Studies on second language (L2) learners writing in English have found that composing is a recursive process requiring planning, formulating and revising. Of particular note among the many studies that have explored the composing processes of L2 writers are two characteristics: 1) They examine the composing processes of writers in real-time while…

The effects on essay scores of intermingling handwritten and word-processed student essays were studied with 32 students who produced handwritten and word-processed essays. Essays were converted to the other format and rescored. Results reveal higher average scores for handwritten essays. Implications for scoring are considered. (SLD)

Describes a study conducted at a large west coast state university, comparing holistic scores on developmental writing program final essays when the same essays were handwritten and computer typed. Reveals a bias against typed final essays, especially in essays which received high scores in the handwritten form. (DMM)

Assesses the utility of the analyses within the "Writer's Workbench" (an advanced text editor) range. Compares professional prose with first-year college student essays, using readability, sentence variety, sentence structure, parts of speech, vocabulary, and usage. (MS)

Examines a sample of conventionally composed and word-processing-assisted essays to assess the computer's effect on progress and competence by determining how students used the computer resources available to them to write their papers in both standard English classes and across the curriculum. (MS)

This study is an interim follow-up to an investigation of how computer use influences the writing process used by high school students on a direct writing assessment (Wolfe and others, 1994). Whether students with less comfort and experience with word processors would receive lower scores on word-processed essays than those with more comfort and…

The two studies described here compare essays composed on word processors with those composed with pen and paper for a standardized writing assessment. The following questions guided these studies: (1) Are there differences in test administration and writing processes associated with handwritten versus word-processor writing assessments? (2) Are…