Describes the nature and use of Structured Document Processors (SDPs), which integrate word processors and various writing aids to guide and control composing processes for specialized writing. Notes the need for SDPs in industry. Explores their implications for the practice and teaching of technical writing. (SR)

Focusing on the process of composition, lists and discusses problems students have in prewriting, writing, and revising. Solutions to these problems, which involve computer use, include making students aware of the composition process, writing strategies good writers use, audience analysis, grammar review, and need for peer review. (JN)

Describes a game-like writing exercise that uses the principle of "divide and conquer" to teach technical description. (PD)

Argues that low-cost speech synthesizers used to read drafts back to students are potentially valuable aids to revision. Suggests possible classroom applications, and describes the kinds of assistance synthesizers offer writers while still allowing them to diagnose problems and to formulate their own plans for revision. (KEH)

Describes a junior high school English teacher's experience with using 10 word processors, which encouraged students to write more and to write better. (Available from: Modern Learning Publishers, Inc., 6517 Liggett, Oakland, CA 94611, $14.) (AEA)

Discusses the use of word processing in an experimental business writing course at the University of South Carolina. Students found that word processing made the task of writing and revising easier and more interesting. (JN)

Examines the implications of word processing technology for the English teacher. (JL)

Word processing may change how people learn to write. The use of a word processor to teach a sixth grader with writing problems showed how the machine can alleviate problems involving writing with pencil and paper, correcting errors, evaluating and revising, and producing a good-looking text. (RW)

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)

Evaluates a Navajo school program to improve writing skills using the process model and computers. Concludes that students' writing skills improved more in the experimental program than in comparable conventional classes, and that the new approach created a different pattern of growth in writing ability. (SV)

First-hand accounts of what teachers have done with students and computers in their classrooms, how students have responded, and what and how teachers have learned from these experiences are discussed in the 19 articles in this book. The articles are presented under these headings: (1) teaching writing with word processors; (2) learning to inquire…

Reports results of a preliminary investigation of the feasibility and effectiveness of using word processors for students with poor writing skills. Subjects were 10 hearing-impaired teenagers. A comparison of correcting written work by hand and word processor, a sample of students' written work, research methodology, and possible implications are…

The shift from limited-capacity personal computers to powerful workstation technology offers an environment for writing instruction that allows networking, simultaneous performance of many tasks, and tools for designing custom lessons and individual applications. At Allegheny College (Pennsylvania), a first-year writing course is supported…

Recent developments in personal computers will affect the teaching of reading and writing because they offer capabilities that simply were not possible before. For example, an information storage and retrieval system, developed as a "library" for elementary school children, allows them to store and retrieve information under different…

One of nine brief guides for special educators on using computer technology, this guide focuses on the use of computers to improve skills and attitudes in writing instruction. Pre-writing tools such as group brainstorming, story webs, free-writing, journal entries, and prewriting guides help generate ideas and can be carried out either on or off…