kanozyo ha boorupen yori enpitu no hou ga hayaku kakeru to itte imasita.

は marks 彼女 as the topic: as for her...

It tells you the sentence is about her and what she said. In natural English, this often just becomes she, but grammatically Japanese is setting up the topic first.

This is the common pattern:

A より B のほうが ...
= B is more ... than A

So here:

• ボールペンより = than a ballpoint pen
• 鉛筆のほうが = a pencil more / the pencil side more

Together, it means a pencil rather than a ballpoint pen in the comparison.

ほう literally means side or direction, but in comparisons it means the one that is more...

So 鉛筆のほうが means the pencil side is more... or more naturally a pencil is better/more... in this comparison.

The の links the noun 鉛筆 to ほう. This is a very standard comparison pattern in Japanese.

In this comparison pattern, のほうが is the normal default form.

The が marks the item being focused on in the comparison:
it is the pencil that is more ...

You may sometimes see は in other contexts for extra contrast, but AよりBのほうが is the basic pattern learners should remember.

The person doing the writing is 彼女.

Even though 鉛筆のほうが comes right before 早く書ける, the sentence is not saying that the pencil itself has the ability to write faster. Japanese often leaves relationships like with a pencil implicit when the meaning is obvious from context.

So the understood idea is: she can write faster with a pencil than with a ballpoint pen.

That is a very common question.

Normally, tools or means are marked with で, so a more explicit version might be:

彼女はボールペンで書くより、鉛筆で書くほうが早いと言っていました。

But Japanese often omits things that are easy to infer. In this sentence, the comparison between ballpoint pen and pencil makes it clear that these are the writing tools being compared, so で is left unstated.

Because 早く is the adverb form of 早い.

• 早い = an adjective
• 早く = adverb, used to modify a verb

Here it modifies 書ける, so 早く書ける means can write quickly or, in this comparison, can write faster.

Both are pronounced はやく, but they often differ in nuance:

• 早い / 早く = early, soon
• 速い / 速く = fast, quickly in terms of speed

When talking about writing speed, many native speakers would expect 速く書ける. However, 早く書ける is still understandable and is often used in everyday writing without a strict distinction, especially because the pronunciation is the same.

So if this caught your eye, you are noticing a real point of usage.

書ける is the potential form of 書く.

• 書く = to write
• 書ける = can write / be able to write

So 早く書ける means can write quickly or can write faster. In this sentence it expresses ability or ease: she said that writing with a pencil is faster/easier for her than writing with a ballpoint pen.

と marks the content of what was said.

The part before と is the statement being reported:

彼女はボールペンより鉛筆のほうが早く書ける
= the content of her statement

Then と言っていました means was saying / said.

So と works a lot like that in English reported speech.

Before と言う, Japanese normally uses the plain form when reporting content.

So:

• 書けると言っていました = she said that she could write...
• 書けますと言っていました would sound more like you are preserving her exact polite wording

The plain form is the standard choice for reported speech.

言っていました is the ている form in the past.

With verbs like 言う, this can give a nuance like:

• was saying
• had said
• or simply a softer, more natural said, depending on context

In many English translations, you would just say said, but Japanese often uses 言っていました when reporting what someone was saying at that time or what they had previously said. It can sound a little less abrupt than 言いました.