it. Feel free to try out combinations of these gestures to figure out what works best for you.

How to Use Scribble on the iPad's Notes App

If you use your Apple Pencil to jot down a lot of notes, you probably prefer to keep your scribbled text as handwriting, rather than converting it to text. That's why Scribble doesn't work by default in the iPad's Notes app.

But you can still choose to use Scribble whenever you do want to convert your handwriting to typed text.

Just pick the Handwriting tool—the pencil with the A symbol on it—on the Apple Pencil toolbar to enable Scribble for the Notes app.

If you want to switch back to regular handwriting, simply switch to another pencil. The same applies to native apps such as Pages and Numbers on iPad.

Related: The Best Note-Taking Apps for iPad and iPad Pro

Take Advantage of Scribble

Unless you write insanely fast, Scribble definitely won't replace a keyboard on the iPad. But if you hate having to put down your Apple Pencil during casual work, it's probably going to blow your mind.

Handwriting on the iPad: how to use Apple Scribble

Enter text using handwriting on the iPad with the Apple Scribble function.

Handwriting on the iPad can be used to enter text through Apple Scribble. This method can be used in various apps, allowing you to scribble notes with your Apple pencil or just with your finger and transform the scrawl into text. It's super handy for filling in text fields, setting reminders and more, which is great for those who don't have a keyboard an don't want to fiddle with the on-screen keyboard.

It's easy to use, but Apple Scribble has a bunch of features you'll need to know about to improve the experience, including how to draw patterns to perform different functions (zig-zagging to delete, for example). Our guide to how to use Apple Scribble will explain many of the basic and advanced features so you can use handwriting on iPad it to its full potential. 

Need a new stylus? Try our guides to the best iPad stylus , and the best Apple pencil alternatives . Or, if you want an actual Apple Pencil, see this list of cheap Apple Pencil deals around right now. We've also reviewed the new Apple Pencil USB-C .

How to enter text as handwriting on the iPad with Scribble

01. turn on apple scribble and try it out.

Turn on Scribble in Settings > Apple Pencil. Below, tap Try Scribble. In the Handwrite tab, simply start writing in the box. Notice that you needn't stay within it; you can write bigger, or elsewhere on the screen.

02. Draw a zig-zag to delete

After a few strokes, iPadOS will start to type, but you can carry on writing while it does so. In the Delete tab, see how scribbling across words removes them. A single vertical or horizontal zig-zag will do the trick.

03. Select text

In the Select tab, try selecting text either by drawing a plain horizontal line through it or a circle around it. Again, Scribble selects whole words, but you can drag the blue handles to add or subtract characters.

04. Insert text

The Insert tab shows how you can tap and hold to insert text, but it's unnecessary: just tap to place the cursor, then write text to insert. As seen in Join, draw a vertical line to add or remove a space character.

05. Use Apple Scribble any time, any place

Scribble doesn't need to 'learn' your handwriting, and works in any standard text input box. For example, write into Safari's URL/search field and tap a suggested hit. You can also write straight into text fields on web pages.

06. Using handwriting in apps

Scribble works in text entry fields within apps (you may need to tap

the box first). Support for apps that make more sophisticated use of text will need adding by developers; for example, Word isn't yet supported.

Handwriting on the iPad: How to use Scribble's advanced features in Notes

01. tap markup pen.

In iPadOS' Notes app, Scribble can be used in two ways (this may vary in third-party note-taking apps). In a note, tap the Markup pen icon at the top right and pick the new Handwriting ('A') pen.

02. Tap to return

Using the Pencil, write anywhere in the note view and you'll see recognised

characters are typed at the current cursor position. Notice the Return button at the bottom right, which you can tap to start a new line.

03. Draw with Finger

Alternatively, pick any other pen tool and write text, at any size, wherever you

want it. This also works without a Pencil: tap the three dots icon in the Markup toolbar at the bottom and switch on Draw with Finger.

04. Select the text

Deselect the Markup pen at the top, then use your finger to long-press the

text you've written until it highlights. Drag the yellow selection handles to select more (even on multiple lines) or less. Tap for editing options.

05. Edit and search

Your handwritten text is editable and searchable. (If this is the first line, it also sets the note's title.) You can choose Copy as Text to add it to the iPadOS clipboard as ordinary text and paste it anywhere else.

06. Try out shape recognition

Shape recognition is also new (and, unlike Scribble, also in iOS 14).

Roughly draw a square, circle, triangle or star, and keep your Pencil or finger held down. You'll see it pop into shape, and it can be selected and moved.

This content originally appeared in MacFormat;  subscribe to MacFormat here . For more options to make the most of your tablet, see our pick of the best iPad Pro apps .

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Apple Pencil on iPad: our full guide on how to use it

Apple Pencil 1, 2 and even 3

 An Apple Pencil is one of the best pieces of kit you can buy for your new iPad, to help you make the most of the slate by allowing you to sketch, doodle, annotate, handwrite, and more.

The original Apple Pencil and the Apple Pencil 2, released in 2015 and 2018 respectively, let you replace your wobbly finger with a slender and accurate stylus, which is vital for many creatives and workers alike.

If you’re considering buying an Apple Pencil, or have one and want to know how to make the most of it, then this guide is for you, as it includes everything you need to know about the Apple Pencil.

Price and availability

You can pick up an Apple Pencil from Apple’s website , and we’d recommend doing so as it’s often the same price there as at third-party retailers, but you can get the Apple Pencil 2 engraved there for free.

The original Apple Pencil will cost you $99 / £89 / AU$145, while the Apple Pencil 2 is slightly pricer at $129 / £119 / AU$199. However, the styluses are compatible with different tablets, as we’ll get into, so picking the right Apple Pencil for you isn’t just about choosing the one in your price range.

Apple Pencil vs Apple Pencil 2

The choice of which Apple Pencil you should buy is easy: if you have a 2018-model iPad Pro 11 or iPad Pro 12.9 , you should check out the Apple Pencil 2, but the original stylus is compatible with older iPad Pro models as well as a range of newer iPads in other ranges. You can see a full compatibility list here .

There are a few major differences between the newer and older Apple Pencils. The Apple Pencil 2 snaps to the side of your iPad magnetically, and charges wirelessly when it’s in position, so it’s very easy to use. On the other hand, the original Apple Pencil charges when plugged in to the tablet, so it’s far more fiddly to power up.

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The Apple Pencil 2 also has a double-tap function, so in certain apps you can quickly press the lower portion of the stylus twice to switch back to the previous tool you were using. This double-tap feature can also be set to show the color palette or activate the eraser.

Apple Pencil 3

There are rumors that Apple is working on an Apple Pencil 3 for its new iPad Pro 2020 models. We’re not totally sure if this is correct, since the Apple Pencil 2 has only so far been compatible with two tablets compared to eight for the original, but it’s certainly possible.

One rumor suggested there could be a touch-sensitive panel on the side of the next stylus, that would let you swipe in directions to access certain tools or, for example, scroll through web pages. The same rumor also posited that there could be a camera on the Apple Pencil 3, though we’re not exactly sure what purpose that would serve.

We’ve also heard the Apple Pencil 3 could have haptic feedback, which means the stylus would vibrate or shake to tell you certain things. It could also detect how hard you’re gripping it, so squeezing it would trigger certain functions.

How to use an Apple Pencil

If you’ve bought an Apple Pencil and want to know how to make the most of it, here are some tips and guides on how to properly work the stylus.

How to connect an Apple Pencil

Compared to some other peripherals like headphones or wearables, an Apple Pencil is super easy to connect to your slate, as your iPad will do most of the work automatically.

First of all, make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your iPad, otherwise the stylus won’t work. To do this, head into the main settings menu, or pull down the Control Center, and turn Bluetooth on if it isn’t on already.

Now, for the original Apple Pencil, remove the cap at the end to reveal the Lightning Connector and plug this into the Lightning Port on your iPad. For the Apple Pencil 2, simply connect the stylus to the magnetic strip on your iPad Pro.

The Apple Pencil 2 will pair automatically, but for the original you need to tap a prompt first. Now you’re all set up.

It’s worth pointing out that with the original Apple Pencil if you turn off the iPad, enter Airplane Mode, or connect the Apple Pencil to a different iPad, you will need to go through this pairing process again.

How to charge an Apple Pencil

Once you’ve paired your Apple Pencil to your iPad you’ll want to charge it, but that’s very easy – simply leave your Apple Pencil plugged in (for the original) or mounted on the magnetic strip (for the Pencil 2) and the stylus will power up.

The original Apple Pencil also comes with an adapter that lets you connect it to your iPad charger if you’d prefer.

Charging is pretty quick, so the Apple Pencil won’t be out of action for long at all. When you connect the stylus, the iPad should inform you as to how much battery is left, so you should know if you just need to power the stylus up for a few minutes or for a longer period of time.

Apple Pencil tips and tricks

If you’re new to the Apple Pencil, or stylus gadgets in general, there are a few things to know that could really help you use the Apple Pencil.

It’s worth knowing for example that you don’t need to press too hard with the stylus onto the screen for inputs to be picked up – in fact, the iPad understands how hard you’re pressing, and many sketching apps and the like will therefore adjust the mark left depending on the amount of pressure. But for general note-taking a light touch is all that’s needed, and will help protect the screen.

If you’ve got the original Apple Pencil, we should warn you that charging it can be precarious – since it needs to stick out from the iPad at a right angle, with just a small Lightning connector sticking in.

We’d therefore recommend placing your iPad down flat on a surface while the stylus charges, to avoid you knocking the Apple Pencil and snapping the connector. Or take the iPad out of the equation and use the supplied adapter for charging.

You should also know that when you’re using the Apple Pencil, it won’t work for all functions on the device. Swiping up from bottom to bring up recent apps, or from the top to bring down the Control Center, for example, will still only work with your finger. This is actually pretty useful, as it will stop you accidentally triggering the wrong function if you draw to the edge of the screen with the stylus.

Best apps for Apple Pencil

If you’ve bought an Apple Pencil and want to know the best apps to use with it, we’ve got a few suggestions beyond the built-in Notes app. The following apps will let you explore its functions fully.

Scriptation

Scriptation is primarily an app that lets you mark up scripts (hence the name), but it’s actually a really useful app for annotating all kinds of files, whether they’re documents to sign or scrutinize, or articles to analyze. There’s a wide range of tools to use, and it’s easy to import and export PDFs too.

Download Scriptation here .

You won’t need sticky notes if you’ve got Cardflow , as it does the same thing but digitally. You can create a wall of plain or colored pads, and scribble all the notes and information you need on them. It’s a super quick and easy way of organizing ideas, made even easier with the Apple Pencil to write and organize with.

Download Cardflow here .

Autodesk SketchBook

It’s always useful to have a great art app, for if you’re feeling creative or just want a vibrant way of taking notes, and Autodesk SketchBook is one of the best. It has got a huge range of art tools, and also has a user interface that feels specially built for Apple Pencil use, with functions in all the right places.

Download Autodesk SketchBook here .

• Check out all the latest cheap iPad deals
• Browse the best Apple Pencil prices

You might also want to check out the best Apple Pencil alternatives .

Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.

He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.

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A practical guide to writing on the iPad

Apple didn't design the original iPad for writing. It was a device for reading or viewing media, not creating it. Over the years it has become a great portable writing tool. Many writers find it is better than a laptop.

Here we look at why the iPad could be the best option for you. We examine which iPad or keyboard to choose and outline the best iPad writing app.

On this page:

Why is the ipad a great writing tool, which ipad should you choose for writing, ipad keyboards, magic keyboard, smart keyboard folio, magic keyboard folio, smart keyboard for ipad, writing on an ipad with apple pencil, pencil-based note taking apps, goodnotes 5, keyboard-based writing apps, apple pages, microsoft word for ipad, microsoft word for the web, google docs, collabora office, markdown editors, recommendations: ipad writing apps.

From the outset it was clear the iPad could do more than display media.

It has evolved to the point where it can do everything a laptop can. Today’s iPads can be better than laptops for many creative tasks.

The iPad has clear advantages for people who need to write:

Long battery life . Sure, you can find laptops that will go the best part of a day between charges. Apple's MacBooks with the M1 or M2 processor sip electricity. You'll struggle to find a Windows laptop which beats an iPad for battery life.

Measure-for-measure, an iPad will last longer between charges than a conventional computer.

Focus . While you can now open side-by-side screens or use Stage Manager, iPadOS lends itself to doing one thing at a time. There is no clutter. With the iPad you can focus on writing without other apps distracting you. Turning off notifications and concentrating is easier. This is why you can see the iPad as the closest modern equal to a portable typewriter.

Portable . The iPad is more portable than any laptop. It can go places laptops don’t. The iPad Air weighs in at 460 grams. It will fit in a large pocket. The iPad Mini weighs 300 grams and is smaller again.

Robust . There are no moving parts on an iPad. No hinges. This makes it more robust than a laptop.

Work while standing . You can work on an iPad when you are standing. It is possible to type on the screen keyboard using your thumbs. I’ve done this at stand up press conferences and while waiting in queues to board planes. This means you can write in more places, more often. Yes, you can do that on a phone, but it’s not the best writing experience. It is not easy to write standing up with a laptop. The same applies if, say, you are sitting in a cramped cramped on a crowded flight or in a train. At a pinch you can tap out words holding the iPad in vertical or portrait mode when there’s no room for a keyboard. Being able to use the taller portrait orientation is an overlooked bonus. There are subtle ergonomic problems with writing across a wide screen. A wider column makes errors harder to spot. A narrow width is easier to proof-read. If you write words to print on paper, the display mirrors how your words will look on the finished document. In my experience, the smaller iPads work better when you are standing, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is more unwieldy.

Great screens . iPads have glorious, well-lit high resolution screens. Higher resolution means your eyes don’t tire as fast. You can work for longer stretches and concentrate for longer. Y

No waiting . An iPad is always ready to go the moment you switch on. Yes, modern laptops can do the same, but you can always start writing in seconds on an iPad.

You don’t need a high-end iPad for writing. Apple sells the 9th generation iPad with a 10.2 inch screen for NZ$649. It has everything you need to write. It is powerful enough to handle almost every writing app and has a screen you’ll have no trouble living with.

Likewise, the iPad mini, New Zealand prices start at NZ$1000, will fit in a pocket and can handle basic writing tasks. An iPad mini is realistically the smallest practical device for serious writing while on the move.

Writing on an iPad Pro with a suitable keyboard is not that different from writing on a laptop. The larger screen is easier to read than other iPads, especially if you have poor eyesight, but they all display your text clearly.

If writing is your focus, your model choice will determine which keyboards you can use. If use an Apple Pencil for note-taking, the iPad model determines your choices.

iPads come with a range of storage options. Upgrading storage isn't practical, which means you need to be careful when buying.

Base level iPad storage options start at 64GB. Smaller models can store up to 256GB, although the iPad Pro goes all the way to 2TB of storage.

By 2023 standards, 64GB is not a lot of storage. You can get by, but the moment you decide to keep music or video libraries on your iPad you'll bump up against limits.

Go with the 256GB model if your budget can stretch that far. At the time of writing that will add NZ$300 to the device price. Often you'd do better trading down to an iPad with more storage than buying a more powerful device that runs out of storage.

It's easy to overbuy storage on an iPad Pro. You are unlikely to need 2TB unless you need to keep vast amounts of video and audio files with you all the time. A 512GB model will be enough for most iPad Pro buyers. Remember, you can offload rarely used files to cloud services.

Consider other tasks when choosing Given you can use every iPad for writing, let the other tasks you plan for the device determine your choice.

Even when you add a keyboard, iPads are smaller, lighter and more portable than most laptops. Apple’s MacBook Air gets close. The nearest non-Apple competitor would be a Microsoft Surface tablet.

If money is no object, you can choose the iPad that you find comfortable to read. If it is an object, pick the iPad you can afford.

Do I need a Sim-card iPad?

Few writers need Sim-card equipped iPads that can connect to cellular networks.

You’ll find Wi-Fi is available in many of the places where you will want to write. Where it isn’t, you can tether your iPad to your phone and connect that way.

Tethering works with both iPhones and Android phones. The experience is better and smoother if you have an iPhone, but don’t get hung up on this point, it isn’t a deal breaker. Android phones work fine.

Cellular adds around NZ$220 to the price of a Wi-Fi iPad. Spend the money saved on storage or a better keyboard.

A keyboard isn’t essential if you own an iPad. You can do a lot without one and there is always the Apple Pencil and handwriting recognition . Apple’s new Scribble feature can change the way you think about your iPad .

But this post is about writing on an iPad. A keyboard makes that easier.

There is no shortage of iPad keyboards to choose from. Any iPad will work with any Bluetooth keyboard, but only a handful of keyboards are made to fit exactly to each iPad model.

When you buy an iPad, chances are someone will attempt to sell you a keyboard as an add-on. It makes sense to buy the keyboard at the same time. If the salesperson is knowledgeable, they can help you get the right keyboard for your iPad. They can also help you get the one that suits you best and let you look closer at your options.

Apple keyboards are the obvious choice. But not always and not for everyone. Choose the keyboard you feel comfortable with. That’s from both an ergonomic point of view and from a budget point of view.

Whether you choose an Apple keyboard or an alternative, match it with your iPad. Keyboards double up as protective covers. A better fit means better protection. This sounds obvious, but I've come across people who run into trouble with the wrong iPad keyboard.

The other thing to watch is that not every Apple iPad keyboard is available for every model. Buying at the same time as the iPad from a retailer who knows what they are doing can save you problems later.

At NZ$620 a pop, Apple’s Magic Keyboard is an expensive, Rolls Royce option. You can use it for writing on an iPad Air or an iPad Pro. It doesn't fit the less expensive iPad models.

It’s a good keyboard but it is not perfect.

You might expect that when you use it at a desk or on a flat surface it differs from the laptop keyboard experience.

That's not the case. The top part, that's the iPad, is heavier than the keyboard. Together, the iPad plus Magic Keyboard, weigh more than a MacBook Air .

