Computers and Composition: An Overview.

The tools of writing have changed as technology has become more advanced. In fact, the contributions of the microcomputer are already beginning to make print and paper technology appear primitive. The book is at a disadvantage since it stores and displays the information, whereas the microchip stores while the computer displays. Because of this basic difference, interaction with the information stored is possible with the computer, while the book in and of itself is essentially passive. Word processing is also changing the ways in which writing and the writing process are perceived. Nearly all comments by writers who actively use word processors indicate that processing's great advantage is speed. Beyond this important consideration is that writers can start to see revision as part of the process of moving from writer to reader based prose. The microcomputer has also influenced the teaching of writing. Already, experimental and developmental programs in the use of computers to teach writing are being developed all over the world and at all levels of education. Despite the microcomputer's potential for writing and compostion, however, humanists should be warned against the possible economic, social, racial, and sexual differences that may surface as part of the computer culture. (A bibliography on computers and composition is appended). (HOD)