A study was conducted to determine whether composition students revise more and write better essays on a word processor than they do with pen, ink, and typewriter. Students wrote four out-of-class papers, with two classes using computers and two using pen, paper, and typewriter. Students had to produce at least two drafts of each paper. Sixty…

Discusses the role of writing equipment in the composing process and suggests that contemporary composing process theory and practice was not possible until the mid-twentieth century following certain technological advancements in writing equipment. (FL)

Word processors save time and effort in learning to write. Benefits for students include learning to type and time for thinking and editing. Word processing also allows instructors to be more demanding of students because revising and correcting take less time. (RW)

Working with a word processor changes writers' behavior. They compose more easily, less anxiously, and more prolifically. The word processor makes them want to sit down and write and makes them feel good about their writing. It does this by encouraging prewriting and invention, by providing a sense of control and mastery over the actual writing…

This 64-item bibliography focuses on the effect of keyboarding on middle school students' composition writing, using word processing. The bibliography (which surveys selections dating from 1956 through 1989) includes those studies describing the feasibility of teaching touch typing keyboarding skills to middle school students, the value of…

A study compared written texts produced by hand, by typewriter, and by word processor for differences in improvement in creativity and writing skills. Subjects included six college students--two with high creative ability, two with average creative ability, and two with low or weak ability. During a training period, the subjects were required to…

This investigation of the effect of typing skill on using a word processor for composition hypothesized that students who had learned keyboarding skills would: (1) write longer essays when using a word processor; (2) revise their essays more when using a word processor; (3) feel more positive about typing when using a word processor than students…