There are two hinges, the second one allows you to adjust the viewing angle.

The keys are excellent for typing. I'm a touch typist and can run into problems with some tablet keyboards. This one is touch-typeable from the moment it's opened. Keys are backlit, something that doesn't happen on the less expensive Apple keyboards. And there is a touchpad, which works exactly as you'd expect.

The Apple Smart Keyboard Folio is a less expensive alternative. There are models for iPad Pros and iPad Airs. Prices start at NZ$390.

This is the keyboard I choose when I’m on the move. It has the best balance of function and price. Again, it gives the iPad a laptop feel. Yet it is more flexible and feels less robust than the Magic Keyboard.

It doesn't offer backlighting and there is no trackpad. My Smart Keyboard Folio is now coming up to four years old and is showing signs of wear and tear. It doesn't last anything like as long as the iPad.

If you have a 10th generation iPad, not the Pro, not the Air, then the NZ$530 Magic Keyboard Folio is the top choice. It's not as flexible for positioning as the iPad Magic Keyboard, but the keys and the trackpad are as good. I found it easy to touch type.

Apple's Smart Keyboard is compatible with the iPad, 3rd generation iPad Air and 10.5 inch iPad Pro. Prices start at $320. It's the most basic Apple iPad keyboard, but covers all the bases and gets the job done. I found it harder to adapt my touch-typing technique to the Smart Keyboard, but got there soon enough.

Not all Apple keyboards are available for all iPads. If you buy a more expensive iPad, you'll need a more expensive Apple keyboard.

A word of warning. Apple iPad keyboards flex more than you might expect if you are typing on your lap. When used this way they are not as solid as laptops.

Logitech iPad keyboards

Beyond Apple's own keyboards, Logitech is the best alternative. You could argue some models are better than their Apple equivalents.

There's a wide range to choose from. Again, different keyboards work with different iPad versions. The difference between Apple and Logitech keyboards is price. You can save up to a third of the price for similar functionality.

On the whole Logitech keyboards work as well as Apple models. All keyboards mentioned here double as protective covers for iPad screens. Logitech keyboards do this a little better than Apple's keyboards. The Logitech keyboard plus iPad combinations are thicker than the Apple ones and the function keys differ.

Brydge makes hard shell keyboards that turn your iPad into a laptop. You end up with something that feels like a MacBook. I haven't seen the recent Bridge keyboards, but when I borrowed one for review, it was heavier than Apple's. The keys were smaller. Of all the keyboards mentioned here I found the Brydge keyboards harder to type on. Yet they could be perfect for you.

All keyboards designed to work with iPads offer a degree of protection. That’s important if you are mobile. iPads are not fragile. Yet once you start moving the potential for dropping them or other damage increases.

Sometimes I use a first generation Apple Bluetooth keyboard and a mStand tablet from Rain Design to hold the iPad. It’s a simple and elegant approach. There are many other options. Any store that sells iPads will have a selection.

As mentioned earlier, you can write on an iPad using an Apple Pencil and handwriting recognition. There are two Pencils, Apple calls them the first and second generation models.

Which one you can use depends on your iPad model. Each iPad only supports one Pencil generation. The first generation Pencil costs NZ$200 and the second costs $280.

The main difference between generations is how the Pencil charges. The second generation Pencil is flat and magnetised on one side. It connects to the side of the iPad for charging.

First generation Pencil charge through the blunt end, which looks clumsy, but works fine in practice. On the down side, you have to remove the cap and it is easy to lose that cap. The older Pencil was round, which means it can roll off a table or desktop, the flat side on the second generation Pencil stops that from happening

Apple's free Notes app comes with every iPad. It's great for taking short handwritten notes and has text recognition built in. It's a good place to try the Pencil before spending money on a third-party app.

To use immediate handwriting recognition in Notes chose the pencil tool marked with an A.

The alternative is use another pencil tool, then highlight and choose to convert the word.

Both approaches are fast on even a modest iPad. The technology is forgiving, I have terrible handwriting and it gets about 95 per cent of what I write.

GoodNotes is a great third-part alternative to Apple Notes. It uses a notebook metaphor. You can write a limited number of notes in one of three "notebooks" for free, then you need to pay a one-off US$15 for unlimited use. Paying also unlocks the handwriting recognition feature.

Text recognition is as fast as on Apple Notes and, without extensive testing, the accuracy appears to be on a par with Apple's.

GoodNotes is a better choice than Notes if you plan to use your iPad more for handwriting than typing. There's a strong search feature and note organisation and sharing is a strength. It won the Apple 2022 iPad App of the Year award.

GoodNote's main competitor is Notability from Ginger Labs. You can download the app for free but that doesn't include handwriting recognition and only allows a limited number of edits. To get the full app you need to buy an annual subscription.

Ginger Labs is coy about the price of the subscription, you don't get to see the price until you install the app. I don't like that.

The price appears to change from country to country. When I checked on my iPad, the subscription was $21, although it isn't clear if that is NZ dollars or US dollars. Either way that makes Notability more expensive than Goodnotes. The price is hard to justify.

Noteful is like Goodnotes and Notability, but doesn't have handwriting recognition.

In use, there's a delicious minimal user interface. The app uses the notebook metaphor. It offers something called "layers". That's an idea familiar to people who use photo editing or graphic design software. Searching for notes is harder work in Noteful than in its rivals.

Like Ginger Labs, the company is coy about disclosing its price until you have the app loaded on your iPad. You need to pay a one-off US$5 to unlock all the features, which is reasonable, but transparent pricing would be better.

If you have a Microsoft Office subscription, OneNote is an option. It has good basic handwriting recognition. But it is more clumsy than the alternatives and impractical for anything more than the shortest phrases.

There's a wide range of word processors, text editors and other writing apps for iPad. You'll recognise the names of a few, they are iPad versions of popular apps for PCs and Macs. This guide is not comprehensive, but it covers the important options and the ones you are likely to come across.

Pages is not the best-known, the most popular or the perfect writing tool, but comes free with every iPad and Mac. It's the iPad writing app you'll see first.

It is part of Apple's own productivity software suite: iWorks. Alongside Pages, iWorks includes Numbers, a spreadsheet and Keynote, a presentation manager.

Apple and everyone else describes Pages as a word-processor, which is true. Yet unlike other word-processors, Pages focuses on page design.

In a sense it sits somewhere between Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign although it has far fewer features than both. That said, you could write and layout a print magazine or a book with Pages.

Page design works better than you might expect on an iPad. While you'll get better results with a large screen iPad Pro, working on an 10-inch iPad is possible. Pages is ideal, a better bet than Word or Docs, if you plan to create Apple Books or PDFs.

Apple's Pages could be all the word processor you need. It will open documents created with Word or Google Docs and you can send Pages documents in the Word format. Round trips work fine almost all the time. I've seen problems with earlier versions of Pages, not with the current Pages 12.

You can deal with corrections and Track Changes between Word and Pages documents.

Presenter mode

There’s one Pages feature I love, even if it is not my first choice for writing on the iPad. Presenter Mode turns the iPad into an autocue. When I’m on a long radio broadcast, presenting live or doing similar work I use it as a prompt.

Pages has better cloud support than Word, but you will need an Apple iCloud account to make use of this. While Pages' online collaboration is superior to Word, Google Docs is better again.

Apple's Pages templates are better than Microsoft's basic Word templates. If you are new to word processing, Pages is easier to learn and master. That said, if you have learned Word elsewhere, there may be some unlearning to do before you get on top of Pages.

Pages isn't the best writing tool for everyone. Yet it is a solid option that is free and simple. At the very least, you should give it a try before spending money on another iPad writing app.

Microsoft's Word is good on an iPad. If you know Word from a laptop or desktop, Windows or MacOS, you'll be immediately at home.

All the important features for everyday folk are here. The app is the most feature rich iPad word processor. Word power users might miss advanced features, they are not the target market.

Add a decent keyboard to your iPad and the Word experience is on a par with that laptop or desktop. I'd argue the experience is better. Because there are fewer features the user interface is less cluttered, easier to navigate.

While the interface will be familiar and easy to use if you know Word, it won't challenge newcomers. There are points where it doesn't act like other iPad apps, especially when storing or retrieving files. Then there are the needy messages from Microsoft

Microsoft designed Word on the iPad to work with its own OneDrive cloud service. The chances are you'll need a Microsoft subscription to use the app and storage comes as part of that subscription. It's possible to access files stored on the iPad or in iCloud direct from Word, but that's not the first choice. Microsoft has added an impressive array of alternative cloud storage choices.

Another way Word departs from the standard iPad user interface is the way it relates to the keyboard. There are keyboard shortcuts you may know from the Mac or PC that work, others don't. You'll find out with practice.

Word remains the most feature rich and complete iPad word processor. If you use Word on a laptop or desktop it will be familiar. The interface doesn't always act like a standard iPad app, but there's nothing that is likely to be a barrier for most people.

The app is a free download. The software remains free if your iPad's screen is smaller than 10.1 inches. Beyond that you'll need a Microsoft 365 licence. A one person licence is NZ$120 a year, prices are different overseas. It covers you on up to five devices including tablets and conventional computers. The 365 Family licence at $165 a year means up to six people can use the software.

If you need Word to work on your iPad at home, check if your employer or place of study has a licence you can use.

Word isn't the right iPad writing app for everyone. If you already use it or know it, it can make sense to stick with what you know. For many users it offers far more than you might need or want to pay for.

If you love Office or Word, but are on a tight budget, there's a free web version of Office that works fine on an iPad. It's had other names over the years. These days Microsoft calls it ' Office '.

There are ways the web version of Office is like Google Docs. Like Google Docs, it stores your finished documents online. In this case Office uses Microsoft OneDrive, not Google's cloud storage. Microsoft Office online can't handle files larger than 2GB. This is not going to trouble anyone unless documents contain embedded media.

Microsoft's web version of Office has fewer features than the PC or Mac version. It is closer to the iPad version. The user interface is distinct from both the PC and the iPad versions. You will need a live and consistent internet connection to use the online app. In practice you'll notice more lag than when writing on the other Word apps. This has little to do with connection speed. I tested on a gigabit fibre connection and the latency was the same as on a slower connection.

The online version will open any file format supported by the desktop Word app. Saving to the OneDrive cloud is automatic. There are tools for sharing documents with colleagues. If sharing is important to you, Google Docs does this better.

You can use Google Docs two ways on the iPad. It will work as a web app in your iPad's Safari browser or you can download and install the free iPad app. You'll get a better experience using the browser version, you need a decent internet connection for that. If you want to use Google Docs offline there is an iPad app, but it's mediocre compared with the other options on this page.

The free online version of Google Docs is almost identical to the version in the paid-for Google Workspace. New Zealand prices for Google Workspace start at NZ$9 a month for a plan with 30 GB of storage. A version with 2 TB of storage is a heft NZ$18 a month. This is more expensive than Microsoft Office. The most noticeable difference between the free and paid versions of Google Docs is that it is harder to create templates in the free version.

Google built Docs for online work. It is the best option if you collaborate on documents with remote colleagues. It's less powerful than Office and has fewer features than most of the other choices listed on this page. Getting started is easier, but you can rub up against limitations.

Things get tricky when you have large documents. The app is fine for up to a couple of thousand words. It starts to slow down as the file grows and would be slow if you were editing an entire book.

One downside is there can be problems if you lose your internet connection or you want to work offline, say while on a flight. The Google Docs iPad app helps, it can store documents in the iPad's memory. You have to sign into a Google account before using the app online or offline. This can be tricky, in the past I've found myself logged out while offline and unable to use the app.

I recommend using Google Docs if you already use the app elsewhere or if you work with others using the app. Otherwise you can do better elsewhere.

Collabora Office is a promising mobile open source document editing suite based on LibreOffice . It's compatible with Microsoft Office and works with the Open Document Format. There's iPad app and an online version. The app is free for "testing", a subscription std US$20 a year.

My 2021 Collabora Office review warns the software wasn't ready for everyday use and that it jars with iOS. Both remain true. There are fewer bugs and the software is more stable, but it is hard going. You'd need to be an open source devotee to choose it, and people who feel that way are less inclined to use an iPad.

Markdown is a markup (yes that does sound odd) language used to format text with simple codes. Type a single hash # character at the start of the line for a top level head, two hashes means second level head and so on. It takes seconds to learn, a day to master.

This approach leaves formatting that is easy for humans to read. You can create Markdown using a text editor. Markdown editors will show you how your formatting looks in a finished document. You can send finished Markdown documents direct to WordPress or Ghost blogs. Markdown editors usually let you convert them into other word processor formats.

It's possible to start writing on your iPad using IA Writer, make edits on an iPhone using a text editor and finish on, say, a desktop using Byword.

On one level there is nothing fancy or complicated about IA Writer . That's its attraction. You can start laying down words within minutes.

In recent years the app's developers have added more features. Yet it retains its simple user interface. It hides that added complexity from sight until you need it. Many users never will.

The minimal interface lets you focus on putting words on the screen. Coupled with the iPadOS, it becomes the closest thing you can get to an old school typewriter and paper.

One feature you may find useful is the style checker which helps improve your writing. It looks for clichés, fillers or redundancies but leaves it up to you to do anything about them.

In the past Writer forced you to store documents in an iCloud or Dropbox account. Now you can save them on your iPad, a better idea if you ever work away from an internet connection.

IA Writer’s price continues to climb faster than inflation. When I first bought the software I paid NZ$3. It was a promotional price when the app was in its infancy. Today the software costs NZ$50. If you buy the iPad version, you can use it on an iPhone at no extra cost. Buying the MacOS version will set you back another $50. It remains good value, but is no longer something you can afford and then discard if it doesn't work for you. Luckily there are free trial versions.

Byword is a great alternative to IA Writer on the iPad. It has a much lower NZ$10 price, which makes it a bargain. Byword has the same minimalist user interface.

Like IA Writer, Byword co-operates with blogs like WordPress or Medium and plays nice with Evernote. If anything Byword is simpler to use and easier to learn than its main rival.

Byword can look better on an iPad screen than IA Writer. You can choose the font and the size of your type.

Unlike IA Writer, which gets constant attention and new features, Byword has changed little in close to a decade. This doesn't have to be a bad thing, the app is stable and does what it sets out to do without fuss.

Scrivener (NZ$24 in the App Store) sits at the opposite end of the writing app spectrum from Markdown editors like IA Writer or Byword.

Markdown editors hide complexity. Scrivener is about providing the all the complexity a writer needs in one place.

In a sense, Microsoft Word is a more appropriate point of comparison. Although in practice the gulf between Scrivener and Word is as wide as the gulf between it and IA Writer.

In a sense, Microsoft Word is a more appropriate point of comparison than the Markdown editors. Although in practice the gulf between Scrivener and Word is as wide as the gulf between it and IA Writer.

If anything Word requires even more work to master than Scrivener. People don't notice that effort because they pick up the complexity of Word almost by osmosis. It can take years, often starting at school.

Switching to Scrivener means doing all that learning in a matter of days or weeks. It's a steep learning curve. You may find it rewarding if your brain thinks in the right way. I'm afraid it doesn't work for me.

Literature and Latte, the company behind Scrivener, built it for ambitious writing jobs. There are tools to help, such as a cork board for keeping notes. You can attach the parts of your project to a single file and even colour code them making them easier to navigate.

Because Scrivener is complex, users tend to have a few windows open as they work. This lends itself to a large screen on the desktop. No doubt there will be Scrivener fans reading this who love the app running on a small MacBook. Yet, I'd argue the app works best with a larger screen.

Which brings up to the iPad version of Scrivener. Why might you choose it? The iPad app is feature rich although it doesn't include everything in the desktop version, although it does include the cork board.

Literature & Latte's marketing suggests the iPad app complements the desktop app. You might use it when working away from your desk or in the field researching. It allows you to push on while on an airplane flight or a train journey. To this end, everything you do on the iPad syncs with your desktop project.

I suspect, but don't know, that few people use the iPad app without also using Scrivener on the desktop. If it sounds like something you need, try the free desktop download first before buying the app.

Ulysses uses the same Markdown formatting as iA Writer and Byword. It adds more word processor-like features. This sounds contradictory. Yet it marries a minimalist look and feel with background complexity. You’ll either love it or it will bewilder you.

Like Scrivener, Ulysses - the company shares the app's name - pitches its software at people working on complex projects. And like Scrivener it also caters for people writing smaller articles. It has tools to help you publish direct to popular blog sites.

The Markdown in Ulysses is somewhat non-standard. You may struggle at first moving to the app after using another Markdown editor. If you haven't used Markdown before, this won't be an issue.

At first look, Ulysses is pretty where Scrivener's cluttered look is ugly. It doesn't take long before Ulysses can become as cluttered.

Tools like the goal display telling you how many words you still need to write can be both a distraction and a source of demotivation.

The elephant in the room with Ulysses is its price. The app is a free download. A subscription costs NZ$11 a month or $75 a year which is expensive for what is, at core, a Markdown editor with trimmings.

Most apps with a similar functionality have a one-off price. The desktop version of Scrivener has a one-off price of NZ$100.

A family licence for Microsoft Office that includes Word, other apps and storage for up to six people is NZ$165. You can run the software on iPads, laptops, desktops or phones.

The NZ$75 Ulysses subscription allows you to use both the desktop and iPad versions

If Ulysses is right for you and gels with your thought processes, the price is a bargain. You'll recover it in no time. Otherwise, do your wallet a favour and consider everything else first.

Other writing apps

Wordprocessors, Markdown editors and text editors are not your only options. A handful of iPad users choose to write documents using Bear . It's a flexible note-taking app that blurs the distinction between a notes app and an editor. Another option is Evernote , although it is more about note-taking, less about writing. Simplenote is a free alternative.

