Assesses the microcomputer's effects on the process and quality of business writing, focusing on writing anxiety, computer anxiety, time spent in writing, writing quality, and the relationship of gender to these variables. Concludes that the most significant predictor of quality is initial writing ability. (MM)

Discussion of the role of computers in teaching basic writers to write focuses on a study of college students that examined the quality of student essays produced with word processing versus paper and pencil, described the kinds of thinking evidenced, and investigated whether any differences were gender related. (20 references) (LRW)