I guess that it varies from person to person. To me, writing definitely makes me remember better and more clearly whatever I write. There is something deliberate, something about the additional time that it takes to write as opposed to type, that somehow cements the material much better. Even the associations that I'm running in my mind at the time seem to be easier to remember, weeks later.

When I'm studying anything, I've found time after time that writing a summary of the lesson is one of the best ways to remember everything afterwards. Usually I don't even read it afterwards, since the benefit comes from the writing process. YMMV.