• Take the path of least resistance. If your employer or school pays for a Microsoft Office or Google Workspace account, use it. You won't have to pay anything, there should be support and you won't have to learn how to use an alternative.
• Otherwise, look at Apple Pages first. It's free, works well on the iPad's touch screen and Apple designed it with the entire ecosystem in mind. It should have all the features you need. Best of all, you can start writing in Pages on your iPad and switch to working on an iPhone or Mac without missing a beat.
• If you are coming from another writing tool, take time to adjust to Pages. It's worth the effort and you'll save money that might be better spent elsewhere.
• An alternative strategy is to choose radical simplicity. Markdown editors like IA Writer or Byword let you focus on your words in the most efficient way possible. Disclosure: this is what I do.
• Invest time and money finding the keyboard that works best for you. While it's easy to buy devices online, it pays to go to a store and try keyboard options before parting with any cash.

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The Ultimate Guide to Apps for Writing on iPad

Struggling to find the perfect app to transform your iPad into a powerful writing companion? This comprehensive guide explores the top contenders for all your writing needs, from note-taking and journaling to crafting novels and screenplays. Discover feature breakdowns, pricing comparisons, and expert tips to make an informed decision and unleash your inner writer on your iPad.

The iPad has become a beloved tool for writers of all stripes. Its portability, combined with the versatility of the Apple Pencil, makes it an ideal platform for jotting down ideas, composing documents, and even tackling full-length novels. But with a plethora of writing apps available, choosing the right one can feel overwhelming.

This guide delves into the top contenders in the iPad writing app arena, catering to different writing styles and needs. We'll explore:

• Note-Taking Powerhouses: Perfect for brainstorming, organizing research, and capturing fleeting thoughts.
• Minimalist Marvels: Streamlined interfaces for distraction-free writing.
• Organizational All-Stars: Apps that excel at structuring and managing large writing projects.
• Content Creation Chameleons: Versatile tools for crafting various content formats, from blog posts to scripts.
• Penmanship Perfection: Apps that prioritize the natural writing experience with the Apple Pencil.

By the end of this journey, you'll be equipped to identify the app that best complements your writing style and workflow.

Finding Your Perfect Match: A Look at Top iPad Writing Apps

The note-taking powerhouses: capture every spark of inspiration.

For many writers, the journey begins with capturing ideas. Note-taking apps excel at this crucial stage, allowing you to organize thoughts, research materials, and brainstorm freely. Here are some of the top contenders:

• Apple Notes: Pre-installed on all iPads, Apple Notes offers a user-friendly interface for basic note-taking. It seamlessly integrates with other Apple devices and supports basic formatting options. While not feature-rich, it's a convenient option for casual note-taking.
• Notability: A popular choice, Notability boasts a clean interface and robust features. It excels at handwriting recognition, allowing you to seamlessly switch between typing and writing with the Apple Pencil. Annotate PDFs, record lectures, and organize notes into folders for a comprehensive note-taking experience.
• GoodNotes 5: Beloved for its realistic pen emulation and paper-like feel, GoodNotes 5 prioritizes the natural writing experience. Annotate PDFs, insert images, and utilize its powerful organization tools to categorize and manage your notes effectively.
• Bear: This versatile app caters to writers and note-takers alike. Its clean interface encourages focused writing, while powerful formatting options and tagging capabilities ensure your notes stay organized. Bear also integrates seamlessly with other productivity tools, making it a great choice for streamlined workflows.
• Evernote: A long-standing player, Evernote offers comprehensive note-taking features along with web clipping, to-do lists, and project management tools. Its powerful search functionality makes it ideal for organizing large amounts of information. However, the free tier comes with limitations, and the paid plans can be expensive.

Choosing the Right Note-Taking App:

Consider your needs. If basic note-taking with seamless Apple device integration suffices, Apple Notes might be enough. For more advanced features like handwriting recognition, organization tools, and PDF annotation, Notability, GoodNotes 5, or Bear are excellent choices. If you require comprehensive project management features alongside note-taking, Evernote could be a good fit.

The Minimalist Marvels: Focus on the Flow of Words

For some writers, a clean and distraction-free interface is key to unlocking creativity. These minimalist apps prioritize a clutter-free environment to keep you focused on the flow of words.

• Ulysses: Designed specifically for long-form writing, Ulysses boasts a unique organizational structure. It breaks down projects into sheets, allowing you to focus on specific scenes or chapters without losing sight of the bigger picture. Its minimalist interface and powerful goal-setting features make it ideal for writers tackling novels, screenplays, or other lengthy projects.
• iA Writer: This award-winning app employs a focus mode that fades everything except the current sentence, promoting laser-sharp focus on your writing. Its clean interface and support for various Markdown features cater to writers who prefer a streamlined approach.
• Editorial: Similar to iA Writer, Editorial utilizes a focus mode to minimize distractions.

The Organizational All-Stars: Structure and Manage Your Writing Journey

As your writing projects grow, organization becomes paramount. These apps excel at structuring and managing large projects, ensuring your thoughts and content remain organized.

• Scrivener: A long-time favorite for novelists and screenwriters, Scrivener offers an unmatched level of project organization. Create notecards, corkboards, and outlines to structure your narrative. Its powerful outlining and indexing features help writers maintain a clear overview of their projects, making it ideal for crafting complex narratives.
• Mariner: Inspired by Scrivener, Mariner offers a similar organizational approach specifically designed for iPads. Break down your projects into chapters, scenes, and notecards, and utilize its storyboarding and outlining features to map out your narrative. Mariner's user-friendly interface and focus on visual organization make it a compelling option for iPad users.
• Ulysses (mentioned previously): While excelling in minimalism, Ulysses also boasts impressive organizational features. Its sheet structure allows for a modular approach to writing long-form content, making it easy to manage and rearrange chapters or scenes. Powerful note-taking capabilities seamlessly integrate with the writing experience, keeping all your project-related information organized.
• Scapple: This mind-mapping app from the creators of Scrivener allows for brainstorming and visual organization of ideas. Create connections between thoughts and concepts, and explore the non-linear flow of your writing project. Scapple integrates seamlessly with Scrivener, making it a valuable tool for writers who thrive on visual brainstorming.

Choosing the Right Organizational App:

If you're tackling complex narratives like novels or screenplays, Scrivener or Mariner are ideal choices. Their robust outlining and organizational features will keep you on track. For a more streamlined approach that integrates well with Ulysses, consider Scapple for brainstorming and visual organization.

The Content Creation Chameleons: Craft Diverse Content with Ease

Many writers create content beyond novels and scripts. These versatile apps cater to a range of content creation needs, from crafting blog posts to writing social media captions.

• Google Docs: A familiar and free option, Google Docs offers real-time collaboration, offline access, and seamless integration with other Google Workspace tools. Its simplicity makes it a good choice for quick writing tasks, blog posts, and collaborative projects.
• Microsoft Word: Another familiar option, Word offers a robust feature set for creating professional documents. Templates and formatting options make it ideal for formal writing tasks, reports, and creating polished content. However, the mobile app might feel less intuitive compared to some iPad-specific options.
• Draft: Designed specifically for writers on the go, Draft boasts a clean interface and powerful text-to-speech functionality. It allows for dictation, real-time collaboration, and seamless syncing across devices. Draft caters well to writers who value portability and a distraction-free writing environment.
• Ulysses (mentioned previously): While excelling in long-form writing, Ulysses also supports various content formats. Create blog posts, articles, or even scripts alongside your novel project, making it a versatile choice for writers who create diverse content.
• Bear (mentioned previously): Bear's clean interface and powerful formatting options make it suitable for crafting various content formats. Write blog posts, articles, or even short stories, and leverage its tagging capabilities for easy organization across different content types.

Choosing the Right Content Creation App:

For quick writing tasks, collaboration, and free accessibility, Google Docs is a solid choice. If you require more powerful formatting options for professional documents, consider Microsoft Word. For writers on the go who prioritize a minimalist interface and dictation capabilities, Draft is worth exploring. If you need an app that caters to diverse content creation alongside long-form writing, Ulysses or Bear offer versatility.

The Penmanship Perfectionists: Unleash the Power of Apple Pencil

For writers who crave the natural feel of pen on paper, these apps prioritize the Apple Pencil experience, offering a smooth and intuitive writing experience.

• GoodNotes 5 (mentioned previously): Praised for its realistic pen emulation and paper-like feel, GoodNotes 5 is a favorite among those who enjoy writing with the Apple Pencil. Its extensive selection of pen styles, customizable notebooks, and annotation capabilities make it ideal for handwriting notes, brainstorming, and even sketching storyboards.
• Notability (mentioned previously): While offering diverse features, Notability excels at handwriting recognition. Write notes seamlessly with the Apple Pencil, and the app will convert your handwriting to text instantly. This makes it a great choice for writers who value the fluidity of penmanship but also require the convenience of digital editing.
• Nebo: This app takes pen-based writing to another level. Its advanced handwriting recognition allows for real-time conversion to text, even recognizing mathematical equations and diagrams. Nebo caters to writers who heavily rely on diagrams, sketches, and handwritten formulas within their text.

How To Write With Apple Pencil And Convert To Text

• How-To Guides
• Software Tutorials

Introduction

When it comes to writing with precision and style, the Apple Pencil is a game-changer. Designed specifically for use with Apple’s iPad and iPad Pro, this sleek and sophisticated stylus provides a seamless and intuitive writing experience. Whether you’re taking notes, sketching ideas, or simply jotting down your thoughts, the Apple Pencil offers a level of precision and control that sets it apart from other stylus options on the market.

With its innovative design and advanced technology, the Apple Pencil opens up a world of possibilities for users. From artists and designers to students and professionals, anyone can harness the power of this digital pen to create stunning visuals and capture their ideas with ease. But how do you get started with the Apple Pencil? And how can you convert your handwritten notes into digital text? In this article, we will explore the setup process for the Apple Pencil and guide you through the steps of writing with it and converting your handwritten notes to text.

Whether you’re a long-time user of the Apple Pencil or just getting started, this article will provide you with valuable tips and insights to enhance your writing experience. So grab your Apple Pencil, fire up your iPad, and get ready to take your writing to the next level.

What is Apple Pencil?

The Apple Pencil is a cutting-edge stylus developed by Apple Inc. specifically for use with the iPad and iPad Pro. It’s designed to provide users with a natural and precise writing and drawing experience on their Apple devices. With advanced technology and innovative features, the Apple Pencil offers unparalleled accuracy and responsiveness that mimics the feel of using a traditional pencil or pen.

One of the standout features of the Apple Pencil is its pressure sensitivity. This means that as you apply more pressure while writing or drawing, the lines will become thicker, giving you more control over your strokes. The Apple Pencil also supports tilt functionality, allowing you to create shading effects and achieve a more realistic drawing experience.

The Apple Pencil seamlessly integrates with the iPad’s display, allowing for precise tracking of movement and orientation. With virtually no lag time, you can enjoy a fluid and natural writing or drawing experience. It’s like putting pen to paper, but with the added benefits of digital technology.

The Apple Pencil is not only limited to writing and drawing. With its touch-sensitive surface, you can also use it to navigate through menus, swipe through pages, and perform various gestures on your iPad. This makes it a versatile tool that enhances productivity and efficiency, whether you’re taking notes in a meeting or creating intricate artwork.

To ensure compatibility, it’s important to note that the first-generation Apple Pencil is designed for use with the 9.7-inch iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pro models released prior to 2018. The second-generation Apple Pencil, on the other hand, is specifically designed for the latest iPad Pro models, including the 11-inch and 12.9-inch versions.

Now that you have a better understanding of what the Apple Pencil is and its capabilities, let’s move on to the setup process and learn how to start using it with your iPad.

Setting up Apple Pencil

Setting up the Apple Pencil is a straightforward process that ensures a seamless connection with your iPad. Before you begin, make sure your iPad is powered on and has the latest version of iOS installed. Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting your Apple Pencil up and running:

• Remove the cap: Start by removing the cap from the back of the Apple Pencil. This reveals the lightning connector, which is used to charge the stylus.
• Connect to iPad: Plug the lightning connector on the Apple Pencil into the lightning port on your iPad. The device will automatically recognize the stylus and prompt you to pair it.
• Pair the Apple Pencil: Follow the on-screen instructions to pair the Apple Pencil with your iPad. This involves tapping the pair button and waiting for the pairing process to complete. Once paired, your iPad will remember the Apple Pencil and automatically connect to it whenever it is in range.
• Personalize the settings: After pairing, you can personalize the settings for your Apple Pencil. Go to the Settings app on your iPad, select the Apple Pencil option, and customize options such as double-tap functionality and palm rejection.
• Charging the Apple Pencil: To charge the Apple Pencil, simply attach it to the lightning port of your iPad. Alternatively, you can use the Apple Pencil Charging Adapter to charge it using a standard lightning cable. The Apple Pencil provides up to 12 hours of battery life and can be fully charged in just under 30 minutes.

Once the setup process is complete, you’re ready to start using the Apple Pencil with your iPad. It’s important to note that the Apple Pencil is compatible with a wide range of apps, including Apple’s own Notes app, as well as popular third-party apps like Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, and Notability. These apps are optimized to take full advantage of the Apple Pencil’s capabilities, providing a truly immersive and powerful writing and drawing experience.

Writing with Apple Pencil

With the Apple Pencil connected to your iPad, you’re ready to unleash your creativity and start writing with precision and ease. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your writing experience with the Apple Pencil:

• Select a compatible app: Choose an app that supports Apple Pencil input for the best writing experience. Popular options include Apple’s Notes app, GoodNotes, and Notability.
• Hold the Apple Pencil comfortably: Hold the Apple Pencil as you would hold a traditional pen or pencil. Find a grip that feels comfortable and allows you to have full control over your writing.
• Apply varying pressure: The Apple Pencil is pressure-sensitive, so you can create thicker or thinner lines by adjusting the pressure you apply while writing. Experiment with different pressures to achieve the desired effect.
• Utilize tilt functionality: Take advantage of the Apple Pencil’s tilt functionality to add shading and depth to your writing. Tilt the pen slightly to create different line widths and achieve a more natural look.
• Use the eraser: The Apple Pencil has an integrated eraser on its end. Simply flip the stylus over and use the eraser to delete or correct any mistakes. This provides a seamless writing experience without the need for a separate eraser tool.
• Try different apps and features: Explore the wide range of apps and features available for the Apple Pencil. From calligraphy brushes to shape recognition, there are numerous tools and functions that can enhance your writing and take it to new creative heights.

Whether you’re taking notes, journaling, or creating beautiful artwork, the Apple Pencil offers incredible precision and responsiveness. Its seamless integration with the iPad’s display and the ability to mimic the feel of traditional writing instruments make it an invaluable tool for any writer or artist.

Remember to keep your Apple Pencil charged and use it in conjunction with compatible apps to unlock its full potential. With practice, you’ll find that writing with the Apple Pencil becomes second nature, allowing you to effortlessly bring your ideas to life on the digital canvas of your iPad.

Converting Handwritten Notes to Text

One of the standout features of the Apple Pencil is its ability to convert your handwritten notes into digital text. This can be incredibly useful when you want to share your notes electronically or if you prefer typed text over handwriting. Here’s how you can convert your handwritten notes to text using the Apple Pencil and your iPad:

• Open a compatible app: Ensure that you’re using an app that supports handwriting recognition and text conversion. Apple’s Notes app is a great option, as it has built-in handwriting recognition.
• Write your notes: Using the Apple Pencil, write your notes as you normally would on the iPad’s screen. Take care to write neatly and legibly to improve the accuracy of the conversion process.
• Select the handwritten text: After writing your notes, use either your finger or the Apple Pencil to select the handwritten text you wish to convert. You can do this by holding and dragging over the text to highlight it.
• Tap the conversion option: Once the handwritten text is selected, a pop-up menu should appear with various options. Look for the option that allows you to convert the selected text to typed text. In Apple’s Notes app, this option is represented by the icon of a capital “A” with a pencil.
• Review and edit the converted text: After conversion, take a moment to review the converted text. While the handwriting recognition technology is highly accurate, there may be some errors or misinterpretations. Edit any mistakes to ensure the accuracy of the converted text.

It’s worth noting that the conversion process may vary slightly depending on the app you’re using. Some apps offer more advanced handwriting recognition features, allowing for seamless and accurate conversion of handwritten notes to text. Additionally, certain third-party apps specialize in handwriting recognition and offer even more robust conversion capabilities.

Converting your handwritten notes to text provides you with the convenience of having digital, editable text that can be easily shared, copied, or searched. It eliminates the need for manual transcription and saves you time and effort. Experiment with different apps and find the one that best suits your needs and preferences when it comes to converting handwritten notes to text.

Tips for a Better Writing Experience

To maximize the potential of your Apple Pencil and enhance your overall writing experience, consider implementing these tips:

• Use a screen protector: An anti-glare or matte screen protector can provide a more paper-like texture and reduce slipperiness, allowing for better control and precision.
• Adjust the input settings: Experiment with the sensitivity and tilt settings in your device’s settings menu to customize the Apple Pencil’s responsiveness to your personal preference.
• Try different grips: Test out various grips and find the one that feels most comfortable and natural for you. This can improve your control and reduce fatigue during long writing sessions.
• Practice writing techniques: Learn to hold the Apple Pencil lightly and relax your hand and wrist while writing. This can help reduce strain and improve the flow of your strokes.
• Utilize shortcut features: Take advantage of the double-tap gesture functionality on the Apple Pencil. Configure it to perform actions such as switching between tools or activating the eraser, saving you time and enhancing your workflow.
• Utilize palm rejection: Most apps automatically enable palm rejection, which allows you to comfortably rest your hand on the screen while writing without interference. Ensure that this feature is active to avoid accidental marks or unintended actions.
• Backup your notes: Regularly backup your handwritten notes to prevent data loss. Use cloud storage services or sync your notes across multiple devices to ensure your work is safely preserved.
• Explore additional accessories: Consider investing in accessories like a pen grip or a stylus holder to further enhance your comfort and convenience while using the Apple Pencil.
• Practice and experiment: The more you practice using the Apple Pencil, the more familiar and comfortable you will become with its features and capabilities. Take advantage of the vast array of apps and tools available to discover new techniques and unleash your creativity.

