This paper argues that traditional threshold-based approaches to the analysis of pauses in writing fail to capture the complexity of the cognitive processes involved in text production. It proposes that, to capture these processes, pause analysis should focus on the transition times between linearly produced units of text. Following a review of…

In the wake of the digital, some have recommended that we abandon the tedium of teaching handwriting to children in service of promoting "more creative" digital literacies. Others worry that an early diet of keyboard and screen may have deleterious effects on children's social, emotional, and cognitive development, as well as their…

Suggests that, although the benefits of word processing are widely acknowledged, writing is still perceived as a difficult activity. Considers the degree to which particular features of word processing might constitute new and significant impediments to individual writers. Discusses this issue with writers who expressed concerns that their…

Examines the contexts of human-computer interaction, and argues that understanding word-processing research done in that setting can enrich thinking about the impact of teaching writing with the use of computers. Suggests issues developed in recent word-processing studies that may interest future researchers. (KEH)

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…

There is considerable concern that the majority of adolescents do not develop the competence in writing they need to be successful in school, the workplace, or their personal lives. A common explanation for why youngsters do not write well is that schools do not do a good job of teaching this complex skill. In an effort to identify effective…

A 3-year project examined the cognitive effects of word processing on writing processes and products. In particular, the project examined effects on writers' planning, reviewing, and revising in a series of six assessment studies. Among the most important results of the project were that writers using word processing alone--both student writers…

In this paper, the role of computers in writing process was investigated. Last 25 years of journals were searched to find related articles. Articles and books were classified under prewriting, composing, and revising and editing headings. The review results showed that computers can make writers' job easy in the writing process. In addition,…

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)

Course evaluations of a business writing class that used the IBM personal computer with WordStar word processing software revealed students' enthusiasm for the microcomputer's word processing capabilities. A number of students commented on how much the computer simplified the processes of composing, revising, and editing. In addition to the speed…

Word processors have been shown to favor a local perspective over a global perspective on the text during writing. Recently, advanced outline processors or "idea processors" have appeared that allow the writer to represent and handle structural aspects of a text so that the writer may compose the text within an outline and experiment with…

This report summarizes and synthesizes current research on the effects of using word processors on students' writing performance. The report examines cognitive models of the writing process, issues in the assessment of writing performance, and research on instruction in keyboarding. The work was carried out as part of a course requirement by…

The article reviews word processing software and software to build keyboarding skills, as used with students needing to improve their mastery of the writing process. Criteria for selection of word processing programs are discussed and specific word processing programs are compared. Instructional suggestions are offered. (DB)

Computer software style and usage checkers can encourage students' recursive revision strategies. For example, HOMER is based on the revision pedagogy presented in Richard Lanham's "Revising Prose," while Grammatik II focuses on readability, passive voice, and possibly misused words or phrases. Writer's Workbench "Style" (a UNIX program) provides…

A model of writing instruction integrating word processing, strategy instruction, and a process approach, within a social context for writing as a meaningful task, was tested with 113 elementary students with learning disabilities. Students in experimental classes made greater gains in quality of their narrative and informative writing than did…