Notes that revision strategies are seldom a part of the technical writer's education. Provides an outline, based on experience and an analysis by Hillocks, for a group project method for teaching the process of updating and revising documents. (ARH)

Argues that when students interrupt their thought flow during composition writing to edit language, syntax, or mechanics, the pauses obstruct fluency and dilute concentration. Use of the word processor for invisible composition is described to show how computers reduce time spent on composing and alter quantity and quality of time. (MBR)

Generally, there are three kinds of software that could be used in college writing courses: word processing programs, interactive questionnaires, and text parsers. Although the benefits of these programs are well known, they still pose some problems. Word processors, for example, have been designed to "process" existing text; few have…

Describes a classroom activity in which a group of five students compose an essay together which meets the following academic objectives: (1) awareness of what constitutes a thesis; (2) understanding of evidence which can be used to support such a thesis; and (3) a conception of a conventionally developed five-paragraph essay. (RAE)

A study of 240 student teachers and teacher trainees found that students using word processing rather than typing or handwriting on essays received significantly higher grades on their writing assignments. Further analysis found that the extent of revision rather than method of presentation accounted for the difference. (Author/MSE)

Intended for college students and other writers, this book contains a detailed, step-by-step description of the writing process, from prewriting and brainstorming to polishing the mechanics of a final draft. The book is divided into five major sections. Part 1 is a broad introduction to the natural language attitude toward learning to write. Part…

An examination of the effectiveness of the use of various computer-based communication tools (commercial computer conferences, bulletin boards, word processors, outline processors, and electronic dictionaries) in developing college students' Spanish proficiency suggested that computers offered potential for enhancing the writing process. (38…

Presents three exercises that teach good proofreading and editing skills as well as tap students' creativity on the word processor. (HTH)

Proposes that for students to gain the maximum benefits from the computer as an education and composition tool, teachers should incorporate the computer throughout the composing process. Describes the adaptation of computers in a specialized business and technical persuasive writing course. (MS)

Shows how style and usage checkers can be used in writing exercises that encourage a recursive pattern of student revision. Looks at several instructional design ideas that can create "process-centered" revision software that appears heuristic, contextual, and interactive. (RS)

By employing techniques learned through special education research together with the process approach to teaching writing, the composition teacher can help the ever-increasing number of learning disabled (LD) students in the developmental writing class to improve their writing. Using the process approach, LD students first concentrate on gathering…

The incorporation of microcomputers into the traditional English classroom is currently in a transitional phase. Each new use of the computer affords teachers new possibilities for teaching approaches, and the succession of uses already employed suggests that each experiment increases the distance from traditional methods. This can be illustrated…

The computer can improve writing instruction only if it is integrated into a systematic pedagogy that distinguishes between writing behavior and higher order cognitive skills. Underlying the present concern with the writing process is the behaviorist assumption that promoting a certain writing behavior can provoke thought. Unfortunately, while…

In integrating word processors into the structure of a freshman writing class, the instructor has two alternatives: to teach the course specifically as a word processing course, or to offer a word processing option to students on a volunteer basis, either in substitution for some other activity or as extra credit. The first method is good if one…

Addresses how word processing, with its prevision, writing, and revision tools, facilitates connections between reading and writing. Suggests that with or without electronic tools, students need to be critical readers of their own writing. (JK)