By implementing these tips, you can enhance your writing experience with the Apple Pencil, optimize your workflow, and achieve better results. Remember, everyone’s writing style and preferences are unique, so feel free to tailor these tips to your own personal needs to make the most out of your Apple Pencil.

The Apple Pencil revolutionizes the way we write and create on our iPads. With its exceptional precision, pressure sensitivity, and seamless integration with compatible apps, the Apple Pencil provides a truly immersive and natural writing experience. Whether you’re an artist, a student, or a professional, this innovative tool offers unparalleled control and accuracy, allowing you to bring your ideas to life with ease.

In this article, we explored the setup process for the Apple Pencil and learned how to write and draw with precision using this digital pen. We also discovered how to convert our handwritten notes into digital text, providing a convenient way to share and edit our work. Along the way, we shared valuable tips to enhance your writing experience, from adjusting settings to practicing proper writing techniques.

The Apple Pencil opens up a world of possibilities, allowing you to unleash your creativity and productivity. Whether you’re using it for note-taking, sketching, or other creative endeavors, the Apple Pencil delivers an unmatched level of control and sensitivity that sets it apart from other stylus options on the market.

So, grab your Apple Pencil, let your imagination run wild, and explore the endless opportunities that this remarkable tool offers. Whether you’re a professional artist, a student taking notes in class, or simply someone who enjoys doodling to relax, the Apple Pencil is sure to elevate your creative experience and take your writing and drawing skills to new heights.

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iPadOS 16 Adds Handwriting Straightening Feature to Make Your Writing Neater

With iPadOS 16, Apple is continuing to improve the note taking and writing experience, introducing a new Straighten feature for text written with the Apple Pencil .

As you can see in our demonstration, the difference is subtle, but it does indeed work and it does make handwriting look just a bit neater. It should be helpful if you already have semi-neat handwriting that you just want to arrange better.

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Fine, if you don't want to play spot the difference… :)

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How to Take Aesthetic Notes on the iPad

Updated Sept 26, 2022

Here’s a secret: taking aesthetic notes on the iPad is so much easier than on paper.

When armed with a note-taking app like GoodNotes, there are so many features that enable you to create better notes, with less work.

Here are some tips & tricks on how to take aesthetic notes on the iPad.

Spoiler-alert: The tips will help you make your notes look better, even if you don’t have perfect handwriting.

Read more: Check out our guide to Best Way to Study .

1. Play around with pen settings to find the style you like

In GoodNotes, there are 3 main pens to choose from and they all write differently.

The fountain pen and brush pen are pressure sensitive. That means that the ink will change based on much you press down and how quickly you write. For the fountain pen, you can also adjust how pointy you’d prefer the tip to be. These pens are great for calligraphy or giving a bit more character to your notes.

The ball pen , on the other hand, will always give you a uniform line. No matter how much pressure you’re using, the ink will look the same and therefore give you better control.

The thickness of your pen strokes can also change the look and feel of your handwriting.

Test the variety of pens to find the one with the aesthetic you like the most.

Tip: Try mixing it up! Use the brush pen for your headings or titles to make them stand out. Use the fountain or ball pen to take the bulk of your notes.

2. Edit your notes after writing them

This is where taking aesthetic notes on the iPad really shines: the ability to resize or move ink on the page after jotting it down.

Examples of how you can edit your digital notes:

• Running out of space? Move your notes up the page, or move a sentence to exactly the right spot.
• Move bullet points around so that they are perfectly aligned
• Change the color of the ink or the size of your writing

Tip from studygrammer @cupofstudies: Since her handwriting gets messier the larger she writes, she tends to write headers smaller and increase the size afterward.

At the same time, consider staring big and then going small for objects that require more precision, like graphs and sketches. Draw them as big as you need to and then size them down so that they fit in where you want them to be.

3. Zoom in and out to find the best size and position to write

Both writing too small and writing too large can throw you off your game.

Sometimes writing too large can give you less control of your pen, and too small can cram your otherwise nice handwriting into scribbles.

The good thing about taking notes on the iPad is that you can zoom in and out to write at whatever size you feel the most comfortable with.

That means that you can zoom into a piece of lined paper until you can write in-between the lines, and perfect each stroke.

In GoodNotes, there’s a self-advancing Zoom window — part of your page will be zoomed in for you to write, while keeping the full page in view.

4. Use squared paper to write in straight lines

Achieve perfectly straight lines every time with this hack:

Write on squared paper and let the grid lines help you align your writing. Then, once you’re done writing, switch the paper template back to blank.

And voila! You’ve achieved perfectly straight handwriting and now have a page of neat and aesthetic notes.

5. Try writing on a matte screen protector

If you’re not used to writing on the slick screen of the iPad, consider getting a matte screen protector.

This will add the friction you’re used to when writing on paper, and could help you get more comfortable writing on the iPad.

Check out Paperlike , or do a quick search on Amazon.

Tip : A matte screen protector can slightly reduce the crispness of the display.

6. Add a splash of color with highlighters

They’re not just for highlighting!

Highlighter ink appears as a softer color than the pen ink, and can add a splash of color without distracting from your notes.

In GoodNotes, it always falls behind your pen ink so as not to cover up your text.

So in addition to highlighting important information, you can also try:

• Drawing boxes to frame your notes or to create new sections
• Underlining your headings
• Creating shadows
• Coloring in any shapes or diagrams

7. Explore digital planners and templates

While GoodNotes comes with a variety of default templates , you can also import your own.

It’s similar to finding beautiful stationery: instead of changing your handwriting, let the paper transform the way your notes look.

You can find well-designed bullet journal spreads, daily or monthly planners, and even templates for different study notes.

We rounded up some of our favorite digital planners here .

8. Add stickers and images

Stickers are another no-brainer tip — you can take your normal notes, add a few stickers and make them bright or beautiful to look at.

GoodNotes comes with several default sticker packs from sticky notes, mind map shapes, to decorative stickers too.

With iOS 16’s new image cropping tool, you can turn your images into stickers too, as your backgrounds will automatically crop out!

Check out our blog post for some free (and premium) digital stickers .

9. Follow a color scheme

Which colors look best together?

When you take notes on the iPad, you literally have access to every color, meaning you can build your own color themes and palettes to use in your notes.

อะ แจก hexcode เราทำเก็บไว้สำหรับการย้ายไปใช้กู้ดโน้ตห้า แอดสีใหม่หาสีใหม่ไม่ใช่เรื่องตลกจริงๆ 555555555 รีได้ ไม่รีอัพนะคะ ขอบคุณค่า pic.twitter.com/HLNPnvecPN — เห้อใจละ1 (@adad__io) January 19, 2019

Find your colors you want to use, and save them as presets for easy access.

Take aesthetic iPad notes with GoodNotes

Join millions of people worldwide taking beautiful, searchable notes in GoodNotes.

And for more tips & tricks and the latest GoodNotes news, sign up for our newsletter today .

Yes, paper-feel screen protectors for the iPad are good

You can make writing notes or drawing on the ipad much nicer with the right kind of screen protector..

By Dan Seifert , an editor overseeing The Verge’s product reviews and service journalism programs. Dan has covered the technology world for over a decade at The Verge.

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Apple’s iPad and Pencil combination makes for an excellent note-taking or digital drawing solution. But even though writing notes or creating art on the iPad has a lot of advantages over using analog pen and paper, the actual feel of writing with a plastic-tipped stylus on the iPad’s smooth glass isn’t great. The hard plastic of the stylus hitting the hard glass of the iPad can be noisy, slippery, and just unpleasant to use if you’re used to writing on paper.

Yet it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. There is a small cottage industry of paper-feel (or paperlike or paper-type) screen protectors for the iPad that address this issue directly. And as someone who takes handwritten notes on the iPad every single day, I now swear by them.

These kinds of screen protectors have a different purpose than the typical clear plastic screen protector designed to prevent scratches on the screen. They have matte finishes that both diffuse the light coming out of the screen and provide a rougher texture for writing. This has the effect of providing resistance to the tip of the Apple Pencil, which makes writing on the glass feel more like writing on paper and provides more control over your strokes. They also reduce the tapping-on-glass noise you get with the Pencil on the iPad. Writing through the screen protector is no less responsive than without it, and you can still navigate the iPad easily with standard finger taps and swipes.

Yes, as expected, it makes the iPad feel more like paper, though I’m not going to tell you it’s exactly the same.

Common brands of paper-type screen protectors include Paperlike , Moshi (this is what I use on an iPad Mini and an iPad Pro ), and PenTips , though there are many off-brand options on Amazon for lower costs. You can find options for every iPad on the market, from the base 9.7-inch model released a couple of years ago to the latest and greatest iPad Pro models. A matte screen protector will typically cost more than a basic clear one, with the name-brand versions running anywhere from $30 to $45 each.

There are some downsides to be aware of when using a matte screen protector. Because these screen protectors diffuse the light coming out of the screen, there is an impact to the brightness and color saturation of the screen. If you use your iPad outdoors or you primarily use it for watching movies, this might be an issue for you. PenTips’ PenMat offers a clever solution for this: it magnetically attaches to the iPad, so you can easily put it on when you want to write or draw and take it off when you want to watch a movie or get the full brightness of the iPad’s screen. I haven’t used this one myself, but YouTuber Brad Colbow, who creates videos about making art on digital devices, recently tested it and came away impressed.

Those who write with a heavy hand or do a lot of drawing on their iPads might wear out the tip of the Apple Pencil faster with a matte screen protector due to its rougher texture. (This seems to be worst when tilting the Pencil for shading effects.) Replacing the Pencil’s tip is easy, and you can get four replacements for less than $20 , but it is something to be aware of.

The matte screen protector almost makes my handwriting legible

I personally have never had an issue with the reduced brightness and contrast caused by the matte screen protector, so it’s something I leave on my iPad 100 percent of the time. And when I’m writing notes, it’s more comfortable to use, I have greater control, and you can almost read my chicken-scratch handwriting. It also eliminates glare when I’m reading or watching video. One last benefit is the matte screen protector seems to repel fingerprints and other grossness better than the bare glass screen.

If all you use your iPad for is watching video and entertaining young kids, then you probably don’t need to spend the money for a good matte screen protector. But if you’ve had ideas to use it for note-taking or digital art, then it’s one of the best accessories you can purchase — once you have a Pencil already, of course. And an iPad with a matte screen protector goes a long way toward providing a similar writing experience to something like a Remarkable while still being capable of all the other things an iPad is great for.

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How to Improve your Handwriting on the iPad for Digital Planning

So you’ve finally made the decision to switch to digital planning and note-taking but your handwriting looks a little awkward on the screen?

Well, you’re not alone!

That was what happened with me when I first started digital planning, and I am sure many others were in a similar situation as well.

If you are keen to go paperless but your writing is just not .. cute, don’t stress!

It IS possible to write neatly, if not neater, on your iPad.

Below are some of my top tips and tricks to help you improve your handwriting on your iPad:

Experiment with different Pencil settings (line thickness and pen style)

Okay this might seem obvious but writing with different pen settings (such as line thickness and pen style) can really determine if your handwriting will be presentable.

For example, my writing just ain’t cute when the line thickness is too thin or too thick, am I right? 

With the digital planner that I use, my ideal line thickness is 0.3 mm. But that may differ for you!

The stroke thickness can be adjusted in 0.05 mm increments/decrements in GoodNotes 5.

My suggestion is to start with the default thicknesses and get a feel for which one out of the 3 you feel most comfortable with. Then adjust accordingly!

I don’t know about you but I cannot write on my iPad without  zooming in. Even zooming in just a little helps SO MUCH. It just gives me so much more control and I can write with better precision.

To zoom in and out, simply use two fingers to pinch in or out.

You can also use the magnifying tool/zoom window if that makes it easier for you!

Try Using Pencil Grip

If you are using the Apple Pencil (like me), it can be difficult to get a good grip or feel comfortable holding it while writing. This can adversely affect your handwriting appearance.

You can get ergonomic grips which will enhance your writing and could also reduce hand aches when doing a lot of writing.

Use a Matte/Paper-like Screen Protector

Applying a matte screen protector can work wonders for your handwriting. The screen on the iPad/tablet is a lot more smoother and has less friction than paper which makes it a different writing experience than what you are used to.

When writing on a matte screen protector, you will feel like you are writing on actual paper. Because of it’s paper-like texture, you will get more of a resistance when writing on the screen. Many digital planners and note-takers agree that it can make a HUGE difference when it comes to writing digitally!  

Adjust the Pressure Sensitivity and Writing Posture Setting in GoodNotes

If you use GoodNotes for your digital planning, there are “palm rejection” settings you can play around with.

This is located by tapping on the “pen” icon and then selecting “Stylus & Palm Rejection” under settings.

Play around with your Hand Positioning and your Pen Grip/Hold

  How you place your hand and the way you grip your Apple Pencil may simply feel more comfortable in a different position than you are used to. So, don’t be afraid to experiment with different hand positioning and pen grip!

You may find that you prefer writing when your iPad is in a certain orientation. For example, I feel more comfortable when I write when my iPad is in landscape orientation.

Use Practise Sheets or Apps

If you do a quick search on Google or Pinterest, you will be able to find lots of free writing practise sheets you can download. Practising on these sheets will help you learn how to write on the iPad better.

Practise writing the same words or letters over and over again!

Writing on a screen is a completely new experience after all, so it’s not surprising that you may need to re-learn a skill.

Another benefit of doing these sheets is that it’s very relaxing, at least, for me it is!

Write Small

If you want your writing to be big in size, for a title or heading for example, write small first and then resize it to a bigger size. Writing small gives you better control and will help make your handwriting look neater.

Write on Lines

I find that writing on lines, grids or guides improves my handwriting so much. It helps me write straight and keeps my letters similarly spaced.

Some note-taking apps have a feature where you can toggle lines/grids on/off. However, the app I use (GoodNotes) does not yet have this feature.

To counteract this issue, when I need to write in a blank space, what I do is use the highlighter feature to draw in my lines.

There is a setting which you can choose if you want the highlighter to draw in a straight line. After you are done writing and using the highlighter lines as a guide, you can erase the lines only by selecting the “Erase Highlighter Only” option on the eraser!

Experiment with your Writing Style

You may need to switch up your writing style, so experiment with what you are comfortable with. If you are used to writing cursive on paper, you may feel more comfortable writing separated letters on your iPad. For me, I used to always write cursive but I just couldn’t get it to work on the iPad. I find that writing in capital letters yields the best results for me!

Writing neatly and improving your handwriting on your iPad is all about trial and error and having patience! If you keep practising and using the tips above, you will be writing neatly and faster in no time!

Write slowly in the beginning and don’t give up! It took me around 2 weeks to finally be happy and feel comfortable with writing on my iPad (and now that I’ve gone paperless, it actually feels funny and strange writing on paper).

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Academic Essay Writing Made Simple: 4 types and tips

The pen is mightier than the sword, they say, and nowhere is this more evident than in academia. From the quick scribbles of eager students to the inquisitive thoughts of renowned scholars, academic essays depict the power of the written word. These well-crafted writings propel ideas forward and expand the existing boundaries of human intellect.

What is an Academic Essay

An academic essay is a nonfictional piece of writing that analyzes and evaluates an argument around a specific topic or research question. It serves as a medium to share the author’s views and is also used by institutions to assess the critical thinking, research skills, and writing abilities of a students and researchers.  

Importance of Academic Essays

4 main types of academic essays.

While academic essays may vary in length, style, and purpose, they generally fall into four main categories. Despite their differences, these essay types share a common goal: to convey information, insights, and perspectives effectively.

1. Expository Essay

2. Descriptive Essay

3. Narrative Essay

4. Argumentative Essay

Expository and persuasive essays mainly deal with facts to explain ideas clearly. Narrative and descriptive essays are informal and have a creative edge. Despite their differences, these essay types share a common goal ― to convey information, insights, and perspectives effectively.

Expository Essays: Illuminating ideas

An expository essay is a type of academic writing that explains, illustrates, or clarifies a particular subject or idea. Its primary purpose is to inform the reader by presenting a comprehensive and objective analysis of a topic.

By breaking down complex topics into digestible pieces and providing relevant examples and explanations, expository essays allow writers to share their knowledge.

What are the Key Features of an Expository Essay

Provides factual information without bias

Presents multiple viewpoints while maintaining objectivity

Uses direct and concise language to ensure clarity for the reader

Composed of a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion

When is an expository essay written.

1. For academic assignments to evaluate the understanding of research skills.

2. As instructional content to provide step-by-step guidance for tasks or problem-solving.

3. In journalism for objective reporting in news or investigative pieces.

4. As a form of communication in the professional field to convey factual information in business or healthcare.

How to Write an Expository Essay

Expository essays are typically structured in a logical and organized manner.

1. Topic Selection and Research

• Choose a topic that can be explored objectively
• Gather relevant facts and information from credible sources
• Develop a clear thesis statement

2. Outline and Structure

• Create an outline with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion
• Introduce the topic and state the thesis in the introduction
• Dedicate each body paragraph to a specific point supporting the thesis
• Use transitions to maintain a logical flow

3. Objective and Informative Writing

• Maintain an impartial and informative tone
• Avoid personal opinions or biases
• Support points with factual evidence, examples, and explanations

4. Conclusion

• Summarize the key points
• Reinforce the significance of the thesis

Descriptive Essays: Painting with words

Descriptive essays transport readers into vivid scenes, allowing them to experience the world through the writer ‘s lens. These essays use rich sensory details, metaphors, and figurative language to create a vivid and immersive experience . Its primary purpose is to engage readers’ senses and imagination.

It allows writers to demonstrate their ability to observe and describe subjects with precision and creativity.

What are the Key Features of Descriptive Essay

Employs figurative language and imagery to paint a vivid picture for the reader

Demonstrates creativity and expressiveness in narration

Includes close attention to detail, engaging the reader’s senses

Engages the reader’s imagination and emotions through immersive storytelling using analogies, metaphors, similes, etc.

