This report presents the findings from a 2-stage, multi-method study conducted in 2000 and 2001 on the editing skills and processes which students at two schools in New Zealand used when working with word processors and with pencils. The study's main aim was to examine the influence of the use of a word processor on students' editing processes and…

Surveys 28 expert technical editors regarding their views on editing and how computer-based tools could aid their work. Finds that the editing environment, the process of editing, the skills involved, and the errors found all influenced the types of tools need. Names tools the editors used and suggests others that should be developed. (SR)

Addresses the question of whether text editing programs are successful in taking over the traditional functions of an editor. Compares the editing suggestions made by two of the most popular text editing programs ("RightWriter" and "Punctuation + Style") with those of an experienced editor. Finds that text editing programs are…

Studies the editing efficiency of students who edit on video display terminals (VDT) and on hard copy. Finds that editing on VDTs enhances both the amount of and relative attention to structural editing by students. (MG)

This study investigated the performance of 28 journalism students in making structural and mechanical/stylistic editing changes in spot news stories on video display terminal (VDT) screens and in hard copy. Results showed that editing on the VDT screen resulted in more structural and fewer mechanical/stylistic changes; academically superior…

Explains how a year of observing two successful novelists write and revise on the computer provided a number of ideas that are encapsulated in the concept of a fluid text or the writer's conscious avoidance of a text that becomes static or fixed. (HOD)

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…

Investigates the writing attitudes and text editing skills of students with considerable experience using word-processing systems toward word processing for different phases of the writing process. Finds the students are poor at text editing and typing. Finds that the students prefer paper and pencil for composing first drafts and prefer word…

Concludes that textual analysis with computers intrigues college writers and speeds learning of editing skills by offering immediate, reliable, and consistent attention to surface features of their prose. (HOD)

Surveys and critiques what has been written about style checkers and text-editing capabilities of the computer to assist in revising technical writing. Finds the literature inconclusive largely because it is anecdotal and methodologically flawed. Suggests a new research agenda and focus. (KEH)

Contrasts the revising patterns of junior high school students when they used a word processor and pens and paper. Concludes that those who used a word processing program added more words to the ends of their texts and corrected more errors, but did not make more global text revisions than when they used a pen. (HOD)

Examines a sample of conventionally composed and word-processing-assisted essays to assess the computer's effect on progress and competence by determining how students used the computer resources available to them to write their papers in both standard English classes and across the curriculum. (MS)

Uses text processing (computer) and pen and paper protocols to compare the revising process of professional writers and experienced writers (PhD students). Concludes tentatively that (1) professional and experienced writers do not differ in their approach; (2) the interaction between human and machine influences the writing process; and (3) that…