Describes a way to give word-processed feedback on business communication assignments. Describes some advantages of this mode over both handwritten and audio comments, and identifies limitations of this method. (SR)

Considers whether differences might emerge in writing quality when students wrote examinations by hand or on a computer, and whether raters differed in their evaluation of essays written by hand, on a computer, or by hand and then transcribed to typed form before scoring. Finds no statistically significant differences in ratings among the three…

Investigates the effects of word processing on student's compositions to untangle the seemingly contradictory findings of earlier research. Finds that students are increasing their fluidity and fluency while simultaneously failing to organize and focus their increased verbiage. (RS)

Examines relationships among computer experience, attitudes, writing behaviors, and writing quality for advanced undergraduate students who have owned Macintosh computers for at least three years. Finds that writing attitudes and practices are fairly well ingrained for the less competent writers, and they need to become comfortable with the…

Analyzed 17 personal attributes of 160 undergraduate students who wrote reports on a computer or by hand, and compared differences in the quality of computer and handwritten reports with each student's personal attributes. Concludes that some attributes do relate to computer writing quality. (JMV)

Describes a method that writing instructors can use for evaluating and commenting on college students' composition papers that uses a stand-alone word processor. Software is discussed, the instructor's role is explained, methods of evaluation and marking papers are suggested, and electronic grading is described. (three references) (LRW)

Compares undergraduates' handwritten reports with those written on computers for 10 precisely defined quality factors. Finds more similarities than differences, with 6 of the 10 tests showing no significant differences. Notes that this study does not support a general conclusion that basic writing quality will improve in computer written…

Reviews videotapes of three professional writers composing several essays from start to finish, both by hand and by computer. Discusses similarities and differences among the completed essays. Finds that writing appears to be governed by deep cognitive models that are little influenced by the mode of text production or by the writer's preference…

An instructor of a composition and computers writing course (designed for economically and culturally disadvantaged students) at the State University of New York at Buffalo, developed electronic conferences which combine the capabilities of the computer with the conference approach. The instructor reads students' papers while sitting at the…

A study was conducted to replicate partially John Gould's study using more advanced machines and editors, and to test several of Colette Daiute's hypotheses about writing with the computer. Gould's study indicated that expert writers using text editors required 50% more time to compose on text editors than on hard copy, and the extra time did not…

Relates how a microcomputer with word processing capabilities can facilitate and enrich a student's writing. (HOD)

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)

This paper considers the effect of computer use (word processing) on the compositions written by minority college freshmen in basic writing courses, focusing in particular on differences in composition quality and the kinds of thinking evidenced in the essay, as well as determining whether any differences were gender related. Subjects were 40…

Noting that composition teachers would like computers in order to facilitate the mechanics of writing, analyze text, and correct problems, this paper argues that classroom computer applications are limited because computers cannot analyze text the way a reader would. The paper first posits that readers look at text in terms of semantics and…

This paper reports the results and educational implications of an experimental, comparative study evaluating the gains in overall writing quality in two groups of college freshmen composition students. The experimental group of 45 students learned to compose their first four of eight essays on the computer, while their professor intervened with…