When is a descriptive essay written.

1. Personal narratives or memoirs that describe significant events, people, or places.

2. Travel writing to capture the essence of a destination or experience.

3. Character sketches in fiction writing to introduce and describe characters.

4. Poetry or literary analyses to explore the use of descriptive language and imagery.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay

The descriptive essay lacks a defined structural requirement but typically includes: an introduction introducing the subject, a thorough description, and a concluding summary with insightful reflection.

1. Subject Selection and Observation

• Choose a subject (person, place, object, or experience) to describe
• Gather sensory details and observations

2. Engaging Introduction

• Set the scene and provide the context
• Use of descriptive language and figurative techniques

3. Descriptive Body Paragraphs

• Focus on specific aspects or details of the subject
• Engage the reader ’s senses with vivid imagery and descriptions
• Maintain a consistent tone and viewpoint

4. Impactful Conclusion

• Provide a final impression or insight
• Leave a lasting impact on the reader

Narrative Essays: Storytelling in Action

Narrative essays are personal accounts that tell a story, often drawing from the writer’s own experiences or observations. These essays rely on a well-structured plot, character development, and vivid descriptions to engage readers and convey a deeper meaning or lesson.

What are the Key features of Narrative Essays

Written from a first-person perspective and hence subjective

Based on real personal experiences

Uses an informal and expressive tone

Presents events and characters in sequential order

When is a narrative essay written.

It is commonly assigned in high school and college writing courses to assess a student’s ability to convey a meaningful message or lesson through a personal narrative. They are written in situations where a personal experience or story needs to be recounted, such as:

1. Reflective essays on significant life events or personal growth.

2. Autobiographical writing to share one’s life story or experiences.

3. Creative writing exercises to practice narrative techniques and character development.

4. College application essays to showcase personal qualities and experiences.

How to Write a Narrative Essay

Narrative essays typically follow a chronological structure, with an introduction that sets the scene, a body that develops the plot and characters, and a conclusion that provides a sense of resolution or lesson learned.

1. Experience Selection and Reflection

• Choose a significant personal experience or event
• Reflect on the impact and deeper meaning

2. Immersive Introduction

• Introduce characters and establish the tone and point of view

3. Plotline and Character Development

• Advance   the  plot and character development through body paragraphs
• Incorporate dialog , conflict, and resolution
• Maintain a logical and chronological flow

4. Insightful Conclusion

• Reflect on lessons learned or insights gained
• Leave the reader with a lasting impression

Argumentative Essays: Persuasion and Critical Thinking

Argumentative essays are the quintessential form of academic writing in which writers present a clear thesis and support it with well-researched evidence and logical reasoning. These essays require a deep understanding of the topic, critical analysis of multiple perspectives, and the ability to construct a compelling argument.

What are the Key Features of an Argumentative Essay?

Logical and well-structured arguments

Credible and relevant evidence from reputable sources

Consideration and refutation of counterarguments

Critical analysis and evaluation of the issue 

When is an argumentative essay written.

Argumentative essays are written to present a clear argument or stance on a particular issue or topic. In academic settings they are used to develop critical thinking, research, and persuasive writing skills. However, argumentative essays can also be written in various other contexts, such as:

1. Opinion pieces or editorials in newspapers, magazines, or online publications.

2. Policy proposals or position papers in government, nonprofit, or advocacy settings.

3. Persuasive speeches or debates in academic, professional, or competitive environments.

4. Marketing or advertising materials to promote a product, service, or idea.

How to write an Argumentative Essay

Argumentative essays begin with an introduction that states the thesis and provides context. The body paragraphs develop the argument with evidence, address counterarguments, and use logical reasoning. The conclusion restates the main argument and makes a final persuasive appeal.

• Choose a debatable and controversial issue
• Conduct thorough research and gather evidence and counterarguments

2. Thesis and Introduction

• Craft a clear and concise thesis statement
• Provide background information and establish importance

3. Structured Body Paragraphs

• Focus each paragraph on a specific aspect of the argument
• Support with logical reasoning, factual evidence, and refutation

4. Persuasive Techniques

• Adopt a formal and objective tone
• Use persuasive techniques (rhetorical questions, analogies, appeals)

5. Impactful Conclusion

• Summarize the main points
• Leave the reader with a strong final impression and call to action

To learn more about argumentative essay, check out this article .

5 Quick Tips for Researchers to Improve Academic Essay Writing Skills

Use clear and concise language to convey ideas effectively without unnecessary words

Use well-researched, credible sources to substantiate your arguments with data, expert opinions, and scholarly references

Ensure a coherent structure with effective transitions, clear topic sentences, and a logical flow to enhance readability 

To elevate your academic essay, consider submitting your draft to a community-based platform like Open Platform  for editorial review 

Review your work multiple times for clarity, coherence, and adherence to academic guidelines to ensure a polished final product

By mastering the art of academic essay writing, researchers and scholars can effectively communicate their ideas, contribute to the advancement of knowledge, and engage in meaningful scholarly discourse.

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How to manage, edit, and store PDFs on an iPad

How to manage PDFs on an iPad

Apple has transformed the iPad into a powerhouse for document management, particularly for PDFs. Its portability, responsive touchscreen, and high-resolution display make it an ideal device for reading, annotating, and organizing PDFs across various contexts.

The company's continuous updates in iPadOS 17 have further enhanced PDF management. With the latest iPadOS 17 updates, the iPad now uses machine learning to identify fields in PDFs. The Notes app now displays full-size PDFs, enhancing readability and navigation.

If you're using the iPad for work, the new live collaboration feature in the iWork apps significantly enhances team projects. You can edit the same PDF simultaneously with coworkers, which is helpful during brainstorming sessions or when immediate feedback is essential.

Additionally, the Apple Pencil enhances the iPad's functionality, making it even more effective for annotating, signing, and editing PDFs. You can sketch or add notes directly on these documents, which is particularly useful for detailed feedback or creative markups.

The iPad provides a range of apps for storing PDFs, giving users the freedom to choose the best storage solution. First, here are the Apple apps that can manage these files.

PDFs in Apple Books

Apple Books isn't just for your latest novel or audiobook — it can also handle PDFs. One advantage is its user-friendly interface, which makes reading and organizing PDFs similar to handling e-books.

Books and PDFs are displayed in neat columns, making them visually appealing and easy to navigate. Another significant benefit is the synchronization across all devices using iCloud , ensuring that your documents are always at hand.

However, Apple Books is primarily designed for reading rather than extensive file management. While you can organize documents into collections, it can end up being a long, messy list in which collections are substituted for folders.

Apple Books is a good starting point for managing PDFs on your iPad because it's straightforward and accessible. It comes pre-installed on all iPads, offering ease of use with its intuitive interface and superior display, making reading PDFs a pleasant experience. With iCloud integration, any PDF added to Apple Books syncs across all Apple devices, providing seamless continuity.

However, another app can go a bit further with tags, folders, and subfolders. It too is built into Apple devices by default, and it's called Apple Notes.

Using Apple Notes for PDFs

Apple Notes allows you to integrate PDFs directly into your notes, which can be helpful for research or project planning. You can annotate PDFs within your notes and search through your documents as if they were part of the note.

The PDF integration can be a powerful tool for those who need to merge their documents with commentary or additional information.

Like Apple Books, Apple Notes's downside lies in its organizational limitations. Notes is primarily a text-handling app, so while it can store PDFs, managing numerous files can quickly become cumbersome.

Finding specific PDFs among a sea of notes could be challenging if you're dealing with many documents. However, some options include making PDF-specific folders and using the search bar.

Handling PDFs in Files

The Files app is Apple's answer to a comprehensive file management system on iPadOS. It supports not only PDFs but various other file types as well.

The app can open PDFs by itself, though other file types will often require a third-party app. For example, while Files can store ".numbers" files, you need the Numbers app to open them.

Unlike Apple Books and Apple Notes, the Files app offers detailed organizational tools such as folders, tags, and favorites, which can simplify the management of many documents. Additionally, Files integrates with other cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive.

Despite its versatility, the Files app can be less intuitive. It serves as a file management system to accommodate browsing, searching, and organizing various file types from multiple sources, which may overwhelm some users.

Another potential drawback is that while it offers more advanced file management capabilities, it doesn't enhance the reading experience as Apple Books does.

Other apps can handle PDFs

First, LiquidText is a powerful PDF management app that lets you extract and organize key information from PDFs into a workspace for better analysis and review. With features like multi-document comparison, intuitive annotation tools, and the ability to link and highlight text, LiquidText enhances productivity for students, researchers, and professionals.

Its touch-friendly interface on the iPad makes it easy to manipulate and connect different pieces of information, providing a dynamic and interactive way to manage PDFs. Liquidtext is available to download for free with in-app purchases, including a one-off lifetime purchase at $30, or a subscription from $10/month.

Next, PDF Expert by Readdle is a versatile app designed for PDF management. It offers a wide range of features, including annotation tools, form filling, document merging, and organization with folders and tags.

PDF Expert's interface allows for reading, editing, and signing of PDFs, making it an essential tool for professionals who handle numerous documents. Additionally, it integrates with cloud storage services. It's available to download for free with in-app purchases, from around $7/month.

Managing PDFs on an iPad offers a variety of options tailored to different needs, from the intuitive interface of Apple Books to the organizational tools of Apple Notes. For those requiring even more advanced features, third-party apps provide powerful solutions for detailed annotation, document comparison, and seamless integration with cloud services.

By choosing the right app for your workflow, you can transform your iPad into a powerful tool for managing PDFs efficiently and effectively.

UPDF.app - one subscription across all platforms is also a brilliant tool - £50 for a perpetual licence

And there are some free options, because I may need it only a couple of times and I would not like to pay

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I Hope These 2 iPad Pro Features Make It to the iPhone

Commentary: A thinner design and better camera for scanning documents could really come in handy on the iPhone.

Some of the 2024 iPad Pro's new features would be a great fit for the iPhone, especially the Pro Max model. 

With its powerful M4 processor and compatibility with new accessories like the Apple Pencil Pro , Apple is hoping its new pair of iPad Pros will be compelling enough to lure you away from your PC or Chromebook. But some of the iPad Pro's new features would feel right at home on the iPhone, specifically future iPhone Pro or Pro Max models.

The 2024 iPad Pro's exceptionally thin design and upgraded document scanning capabilities feel like a perfect match for the iPhone. While it's true that the iPad Pro is being positioned as a portable and powerful work device, our smartphones are with us all the time -- making lightweight designs and the ability to capture receipts and other important documents on the go feel all the more important.  

There's a precedent for new features arriving on the iPad Pro before trickling down to the iPhone. The 2020 iPad Pro gained a LiDAR scanner in March 2020 before that technology arrived on the iPhone 12 Pro later that year. Back in 2016, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro was the first to get Apple's True Tone display for improving white balance, which made its way to the iPhone 8 lineup and iPhone X the following year. Apple's ProMotion tech that dynamically adjusts the screen's refresh rate for smoother scrolling is another example of a display improvement that debuted on the iPad Pro in 2017 before landing on the iPhone 13 Pro in 2021. 

Apple should continue that tradition by bringing newer iPad Pro features to the iPhone as well. 

Read more: The Best and Worst Times to Buy a New iPhone

Why these features belong on future iPhones

The new iPad Pro is Apple's thinnest yet.

The new iPad Pro is Apple's thinnest product ever, according to the company. With the 13-inch model measuring just 5.1 millimeters in thickness, it's slimmer than the 8.25mm iPhone 15 Pro and the even sleeker 7.3mm iPhone SE by a large margin.

There's a case to be made that thinness matters more in the iPad Pro since it reduces the system's overall bulk when paired with keyboards and covers. But given that we carry our phones everywhere and reach for them 144 times per day, according to Reviews.org , such a dramatic reduction in thickness would go a long way. 

It could also make the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max feel less cumbersome, perhaps winning over shoppers that may have passed on it before because of its heft. At a time when just about every other smartphone maker is exploring foldable devices , a dramatically slimmer look could put Apple's iPhone design back in the spotlight.

The same could be said for the document scanner. Apple's new iPad Pro models use artificial intelligence to identify documents in the camera app and reduce shadows by snapping multiple photos at once and stitching the scan together. If you're anything like me, your phone is your primary tool for saving receipts during work trips and sharing photos of restaurant bills with friends when deciding how to split the cost. 

While it may not be the most exciting camera upgrade, it's certainly a practical one. Data from business-to-business research firm Aberdeen Strategy & Research mentioned in a 2023 blog post indicates that 30% of employees have a smartphone just for work purposes, and 68% of employees use an iPhone, perhaps suggesting there may be more demand for an improved iPhone document scanner than expected. 

Apple seems to know that people use their iPhones for digitizing and sharing documents, as evidenced by the addition of Live Text in 2021, which recognizes text in photos so that you can copy-and-paste handwritten notes and more. An improved document scanner like the one on the new iPad Pro would be a great companion to this capability. 

Like the iPad Pro's aforementioned superthin design, the document scanner also seems like a strong fit for future iPhone Pro Max models in particular. Apple's larger size Pro iPhones are known for having the company's top-of-the-line cameras, so it would make sense to see it gain a photography-oriented tool like this. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max's cameras already have an adaptive True Tone camera flash like the new iPad Pros. So if Apple were to bring this upgraded document scanning to the iPhone Pro Max, perhaps it could do so through a software update. 

Will these changes actually come to future iPhones?

Apple's WWDC conference will give us a peak at what's next for the iPhone's software. 

Apple never discusses new products and updates before it's ready to officially announce them, meaning we won't know what to expect from future iPhones until they arrive. But Apple is holding its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on June 10, which is where the company announces new software features for its iPhone lineup. 

Apple's next update, expected to be called iOS 18 , will bring a flurry of new AI-infused features to the iPhone, according to Bloomberg . There haven't been any mentions of the iPad Pro's document scanner coming to iOS 18 specifically. But the report does mention that Apple's update will focus on AI-driven features that are useful in everyday scenarios, and the iPad Pro's document scanner would seemingly fit that description. 

We won't know what Apple has up its sleeve when it comes to new iPhone hardware until September, which is when the company traditionally introduces its new smartphones. There's some reason to believe Apple may indeed be working on a slimmer iPhone, although we may not see it until 2025. Analyst Jeff Pu has reported that Apple may have an iPhone 17 Slim in the works, according to 9to5Mac , and a report from The Information also indicates a thinner iPhone may arrive next year. 

Apple's iPhone lineup has changed a lot over the years, particularly when it comes to the Pro and Pro Max models. Exploring a paper-thin design and improving the camera's functionality in practical ways could help Apple further distinguish its pro-level phones from the standard iPhone. 

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More From Forbes

How writing can make you a better coach.

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Telling your story

Storytelling is an essential part of leadership communications. In the following sentence, Steve Almond, author of Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow , writes:

“The most fundamental question for readers is to who we’re being ask to care about, what they desire, and what sort of trouble they encounter in pursuit of that desire. In other words, what promises is the piece making? Has our protagonist been forced to reckon with external obstacles and internal conflicts?”

If you were to substitute readers for followers and a piece for a story, you would have an excellent framework for shaping a story. Almond has authored 11 books and has taught writing in MFA programs for decades. Truth Is the Arrow is a distillation of what he teaches. And he does it with verve, candor, style and courage.

Why We Need Stories

For that reason, his exploration of storytelling is worth exploring for leaders who need to communicate more effectively with their followers. Stories have beginnings, middles and ends, and in the management environment, leaders know the beginning but not the ending. Forming the ending – fulfilling the mission – is a series of "middles" – ever-changing and ever-challenging.

The narrative in fiction has been plotted, though when the writer is writing, they may not know it at the time. Same for work life. We mark milestones, but we are still in the process. Storytelling – that sheds light on people and effort – makes the progression worthy of further commitment.

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A vital part of storytelling is revealing something of yourself. Almond does a skillful job telling parts of his story throughout the book. He is not afraid to laugh at his early writing efforts. More directly, he deals with family challenges and is not afraid to call himself out for shortcomings in his teaching.

Almond notes that writers come to workshops to express themselves, and part of that expression involves the grasp of self-knowledge. In this regard, the principles of the writing process mirror the coaching process, peeling back the layers to help the individual learn more about themselves.

An essential part of storytelling is humor. At this, Almond is a master. Not afraid to reveal his own foibles, he does so in ways that make us laugh and at the same time say, “I know that feeling.” That lesson is something that binds listeners – and followers – to the storytellers. Consider it vulnerability tinged with what it means to be fully alive.

Revealing Self

Near the end of the book, there is a chapter, "Man at the Top of the Stairs," that explores a character's inner life. Writers have to find a different way of being in the world," writes Almond. "The making of literature is the manner by which we come to understand our inner lives, by which we travel in difficult truth toward elusive mercy, and thereby affirm the bonds of human kindness."

Same holds true for leaders. Their connection to those they lead may waver from time to time, but when the leader knows themselves they have the capacity to look outward, to connect with others with story that resonate with shared experience. And when those stories reflect hopes and aspirations tempered with kindness and grace, the connection between leader and follower remains resilient and firm.

First posted on Forbes.com 5.00.2024

Note: For more insights into the parallels between writing and coaching, here is my LinkedIn Live interview with Steve Almond.

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Nikki Haley criticized for writing ‘Finish Them!’ on artillery shell in Israel

Nikki Haley, the former Republican presidential candidate and U.N. ambassador, wrote “Finish Them!” on an artillery shell during a days-long trip to Israel.

Nikki Haley took a purple pen, crouched down in a tactical vest and signed an artillery shell while visiting Israel this week. “Finish Them!” she wrote.

The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Republican presidential candidate penned the message Tuesday while touring an artillery station along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. It was part of a days-long trip to the country during which she has met with families of some of the roughly 1,200 people killed and 253 taken hostage when Hamas attacked on Oct. 7. Haley toured the wreckage caused by the attack and visited the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel where partygoers were killed and kidnapped.

Haley and representatives from her defunct presidential campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Washington Post.

In an interview with the Israel Hayom newspaper, which is run by Republican mega donor Miriam Adelson, Haley echoed her message on the bomb.

“We know as long as Hamas exists, it can happen again, and that’s why I’ve said from the very beginning, you need to finish them — once and for all,” she said. Haley spoke with the newspaper Monday after visiting Nir Oz, where more than one-quarter of residents were either killed or kidnapped on Oct. 7.

Haley’s visit comes as Israeli leaders face intensifying criticism that they’re not doing enough to protect civilians in Gaza and may have committed war crimes during the country’s war against Hamas. It also follows a recent Israeli airstrike that started a fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians. Weapons experts said U.S.-made bombs were used in the strike.

On Tuesday, Danny Danon, a member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and the country’s former representative to the United Nations, posted photos to X showing him accompanying Haley to the artillery station. The photos show Haley writing the “Finish Them!” message, followed by: “America [heart] Israel. Always, Nikki Haley.”

Haley said last week she will vote for former president Donald Trump in the November election. In a March interview with the Israel Hayom, Trump said, “You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You gotta get it done.”

Criticism quickly followed the images of Haley writing on the artillery shell.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International USA shared the images with a message about how conflict zones are “no place for stunts.” And the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned her for writing “a violent message” two days after an Israeli airstrike on a tent camp in Rafah killed at least 45 people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack a “tragic accident” after the Israeli military repeatedly described it as a targeted strike on a Hamas compound using “precise munitions” and “precise intelligence.”

Haley has been a staunch supporter of Israel for years. In October, when she was still pursuing the Republican presidential nomination, she spoke at the Republican Jewish Coalition summit, where she said she would never criticize Israel’s prime minister “in the middle of tragedy and war.”

Last week, she chastised the Biden administration ’s decision to withhold weapons from Israel, saying that doing so “validates the totally false and destructive narrative that Israel is acting unjustly by defending herself,” adding that she thinks Israel “is conducting its war of self-defense more humanely than any army in history.”

During a 2017 visit to Israel as U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration, Haley told Netanyahu that the United Nations bullies Israel. Her comment came a day after she said that the United States might withdraw from the U.N. Human Rights Council unless it changed its ways in general and its negative stance on Israel in particular, The Post reported at the time.

And in 2018, Haley defended Israel during an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council as Israel faced harsh criticism from around the world for shooting Palestinians who were protesting at the Gaza border during clashes that killed at least 60.

“I ask my colleagues here in the Security Council: Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border?” Haley said at the time. “No one would. No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.”

Haley continued her defense of Israel during her latest visit.

“When Hamas promises they will do it again, Israel should believe them,” she wrote Wednesday on X. “Israel must do whatever is necessary to protect her people from evil. Americans must remember that when Iran and Hamas chant ‘Death to Israel’ they also promise ‘Death to America’. Israel is fighting America’s enemies.”

Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff contributed to this report.

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The Ethicist

Can i use a.i. to grade my students’ papers.

The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on artificial intelligence platforms, and whether it’s hypocritical for teachers to use these tools while forbidding students from doing the same.

By Kwame Anthony Appiah

I am a junior-high-school English teacher. In the past school year, there has been a significant increase in students’ cheating on writing assignments by using artificial intelligence. Our department feels that 13-year-old students will only become better writers if they practice and learn from the successes and challenges that come with that.

Recently our department tasked students with writing an argumentative essay, an assignment we supported by breaking down the process into multiple steps. The exercise took several days of class time and homework to complete. All of our students signed a contract agreeing not to use A.I. assistance, and parents promised to support the agreement by monitoring their children when they worked at home. Yet many students still used A.I.

Some of our staff members uploaded their grading rubric into an A.I.-assisted platform, and students uploaded their essays for assessment. The program admittedly has some strengths. Most notable, it gives students writing feedback and the opportunity to edit their work before final submission. The papers are graded within minutes, and the teachers are able to transfer the A.I. grade into their roll book.

I find this to be hypocritical. I spend many hours grading my students’ essays. It’s tedious work, but I feel that it’s my responsibility — if a student makes an effort to complete the task, they should have my undivided attention during the assessment process.

Here’s where I struggle: Should I embrace new technology and use A.I.-assisted grading to save time and my sanity even though I forbid my students from using it? Is it unethical for teachers to ask students not to use A.I. to assist their writing but then allow an A.I. platform to grade their work? — Name Withheld

From the Ethicist:

You have a sound rationale for discouraging your students from using A.I. to draft their essays. As with many other skills, writing well and thinking clearly will improve through practice. By contrast, you already know how to grade papers; you don’t need the practice.

What matters is whether an A.I.-assisted platform can reliably appraise and diagnose your students’ writing, providing the explanation and guidance these students need to improve. In theory, such tools — and I see that there are several on the market, including from major educational publishers — have certain advantages. The hope is that they can grade without inconsistency, without getting tired, without being affected by the expectations that surely affect those of us who hand-grade student work.

I notice you haven’t raised concerns about whether the platform provides reliable assessments; you’ll have to decide if it does. (If it isn’t quite up to snuff, it might become so in a year or two, so your question will persist.) Provided the platform does a decent job of assessment, though, I don’t see why you must do it all yourself. You should review the A.I.-annotated versions of your students’ writing, check that you agree with the output, and make notes of issues to bring up in class. But time saved in evaluating the papers might be better spent on other things — and by “better,” I mean better for the students. There are pedagogical functions, after all, that only you can perform.

In sum: It’s not hypocritical to use A.I. yourself in a way that serves your students well, even as you insist that they don’t use it in a way that serves them badly.

Readers Respond

The previous question was from a reader who asked about professional boundaries. He wrote: “I am a retired, married male psychiatrist. A divorced female former patient of mine contacted me recently, 45 years after her treatment ended. Would it be OK to correspond with her by email? Or is this a case of ‘once a patient, always a patient?’”

In his response, the Ethicist noted: “The relevant professional associations tend to have strictures that are specifically about sexual relationships with former patients. … In light of the potential for exploitation within the therapist-patient relationship, these rules are meant to maintain clear boundaries, protect patient welfare, uphold the integrity of the profession and eliminate any gray areas that could lead to ethical breaches. But though you do mention her marital status, and yours, you’re just asking about emailing her — about establishing friendly relations. The question for you is whether she might be harmed by this, whether whatever knowledge or trust gained from your professional relationship would shadow a personal one. Yes, almost half a century has elapsed since your professional relationship, but you still have to be confident that a correspondence with her clears this bar. If it does, you may email with a clear conscience.” ( Reread the full question and answer here. )

As always, I agree with the Ethicist. I would add that the letter writer’s former patient doesn’t realize that the therapist is actually two different people — the professional and the regular person underneath. Therapists portray their professional selves to their clients. The former client may be disappointed upon meeting the therapist outside of the professional context. Additionally, the feelings she has toward the therapist may be based on transference, and they would need to address that. — Annemarie

I am a clinical psychologist. While the Ethicist’s description of professional ethical boundaries is correct, there is more to the story, and I disagree with his conclusion. A very big question here is why this former patient contacted him after 45 years. That is a question that is best explored and answered within the context of a therapeutic relationship. He would be well- advised to respond in a kind and thoughtful way to convey the clear message that he is not available for ongoing communication, and he should suggest that she consult with another therapist if she feels that would be helpful. — Margaret

In my case, it was the therapist who reached out to me, seeking to establish a friendship several years after our sessions ended. I was surprised, but he shared that he had since experienced a similar personal tragedy to one I had explored with him in sessions. Since it had been several years since we saw each other professionally, I responded. There was never any hint of romantic or sexual interest. Still, as he continued to reach out to me, clearly desiring a friendship, it never felt right to me. It did feel unprofessional, as his knowledge of me was borne out of a relationship meant to be professional, never personal, as warmly as we might have felt during our sessions. I ended up being disappointed in him for seeking out my friendship. — Liam

I am a (semi)retired psychiatrist who has been practicing since 1974. In my opinion, “once a patient, always a patient” is correct. Establishing any type of personal relationship with a former patient could undo progress the patient may have made in treatment, and is a slippery slope toward blatantly unethical behavior. As psychiatrists, our responsibility is to work with patients in confronting and resolving issues that are preventing them from having a reality-based perception of their life. With such an outlook, they are more capable of establishing satisfying relationships with others. An ethical psychiatrist is not in the business of providing such satisfaction to his or her patients. — Roger

I think there is a difference between being friendly and being friends with a former client. As someone who used to attend therapy with a therapist I think dearly of, she made it clear to me that it was OK to send her emails with life updates after our therapeutic relationship ended. But beyond that, I think it would be inappropriate and uncomfortable to pursue a friendship with her, and vice versa, because of the patient-provider relationship that we previously had and the power dynamic that existed between us. The letter writer didn’t share the content of the email his former patient sent to him, but if it’s just a friendly life update, I think it’s fine to write back and thank her for sharing. Beyond that, I feel like it would be unprofessional to meet or pursue a deeper relationship. — Meghan

Kwame Anthony Appiah is The New York Times Magazine’s Ethicist columnist and teaches philosophy at N.Y.U. His books include “Cosmopolitanism,” “The Honor Code” and “The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity.” To submit a query: Send an email to [email protected]. More about Kwame Anthony Appiah

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The Donald Trump I Saw on The Apprentice

For 20 years, i couldn’t say what i watched the former president do on the set of the show that changed everything. now i can..

On Jan. 8, 2004, just more than 20 years ago, the first episode of The Apprentice aired. It was called “Meet the Billionaire,” and 18 million people watched. The episodes that followed climbed to roughly 20 million each week. A staggering 28 million viewers tuned in to watch the first season finale. The series won an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, and the Television Critics Association called it one of the best TV shows of the year, alongside The Sopranos and Arrested Development . The series—alongside its bawdy sibling, The Celebrity Apprentice —appeared on NBC in coveted prime-time slots for more than a decade.

The Apprentice was an instant success in another way too. It elevated Donald J. Trump from sleazy New York tabloid hustler to respectable household name. In the show, he appeared to demonstrate impeccable business instincts and unparalleled wealth, even though his businesses had barely survived multiple bankruptcies and faced yet another when he was cast. By carefully misleading viewers about Trump—his wealth, his stature, his character, and his intent—the competition reality show set about an American fraud that would balloon beyond its creators’ wildest imaginations.

I should know. I was one of four producers involved in the first two seasons. During that time, I signed an expansive nondisclosure agreement that promised a fine of $5 million and even jail time if I were to ever divulge what actually happened. It expired this year.

No one involved in The Apprentice —from the production company or the network, to the cast and crew—was involved in a con with malicious intent. It was a TV show , and it was made for entertainment . I still believe that. But we played fast and loose with the facts, particularly regarding Trump, and if you were one of the 28 million who tuned in, chances are you were conned.

As Trump answers for another of his alleged deception schemes in New York and gears up to try to persuade Americans to elect him again, in part thanks to the myth we created, I can finally tell you what making Trump into what he is today looked like from my side. Most days were revealing. Some still haunt me, two decades later.

Nearly everything I ever learned about deception I learned from my friend Apollo Robbins. He’s been called a professional pickpocket, but he’s actually a “perceptions expert.” Apollo has spent his life studying the psychology of how we distort other people’s perceptions of reality and has done so by picking pockets onstage for the entertainment of others. He is a master of deception, a skill that made him, back in the day, the so-called best-kept secret in Las Vegas. After “fanning” his marks with casual, unobtrusive touch designed to make them feel safe or at ease, Apollo determines where the items reside—the wallet inside a breast pocket, the Rolex fastened to a wrist—and he removes these items without detection. He’ll even tell you what he intends to steal before he does it. He does this not to hurt people or bewilder them with a puzzle but to challenge their maps of reality. The results are marvelous. A lot of magic is designed to appeal to people visually, but what he’s trying to affect is your mind, your moods, your perceptions.

As a producer working in unscripted, or “reality,” television, I have the same goal. Like Apollo, I want to entertain, make people joyful, maybe even challenge their ways of thinking. But because I often lack the cinematic power of a movie, with its visual pyrotechnics or rehearsed dialogue, I rely on shaping the perceptions of viewers, manipulating their maps of reality toward something I want them to think or feel.

The presumption is that reality TV is scripted. What actually happens is the illusion of reality by staging situations against an authentic backdrop. The more authentic it is to, say, have a 40-foot wave bearing down on a crab boat in the Bering Sea for Deadliest Catch , the more we can trick you into thinking a malevolent Russian trawler is out there messing with the crabber’s bait. There is a trick to it, and when it works, you feel as if you’re watching a scripted show. Although very few programs are out-and-out fake, there is deception at play in every single reality program. The producers and editors are ostensibly con artists, distracting you with grand notions while we steal from you your precious time.

But the real con that drove The Apprentice is far older than television. The “pig in the poke” comes from an idiom dating to 1555: “I’ll never buy a pig in a poke / There’s many a foul pig in a fair cloak.” It refers to the time-honored scam of selling a suckling pig at market but handing over a bag (the poke) to the purchaser, who never looks inside it. Eventually, he discovers he’s purchased something quite different.

Our show became a 21 st -century version. It’s a long con played out over a decade of watching Trump dominate prime time by shouting orders, appearing to lead, and confidently firing some of the most capable people on television, all before awarding one eligible person a job. Audiences responded to Trump’s arrogance, his perceived abilities and prescience, but mostly his confidence . The centerpiece to any confidence game is precisely that— confidence .

As I walk into my interview for The Apprentice , I inadvertently learn how important it is for every one of us involved to demonstrate confidence above all else.

I sit down with Jay Bienstock, the showrunner, who has one last producer position to fill and needs somebody capable and hardworking. His office is sparse, and the desk is strategically placed directly across from the couch, with a noticeable angle downward from his desk to whomever is seated across from him. (I’m recalling all of the quoted conversations here to the best of my ability; they are not verbatim.)

He is smiling and even laughing throughout the interview, but from the steep angle at which he gazes down on me, there is no mistaking who is in charge. He seems to like what he hears and offers to follow up with my agent. “But I have to check your references before I can hire you,” he says. “You’d be crazy not to,” I reply. He laughs, claps his hands together, and grins. “ THAT’S what I’m talking about,” he says. “That’s the confidence this show needs!”

I sit there, several inches below eyeline, and ponder what just happened. What, I wonder, is so “confident” about suggesting he’d be crazy to not check my references? Then it dawns on me. He thinks I meant “You’d be crazy not to hire me.” The signal to noise begins.

Listen to Bill Pruitt discuss this story on What Next , Slate’s daily news podcast:

Before I leave, I have to ask: Why Trump? Bienstock discovers that we both lived in New York for a time. Knowing what we know about Trump, selling the idea that intelligent people would compete to land a job working for him will be a challenge.

“The idea is to have a new and different billionaire every season—just like there’s a new and different island on Survivor . We reached out to Spielberg, Katzenberg, Geffen, among others,” he says. “Trump is the only one who agreed to sign on.” (Bienstock didn’t respond to a request for comment.)

“We’ll make it work,” Bienstock says confidently. I rise, shake his hand, and leave, and head over to Dutton’s bookstore to pick up a used copy of Trump’s The Art of the Deal . It is filled with takeaways about branding and strategizing but conveniently omits Trump bluffing his way through meetings with contractors, stiffing them when it is convenient to do so, and betraying his most trusted colleagues to get what he wants. (The book’s ghostwriter, Tony Schwartz, has since tried to get the bestseller recategorized in the Library of Congress as a work of fiction.)

Another show of confidence is the budget the series commands. It’s not as expensive as a scripted series, but for a reality show, the price is high. Never have I worked on a series with this level of funding, but the cost is justified. This needs to feel real.

New York City is the perfect—though expensive—backdrop. Trump’s actual offices are, however, less than telegenic. They are cramped, and a lot of the wood furniture is chipped or peeling. None of it is suitable to appear on camera. We need what grifters call the Big Store: a fake but authentic-looking establishment in which the con goes down. Trump Tower, at the time, is mostly condos and some offices situated in the high-rise. The mezzanine comprises vacant and overpriced retail space, all of it unfinished. Trump offers the space to the production—at a premium, naturally—and it is inside this location that we create our own “reception area” with doors leading to a fake, dimly lit, and appropriately ominous-feeling “boardroom.”

Next door, there’s the “suite” where the contestants will live, which is made to look like a trendy loft-style apartment they all share. The lodgings are made up of partitions surrounding tiny, hard bunks upon which the candidates sleep; the illusion comes from elegantly appointed common areas, where most of the interplay will go down.

During a tour of the set, I have my first encounter with Trump. I leave the suite and enter the gear room, the only vacant retail space that will remain unfinished. It is filled with equipment and crew members milling about. In walks a trio of men. In the middle is Trump, in a navy blue suit and scarlet tie. He’s surprisingly tall, and not just because of the hair. He is flanked by two even taller men. Bienstock makes introductions, and I watch as Trump shakes hands with everyone. I’d been told he would never do this, something about fearing unwanted germs. When it is my turn, I decide on the convivial two-hander and place my right hand into his and my left onto his wrist as we shake. His eye contact is limited but thorough. He is sizing me up. He looks like a wolf about to rip my throat out before turning away, offering me my first glimpse at the superstructure—his hairstyle—buttressed atop his head with what must be gallons of Aqua Net.

I watch as Trump saunters around the room, snatches up a fistful of M&Ms from the craft service table set aside for the crew, and shoves them into his mouth. Then he is gone, ushered away toward some important meeting he must attend, as if to say, to one and all present, This is unimportant .

Eventually, it’s time to roll cameras. When Trump is called to perform, we are filming the first scene of the first episode on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and he is about to deliver the first task. Filming inside this beacon of capitalism and wealth gives the series the legitimacy it needs. A con artist would call staging the scam inside a legitimate institution “playing a man against the wall.”

From the balcony overlooking the famed trading room floor, Trump will set up the entire premise of the show on camera and engage in a little banter with the other participants. This includes introducing his advisers, George Ross, an older, grouchy attorney devoted to Trump’s legal affairs, and Carolyn Kepcher, a perpetual skeptic who runs his hospitality units and one of his golf clubs. (They might be called “the shills,” others in on the con who will act as Trump’s eyes and ears.)

The contestants are there, lined up and zeroed in on by camera operators getting reaction shots to whatever it is Trump says. Although they mostly just stand and wait, they patiently go along with the proceedings. They are not in on the con. They act as “the little blind mice,” who, in fraudster terms, convey a sense of authenticity by reacting to the goings-on, like lab rats caught in a maze.

Nothing is scripted—except for what Trump needs to say. Cue cards are present, but mostly it is Bienstock running up, coaching Trump, tossing out suggestions from the script he has written for the man. The feeling is that while doing a fair job of repeating the necessary words verbatim, Trump also appears to be inadvertently shouting at the contestants. His hands shuttle back and forth as if holding an invisible accordion, a gesture now famous in memes .

Each episode is filmed over three days. For the first episode, the two teams of contestants, divided by gender, take to the streets to carry out the initial task of trying to sell lemonade for the most money. The women pulverize the men.

Having won, the women are invited upstairs for a direct look at Trump’s very own apartment in Trump Tower, a reward designed specifically to introduce viewers to the gaudy but elevated world of Donald Trump at home. The men, who lost, go back to the loft to await their fate at the hands of Trump. He will be sending one of them home.

Inside the now-empty boardroom set, a meeting with the producers is called for the first briefing of Trump before the anticipated firing. With Trump are his cronies, Ross and Kepcher. Trump is “too busy,” so they have each observed both teams in the field and make an assessment of who prevailed and who fell behind.

Now, this is important. The Apprentice is a game show regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. In the 1950s, scandals arose when producers of quiz shows fed answers to likable, ratings-generating contestants while withholding those answers from unlikable but truly knowledgeable players. Any of us involved in The Apprentice swinging the outcome of prize money by telling Trump whom to fire is forbidden.

Considering this, Bienstock wisely chooses to record these off-camera briefings in case the FCC ever rolls up on us. Rather than blurt out who they think should get canned, the two producers of that week’s episode—each following one team—are coached to equitably share with Trump the virtues and deficiencies of each member of the losing team. This renders a balanced depiction of how and why they lost. There are obvious choices of whom to fire, but we want it to be something of a horse race, to sustain the drama and keep people watching.

Satisfied he has what he needs, Trump dismisses the prefiring discussion with the wave of a hand, claiming he has places to be, let’s get on with it, etc. We proceed to set up for what will be our first boardroom.

The producers retreat to the adjacent control room to watch the event unfold. Per the show’s format, the losing team is summoned in anticipation of one of its members being sent home. Leaving their luggage in the reception area, the men walk into the boardroom, where Trump is flanked by Ross and Kepcher, waiting for them solemnly. Trump just frowns from a gigantic red leather chair, his eyeline noticeably well above those sitting across from him.

The men proceed to verbally go after one another like gladiators jousting before the emperor. Trump takes the conversation into potentially dangerous terrain, asking one contestant, who is Jewish, whether he believes in “the genetic pool.” The contestant’s retort is swift and resolute: He tells Trump that he does, in fact, have the genes, “just like you got from your father, Fred Trump, and your mother, Mary Trump.” It pours out of him. It is dramatic. It is good reality TV.

The project manager must then choose two of the men to come back to the boardroom with him while everyone else is dismissed. An off-camera prefiring consultation with Trump takes place (and is recorded), right before the three men are brought back for the eventual firing. We film Trump, Ross, and Kepcher deliberating and giving the pluses and minuses of each, remarking on how risky it was for one of the contestants to stand up for himself the way that he did. Trump turns back and forth to each, listening. His cronies stick to their stories and give added deferential treatment toward Trump, with Ross strategically reminding him, “You’ve been taking risks your entire life.”

Trump summons the three men back into the boardroom for final judging. Trump grills one and says, “I will let you stay.” ( Wow! we think. A benevolent leader. ) When he turns his attention to the other man—the one he asked about genetics—it looks clear. He is doomed. So much so that the man stands when Trump tells him, “It seems unanimous.” Trump then offhandedly tells him to sit down, calling him “a wild card,” echoing Ross’ earlier observation of the boss, Trump.

After this comes an unwieldy moment when, at the behest of Bienstock, Trump fumbles through a given line. “We have an elevator,” he says to the remaining contestant, named David, “that goes up to the suite and an elevator that goes down”—he pauses to recall the exact wording—“to the street. And, David, I’m going to ask you to take the down elevator.”

The men react and awkwardly rise. It is an unsatisfactory conclusion, given all the preceding drama.

From the control room, we all watch as the three men depart the boardroom. A quick huddle takes place between the producers and the executive from NBC. We bolt from the control room out into the boardroom and confer with Trump, telling him we will need him to say something more direct to conclude the moment when David is let go.

“Well, I’d probably just fire him,” Trump says. “Why not just say that?” Bienstock asks. “Fine,” Trump says.

We return to the control room. The three men from the losing team are brought back into the boardroom, and Trump repeats his line about the elevator, then turns to David, who already knows his fate, and adds, “David, you’re fired.”

The line insertion happened in a perilously scripted way, but it is deemed satisfactory. “You’re fired” becomes the expression we will stick with. It works. Trump comes off as decisive and to the point.

Later, Trump will try to trademark “You’re fired.” He is not successful.

Trump’s appearances make up so little of our shooting schedule that whenever he shows up to film, it isn’t just the wild-card on-camera moments we both hope for and are terrified of that put everyone on edge. It is the way he, the star (and half owner) of the show, targets people on the crew with the gaze of a hungry lion.

While leering at a female camera assistant or assessing the physical attributes of a female contestant for whoever is listening, he orders a female camera operator off an elevator on which she is about to film him. “She’s too heavy,” I hear him say.

Another female camera operator, who happens to have blond hair and blue eyes, draws from Trump comparisons to his own Ivanka Trump. “There’s a beautiful woman behind that camera,” he says toward a line of 10 different operators set up in the foyer of Trump Tower one day. “That’s all I want to look at.”

Trump corners a female producer and asks her whom he should fire. She demurs, saying something about how one of the contestants blamed another for their team losing. Trump then raises his hands, cupping them to his chest: “You mean the one with the …?” He doesn’t know the contestant’s name. Trump eventually fires her.

(In response to detailed questions about this and other incidents reported in this article, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump 2024 campaign, wrote, “This is a completely fabricated and bullshit story that was already peddled in 2016.” He said that it is surfacing now because Democrats are “desperate.”)

Trump goes about knocking off every one of the contestants in the boardroom until only two remain. The finalists are Kwame Jackson, a Black broker from Goldman Sachs, and Bill Rancic, a white entrepreneur from Chicago who runs his own cigar business. Trump assigns them each a task devoted to one of his crown-jewel properties. Jackson will oversee a Jessica Simpson benefit concert at Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, while Rancic will oversee a celebrity golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York.

Viewers need to believe that whatever Trump touches turns to gold. These properties that bear his name are supposed to glitter and gleam. All thanks to him.

Reality is another matter altogether. The lights in the casino’s sign are out. Hong Kong investors actually own the place—Trump merely lends his name. The carpet stinks, and the surroundings for Simpson’s concert are ramshackle at best. We shoot around all that.

Both Rancic and Jackson do a round-robin recruitment of former contestants, and Jackson makes the fateful decision to team up with the notorious Omarosa, among others, to help him carry out his final challenge.

With her tenure on the series nearly over, Omarosa launches several simultaneous attacks on her fellow teammates in support of her “brother” Kwame. For the fame-seeking beauty queen, it is a do-or-die play for some much-coveted screen time. As on previous tasks, Ross and Kepcher will observe both events.

Over at Trump National Golf Club, where I am stationed, it is sunny and bright, set against luscious fall colors. I am driven up to the golf club from Manhattan to scout. With me are the other producers, all of whom are men. We meet Trump at one of the homes he keeps for himself on the grounds of the club.

“Melania doesn’t even know about this place,” he says out loud to us, snickering, implying that the home’s function is as his personal lair for his sexual exploits, all of which are unknown to his then-fiancée Melania Knauss.

We are taken around the rest of the club’s property and told what to feature on camera and what to stay away from. The clubhouse is a particularly necessary inclusion, and it is inside these luxurious confines where I have the privilege of meeting the architect. Finding myself alone with him, I make a point of commending him for what I feel is a remarkable building. The place is genuinely spectacular. He thanks me.

“It’s bittersweet,” he tells me. “I’m very proud of this place, but …” He hesitates. “I wasn’t paid what was promised,” he says. I just listen. “Trump pays half upfront,” he says, “but he’ll stiff you for the rest once the project is completed.”

“He stiffed you?”

“If I tried to sue, the legal bills would be more than what I was owed. He knew that. He basically said Take what I’m offering ,” and I see how heavy this is for the man, all these years later. “So, we sent the invoice. He didn’t even pay that,” he says. None of this will be in the show. Not Trump’s suggested infidelities, nor his aversion toward paying those who work for him.

When the tasks are over, we are back in the boardroom, having our conference with Trump about how the two finalists compare—a conversation that I know to be recorded. We huddle around him and set up the last moments of the candidates, Jackson and Rancic.

Trump will make his decision live on camera months later, so what we are about to film is the setup to that reveal. The race between Jackson and Rancic should seem close, and that’s how we’ll edit the footage. Since we don’t know who’ll be chosen, it must appear close, even if it’s not.

We lay out the virtues and deficiencies of each finalist to Trump in a fair and balanced way, but sensing the moment at hand, Kepcher sort of comes out of herself. She expresses how she observed Jackson at the casino overcoming more obstacles than Rancic, particularly with the way he managed the troublesome Omarosa. Jackson, Kepcher maintains, handled the calamity with grace.

“I think Kwame would be a great addition to the organization,” Kepcher says to Trump, who winces while his head bobs around in reaction to what he is hearing and clearly resisting.

“Why didn’t he just fire her?” Trump asks, referring to Omarosa. It’s a reasonable question. Given that this the first time we’ve ever been in this situation, none of this is something we expected.

“That’s not his job,” Bienstock says to Trump. “That’s yours.” Trump’s head continues to bob.

“I don’t think he knew he had the ability to do that,” Kepcher says. Trump winces again.

“Yeah,” he says to no one in particular, “but, I mean, would America buy a n— winning?”

Kepcher’s pale skin goes bright red. I turn my gaze toward Trump. He continues to wince. He is serious, and he is adamant about not hiring Jackson.

Bienstock does a half cough, half laugh, and swiftly changes the topic or throws to Ross for his assessment. What happens next I don’t entirely recall. I am still processing what I have just heard. We all are. Only Bienstock knows well enough to keep the train moving. None of us thinks to walk out the door and never return. I still wish I had. (Bienstock and Kepcher didn’t respond to requests for comment.)

Afterward, we film the final meeting in the boardroom, where Jackson and Rancic are scrutinized by Trump, who, we already know, favors Rancic. Then we wrap production, pack up, and head home. There is no discussion about what Trump said in the boardroom, about how the damning evidence was caught on tape. Nothing happens.

We go home and face the next phase of our assignment, the editing. In stitching the footage together, the swindle we are now involved in ascends to new levels.

Editing in a reality TV show is what script writing is to a narrative series. A lot of effort goes into the storytelling because, basically, in every single unscripted series—whether it’s a daytime talk show, an adventure documentary, or a shiny floor dance-off—there are three versions: There’s what happens, there’s what gets filmed, and there’s what gets cut down into 43 minutes squeezed between commercial breaks. Especially for a competition series, it’s important that the third version represent the first as much as possible. A defeated contestant could show up in the press and cry foul if they’re misrepresented. Best to let people fail of their own accord. That said, we look after our prized possessions in how we edit the series, and some people fare better than others.

We attend to our thesis that only the best and brightest deserve a job working for Donald Trump. Luckily, the winner, Bill Rancic, and his rival, Kwame Jackson, come off as capable and confident throughout the season. If for some reason they had not, we would have conveniently left their shortcomings on the cutting room floor. In actuality, both men did deserve to win.

Without a doubt, the hardest decisions we faced in postproduction were how to edit together sequences involving Trump. We needed him to sound sharp, dignified, and clear on what he was looking for and not as if he was yelling at people. You see him today: When he reads from a teleprompter, he comes off as loud and stoic. Go to one of his rallies and he’s the off-the-cuff rambler rousing his followers into a frenzy. While filming, he struggled to convey even the most basic items. But as he became more comfortable with filming, Trump made raucous comments he found funny or amusing—some of them misogynistic as well as racist. We cut those comments. Go to one of his rallies today and you can hear many of them.

If you listen carefully, especially to that first episode, you will notice clearly altered dialogue from Trump in both the task delivery and the boardroom. Trump was overwhelmed with remembering the contestants’ names, the way they would ride the elevator back upstairs or down to the street, the mechanics of what he needed to convey. Bienstock instigated additional dialogue recording that came late in the edit phase. We set Trump up in the soundproof boardroom set and fed him lines he would read into a microphone with Bienstock on the phone, directing from L.A. And suddenly Trump knows the names of every one of the contestants and says them while the camera cuts to each of their faces. Wow , you think, how does he remember everyone’s name? While on location, he could barely put a sentence together regarding how a task would work. Listen now, and he speaks directly to what needs to happen while the camera conveniently cuts away to the contestants, who are listening and nodding. He sounds articulate and concise through some editing sleight of hand.

Then comes the note from NBC about the fact that after Trump delivers the task assignment to the contestants, he disappears from the episode after the first act and doesn’t show up again until the next-to-last. That’s too long for the (high-priced) star of the show to be absent.

There is a convenient solution. At the top of the second act, right after the task has been assigned but right before the teams embark on their assignment, we insert a sequence with Trump, seated inside his gilded apartment, dispensing a carefully crafted bit of wisdom. He speaks to whatever the theme of each episode is—why someone gets fired or what would lead to a win. The net effect is not only that Trump appears once more in each episode but that he also now seems prophetic in how he just knows the way things will go right or wrong with each individual task. He comes off as all-seeing and all-knowing. We are led to believe that Donald Trump is a natural-born leader.

Through the editorial nudge we provide him, Trump prevails. So much so that NBC asks for more time in the boardroom to appear at the end of all the remaining episodes. (NBC declined to comment for this article.)

When it comes to the long con, the cherry on top is the prologue to the premiere. It’s a five-minute-long soliloquy delivered by Trump at the beginning of the first episode, the one titled “Meet the Billionaire.” Over a rousing score, it features Trump pulling out all the stops, calling New York “ my city” and confessing to crawling out from under “billions of dollars in debt.” There’s Trump in the back of limousines. Trump arriving before throngs of cheering crowds outside Trump Tower. Trump in his very own helicopter as it banks over midtown—the same helicopter with the Trump logo that, just like the airplane, is actually for sale to the highest bidder. The truth is, almost nothing was how we made it seem.

So, we scammed. We swindled. Nobody heard the racist and misogynistic comments or saw the alleged cheating, the bluffing, or his hair taking off in the wind. Those tapes, I’ve come to believe, will never be found.

No one lost their retirement fund or fell on hard times from watching The Apprentice . But Trump rose in stature to the point where he could finally eye a run for the White House, something he had intended to do all the way back in 1998. Along the way, he could now feed his appetite for defrauding the public with various shady practices.

In 2005 thousands of students enrolled in what was called Trump University, hoping to gain insight from the Donald and his “handpicked” professors. Each paid as much as $35,000 to listen to some huckster trade on Trump’s name. In a sworn affidavit, salesman Ronald Schnackenberg testified that Trump University was “fraudulent.” The scam swiftly went from online videoconferencing courses to live events held by high-pressure sales professionals whose only job was to persuade attendees to sign up for the course. The sales were for the course “tuition” and had nothing whatsoever to do with real estate investments. A class action suit was filed against Trump.

That same year, Trump was caught bragging to Access Hollywood co-host Billy Bush that he likes to grab married women “by the pussy,” adding, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.” He later tried to recruit porn actor Stormy Daniels for The Apprentice despite her profession and, according to Daniels, had sex with her right after his last son was born. (His alleged attempt to pay off Daniels is, of course, the subject of his recent trial.)

In October 2016—a month before the election—the Access Hollywood tapes were released and written off as “locker room banter.” Trump paid Daniels to keep silent about their alleged affair. He paid $25 million to settle the Trump University lawsuit and make it go away.

He went on to become the first elected president to possess neither public service nor military experience. And although he lost the popular vote, Trump beat out Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College, winning in the Rust Belt by just 80,000 votes.

Trump has been called the “reality TV president,” and not just because of The Apprentice . The Situation Room, where top advisers gathered, became a place for photo-ops, a bigger, better boardroom. Trump swaggered and cajoled, just as he had on the show. Whom would he listen to? Whom would he fire? Stay tuned. Trump even has his own spinoff, called the House of Representatives, where women hurl racist taunts and body-shame one another with impunity. The State of the Union is basically a cage fight. The demands of public office now include blowhard buffoonery.

I reached out to Apollo, the Vegas perceptions expert, to discuss all of this. He reminded me how if a person wants to manipulate the signal, they simply turn up the noise. “In a world that is so uncertain,” he said, “a confidence man comes along and fills in the blanks. The more confident they are, the more we’re inclined to go along with what they suggest.”

A reality TV show gave rise to an avaricious hustler, and a deal was made: Subvert the facts, look past the deficiencies, deceive where necessary, and prevail in the name of television ratings and good, clean fun.

Trump is making another run at the White House and is leading in certain polls. People I know enthusiastically support him and expect he’ll return to office. It’s not just hats, sneakers, a fragrance, or Bibles. Donald Trump is selling his vision of the world, and people are buying it.

Knowing all they know, how could these people still think he’s capable of being president of the United States?

Perhaps they watched our show and were conned by the pig in the poke.

iPad User Guide

• iPad models compatible with iPadOS 17
• iPad mini (5th generation)
• iPad mini (6th generation)
• iPad (6th generation)
• iPad (7th generation)
• iPad (8th generation)
• iPad (9th generation)
• iPad (10th generation)
• iPad Air (3rd generation)
• iPad Air (4th generation)
• iPad Air (5th generation)
• iPad Air 11-inch (M2)
• iPad Air 13-inch (M2)
• iPad Pro 10.5-inch
• iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation)
• iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)
• Setup basics
• Make your iPad your own
• Keep in touch with friends and family
• Customize your workspace
• Do more with Apple Pencil
• Customize iPad for your child
• What’s new in iPadOS 17
• Turn on and set up iPad
• Wake, unlock, and lock
• Set up cellular service
• Connect to the internet
• Sign in with Apple ID
• Subscribe to iCloud+
• Find settings
• Set up mail, contacts, and calendar accounts
• Learn the meaning of the status icons
• Charge the battery
• Show the battery percentage
• Check battery usage
• Use Low Power Mode to save battery life
• Read and bookmark the user guide
• Adjust the volume
• Learn basic gestures
• Learn advanced gestures
• Find your apps in App Library
• Switch between apps
• Zoom an app to fill the screen
• Quit and reopen an app
• Drag and drop
• Open two items in Split View
• Switch an app window to Slide Over
• View an app’s windows and workspaces
• Multitask with Picture in Picture
• Move, resize, and organize windows
• Access features from the Lock Screen
• Perform quick actions
• Search on iPad
• Get information about your iPad
• View or change cellular data settings
• Travel with iPad
• Change or turn off sounds
• Create a custom Lock Screen
• Change the wallpaper
• Adjust the screen brightness and color balance
• Customize the text size and zoom setting
• Change the name of your iPad
• Change the date and time
• Change the language and region
• Organize your apps in folders
• Add, edit, and remove widgets
• Move apps and widgets on the Home Screen
• Remove or delete apps
• Use and customize Control Center
• Change or lock the screen orientation
• View and respond to notifications
• Change notification settings
• Set up a focus
• Allow or silence notifications for a Focus
• Turn a Focus on or off
• Customize sharing options
• Type with the onscreen keyboard
• Dictate text
• Move the onscreen keyboard
• Select and edit text
• Use predictive text
• Use text replacements
• Add or change keyboards
• Add emoji and stickers
• Take a screenshot
• Take a screen recording
• Write and draw in documents
• Add text, shapes, signatures, and more
• Fill out forms and sign documents
• Use Live Text to interact with content in a photo or video
• Use Visual Look Up to identify objects in your photos and videos
• Lift a subject from the photo background
• Subscribe to Apple Arcade
• Play with friends in Game Center
• Connect a game controller
• Use App Clips
• Update apps
• View or cancel subscriptions
• Manage purchases, settings, and restrictions
• Install and manage fonts
• Buy books and audiobooks
• Annotate books
• Access books on other Apple devices
• Listen to audiobooks
• Set reading goals
• Organize books
• Create and edit events in Calendar
• Send invitations
• Reply to invitations
• Change how you view events
• Search for events
• Change calendar and event settings
• Schedule or display events in a different time zone
• Keep track of events
• Use multiple calendars
• Use the Holidays calendar
• Share iCloud calendars
• Take photos
• Take Live Photos
• Take a selfie
• Take a Portrait mode selfie
• Take videos
• Change advanced camera settings
• Adjust HDR camera settings
• View, share, and print photos
• Use Live Text
• Scan a QR code

Scan documents

• See the world clock
• Set an alarm
• Use the stopwatch
• Use multiple timers
• Add and use contact information
• Edit contacts
• Add your contact info
• Send Contacts on iPad
• Use other contact accounts
• Hide duplicate contacts
• Export contacts
• Get started with FaceTime
• Make FaceTime calls
• Receive FaceTime calls
• Create a FaceTime link
• Take a Live Photo
• Turn on Live Captions
• Use other apps during a call
• Make a Group FaceTime call
• View participants in a grid
• Use SharePlay to watch, listen, and play together
• Share your screen in a FaceTime call
• Collaborate on a document in a FaceTime call
• Use video conferencing features
• Hand off a FaceTime call to another Apple device
• Change the FaceTime video settings
• Change the FaceTime audio settings
• Change your appearance
• Leave a call or switch to Messages
• Block unwanted callers
• Report a call as spam
• Connect external devices or servers
• Modify files, folders, and downloads
• Search for files and folders
• Organize files and folders
• Set up iCloud Drive
• Share files and folders in iCloud Drive
• Use an external storage device, a file server, or a cloud storage service
• Share your location
• Add or remove a friend
• Locate a friend
• Get notified when friends change their location
• Notify a friend when your location changes
• Turn off Find My
• Add your iPad
• Get notified if you leave a device behind
• Locate a device
• Mark a device as lost
• Erase a device
• Remove a device
• Add an AirTag
• Share an AirTag or other item in Find My on iPad
• Add a third-party item
• Get notified if you leave an item behind
• Locate an item
• Mark an item as lost
• Remove an item
• Adjust map settings
• Get started with Freeform
• Create a Freeform board
• Draw or handwrite
• Apply consistent styles
• Position items on a board
• Search Freeform boards
• Share and collaborate
• Delete and recover boards
• Get started with Health
• Fill out your Health Details
• Intro to Health data
• View your health data
• Share your health data
• View health data shared by others
• Download health records
• View health records
• Log menstrual cycle information
• View menstrual cycle predictions and history
• Track your medications
• Learn more about your medications
• Log your state of mind
• Take a mental health assessment
• Customize your Sleep Focus
• Turn Sleep Focus on or off
• View your sleep history
• Check your headphone audio levels
• Use audiogram data
• Back up your Health data
• Intro to Home
• Upgrade to the new Home architecture
• Set up accessories
• Control accessories
• Control your home using Siri
• Use Grid Forecast to plan your energy usage
• Set up HomePod
• Control your home remotely
• Create and use scenes
• Use automations
• Set up security cameras
• Use Face Recognition
• Configure a router
• Invite others to control accessories
• Add more homes
• Get music, movies, and TV shows
• Get ringtones
• Manage purchases and settings
• Magnify nearby objects
• Change settings
• Detect people around you
• Detect doors around you
• Receive image descriptions of your surroundings
• Read aloud text and labels around you
• Set up shortcuts for Detection Mode
• Add and remove email accounts
• Set up a custom email domain
• Check your email
• Unsend email with Undo send
• Reply to and forward emails
• Save an email draft
• Add email attachments
• Download email attachments
• Annotate email attachments
• Set email notifications
• Search for email
• Organize your email in mailboxes
• Flag or block emails
• Filter emails
• Use Hide My Email
• Use Mail Privacy Protection
• Change email settings
• Delete and recover emails
• Add a Mail widget to your Home Screen
• Print emails
• Use keyboard shortcuts
• Get travel directions
• Select other route options
• Find stops along your route
• View a route overview or a list of turns
• Change settings for spoken directions
• Get driving directions
• Report traffic incidents
• Get cycling directions
• Get walking directions
• Get transit directions
• Delete recent directions
• Get traffic and weather info
• Predict travel time and ETA
• Download offline maps
• Search for places
• Find nearby attractions, restaurants, and services
• Get information about places
• Mark places
• Share places
• Rate places
• Save favorite places
• Explore new places with Guides
• Organize places in My Guides
• Clear location history
• Look around places
• Take Flyover tours
• Find your Maps settings
• Measure dimensions
• View and save measurements
• Measure a person’s height
• Set up Messages
• About iMessage
• Send and reply to messages
• Unsend and edit messages
• Keep track of messages
• Forward and share messages
• Group conversations
• Watch, listen, or play together using SharePlay
• Collaborate on projects
• Use iMessage apps
• Take and edit photos or videos
• Share photos, links, and more
• Send stickers
• Request, send, and receive payments
• Send and receive audio messages
• Animate messages
• Send and save GIFs
• Turn read receipts on or off
• Change notifications
• Block, filter, and report messages
• Delete messages and attachments
• Recover deleted messages
• View albums, playlists, and more
• Show song credits and lyrics
• Queue up your music
• Listen to broadcast radio
• Subscribe to Apple Music
• Listen to lossless music
• Listen to Dolby Atmos music
• Apple Music Sing
• Find new music
• Add music and listen offline
• Get personalized recommendations
• Listen to radio
• Search for music
• Create playlists
• See what your friends are listening to
• Use Siri to play music
• Change the way music sounds
• Get started with News
• Use News widgets
• See news stories chosen just for you
• Read stories
• Follow your favorite teams with My Sports
• Subscribe to Apple News+
• Browse and read Apple News+ stories and issues
• Use Offline Mode to read downloaded stories
• Manually download Apple News+ issues
• Solve puzzles in Apple News
• Solve crossword and crossword mini puzzles on iPad
• Solve Quartiles puzzles
• Search for news stories
• Save stories in News for later
• Subscribe to individual news channels
• Get started with Notes
• Add or remove accounts
• Create and format notes
• Draw or write
• Add photos, videos, and more
• Scan text and documents
• Work with PDFs
• Create Quick Notes
• Search notes
• Organize in folders
• Organize with tags
• Use Smart Folders
• Export or print notes
• Change Notes settings
• Delete, share, or copy a photo
• View and edit Photo Booth photos in the Photos app
• View photos and videos
• Play videos and slideshows
• Delete or hide photos and videos
• Edit photos and videos
• Trim video length and adjust slow motion
• Edit Live Photos
• Edit Cinematic videos
• Edit portraits
• Use photo albums
• Edit, share, and organize albums
• Filter and sort photos and videos in albums
• Make stickers from your photos
• Duplicate and copy photos and videos
• Merge duplicate photos
• Search for photos
• Identify people and pets
• Browse photos by location
• Share photos and videos
• Share long videos
• View photos and videos shared with you
• Watch memories
• Personalize your memories
• Manage memories and featured photos
• Use iCloud Photos
• Create shared albums
• Add and remove people in a shared album
• Add and delete photos and videos in a shared album
• Set up or join an iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Add content to an iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Use iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Import and export photos and videos
• Print photos
• Find podcasts
• Listen to podcasts
• Follow your favorite podcasts
• Use the Podcasts widget
• Organize your podcast library
• Download, save, and share podcasts
• Subscribe to podcasts
• Listen to subscriber-only content
• Change download settings
• Make a grocery list
• Add items to a list
• Edit and manage a list
• Search and organize lists
• Work with templates
• Use Smart Lists
• Print reminders
• Use the Reminders widget
• Change Reminders settings
• Browse the web
• Search for websites
• Customize your Safari settings
• Change the layout
• Use Safari profiles
• Open and close tabs
• Organize your tabs with Tab Groups
• View your tabs from another device
• Share Tab Groups
• Use Siri to listen to a webpage
• Bookmark a website
• Bookmark a website as a favorite
• Save pages to a Reading List
• Find links shared with you
• Annotate and save a webpage as a PDF
• Automatically fill in forms
• Get extensions
• Hide ads and distractions
• Clear your cache and cookies
• Browse the web privately
• Use passkeys in Safari
• Check stocks
• Manage multiple watchlists
• Read business news
• Add earnings reports to your calendar
• Use a Stocks widget
• Translate text, voice, and conversations
• Translate text in apps
• Translate with the camera view
• Subscribe to Apple TV+, MLS Season Pass, or an Apple TV channel
• Add your TV provider
• Get shows, movies, and more
• Watch sports
• Watch Major League Soccer with MLS Season Pass
• Watch multiple live sports streams
• Control playback
• Manage your library
• Change the settings
• Make a recording
• Play it back
• Edit or delete a recording
• Keep recordings up to date
• Organize recordings
• Search for or rename a recording
• Share a recording
• Duplicate a recording
• Check the weather
• Check the weather in other locations
• View weather maps
• Manage weather notifications
• Use Weather widgets
• Learn the weather icons
• Find out what Siri can do
• Tell Siri about yourself
• Have Siri announce calls and notifications
• Add Siri Shortcuts
• About Siri Suggestions
• Change Siri settings
• Set up Family Sharing
• Add Family Sharing members
• Remove Family Sharing members
• Share subscriptions
• Share purchases
• Share locations with family and locate lost devices
• Set up Apple Cash Family and Apple Card Family
• Set up parental controls
• Set up a child’s device
• Get started with Screen Time
• Protect your vision health with Screen Distance
• Set up Screen Time
• Set communication and safety limits and block inappropriate content
• Set up Screen Time for a family member
• Set up Apple Pay
• Use Apple Pay in apps and on the web
• Track your orders
• Use Apple Cash
• Use Apple Card
• Use Savings
• Manage payment cards and activity
• Power adapter and charge cable
• Use AirPods
• Use EarPods
• Use headphone audio-level features
• Apple Pencil compatibility
• Pair and charge Apple Pencil (1st generation)
• Pair and charge Apple Pencil (2nd generation)
• Pair and charge Apple Pencil (USB-C)
• Pair and charge Apple Pencil Pro
• Enter text with Scribble
• Draw with Apple Pencil
• Take and mark up a screenshot with Apple Pencil
• Quickly write notes
• Wirelessly stream videos and photos to Apple TV or a smart TV
• Connect to a display with a cable
• HomePod and other wireless speakers
• iPad keyboards
• Switch between keyboards
• Enter characters with diacritical marks
• Use shortcuts
• Choose an alternative keyboard layout
• Change typing assistance options
• Connect Magic Trackpad
• Trackpad gestures
• Change trackpad settings
• Connect a mouse
• Mouse actions and gestures
• Change mouse settings
• External storage devices
• Bluetooth accessories
• Apple Watch with Fitness+
• Polishing cloth
• Share your internet connection
• Make and receive phone calls
• Use iPad as a second display for Mac
• Use iPad as a webcam
• Use a keyboard and mouse or trackpad across your Mac and iPad
• Hand off tasks between devices
• Cut, copy, and paste between iPad and other devices
• Stream video or mirror the screen of your iPad
• Use AirDrop to send items
• Connect iPad and your computer with a cable
• Transfer files between devices
• Transfer files with email, messages, or AirDrop
• Transfer files or sync content with the Finder or iTunes
• Automatically keep files up to date with iCloud
• Get started with accessibility features
• Turn on accessibility features for setup
• Change Siri accessibility settings
• Open features with Accessibility Shortcut
• Enlarge text by hovering
• Change color and brightness
• Make text easier to read
• Reduce onscreen motion
• Customize per-app visual settings
• Hear what’s on the screen or typed
• Hear audio descriptions
• Turn on and practice VoiceOver
• Change your VoiceOver settings
• Use VoiceOver gestures
• Operate iPad when VoiceOver is on
• Control VoiceOver using the rotor
• Use the onscreen keyboard
• Write with your finger
• Keep the screen off
• Use VoiceOver with an Apple external keyboard
• Use a braille display
• Type braille on the screen
• Customize gestures and keyboard shortcuts
• Use VoiceOver with a pointer device
• Use VoiceOver for images and videos
• Use VoiceOver in apps
• Use AssistiveTouch
• Use an eye-tracking device
• Adjust how iPad responds to your touch
• Auto-answer calls
• Change Face ID and attention settings
• Use Voice Control
• Adjust the top or Home button
• Use Apple TV Remote buttons
• Adjust pointer settings
• Adjust keyboard settings
• Control iPad with an external keyboard
• Adjust AirPods settings
• Adjust double tap and squeeze settings for Apple Pencil
• Intro to Switch Control
• Set up and turn on Switch Control
• Select items, perform actions, and more
• Control several devices with one switch
• Use hearing devices
• Use Live Listen
• Use sound recognition
• Set up and use RTT
• Flash the indicator light for notifications
• Adjust audio settings
• Play background sounds
• Display subtitles and captions
• Show transcriptions for Intercom messages
• Get live captions of spoken audio
• Type to speak
• Record a Personal Voice
• Lock iPad to one app with Guided Access
• Use built-in privacy and security protections
• Set a passcode
• Set up Face ID
• Set up Touch ID
• Control access to information on the Lock Screen
• Keep your Apple ID secure
• Use passkeys to sign in to apps and websites
• Sign in with Apple
• Share passwords
• Automatically fill in strong passwords
• Change weak or compromised passwords
• View your passwords and related information
• Share passkeys and passwords securely with AirDrop
• Make your passkeys and passwords available on all your devices
• Automatically fill in verification codes
• Sign in with fewer CAPTCHA challenges
• Two-factor authentication
• Use security keys
• Control app tracking permissions
• Control the location information you share
• Control access to information in apps
• Control how Apple delivers advertising to you
• Control access to hardware features
• Create and manage Hide My Email addresses
• Protect your web browsing with iCloud Private Relay
• Use a private network address
• Use Advanced Data Protection
• Use Lockdown Mode
• Receive warnings about sensitive content
• Use Contact Key Verification
• Turn iPad on or off
• Force restart iPad
• Update iPadOS
• Back up iPad
• Reset iPad settings
• Restore all content from a backup
• Restore purchased and deleted items
• Sell, give away, or trade in your iPad
• Install or remove configuration profiles
• Important safety information
• Important handling information
• Find more resources for software and service
• FCC compliance statement
• ISED Canada compliance statement
• Apple and the environment
• Class 1 Laser information
• Disposal and recycling information
• Unauthorized modification of iPadOS
• ENERGY STAR compliance statement

Get started with Notes on iPad

Jot down a quick note

Add sketches and more

Organize with tags and Smart Folders

Use tags as a fast and flexible way to categorize and organize your notes. When you create or edit a note, type # followed by the tag name or choose a tag from the menu above the keyboard. You can add multiple tags to a note and easily search and filter your notes across folders.

Want to learn more?

Create Quick Notes anywhere on iPad

Draw or write in Notes on iPad

Scan text and documents in Notes using the iPad camera

Organize your notes with tags on iPad