Probably no one would question the appropriateness of study of word processing for the new user, but, based on common practice, apparently, it is believed that a very little knowledge, a skimpy overview, is sufficient. The value of limited study of word processing applications is rather doubtful. In fact, a little bit of knowledge about word processing may be almost useless -- and a quick overview is certainly not sufficient to realize most of the overwhelming benefits of using computers for writing.
Teaching Word Processing
Typically, the word-processing unit in Introduction to Microcomputers or Computer Skills covers only the bare basics. It teaches students how to start or launch a word processor, how to create a document (that is, how to type it and save it to disk), and how to print a page or two. There may be some mention of editing features, but there is rarely time to learn much about them (since the course must cover lots of other applications -- many of which will never again be used by most of the students).
Writing and Thinking
The enormous value of using a word processor to compose is that writers can electronically cut and paste and revise so effortlessly as they write that the creation of a text closely parallels the very process of thinking. Writing with a standard typewriter or with a pen and paper is a rather plodding, linear process. Our thinking, on the other hand, is rapid and recursive: it tends to spring forward and then, perhaps, to circle back: the phrasing for an introduction may occur to us as we work on the conclusion; details to support the first topic in a paper might strike us when we are working on another topic; as we revise the conclusion, we think of a new and better title, and so on.
Good writers skilled in the use of a computer word processor do not write in the same way as they would without it. They allow their thoughts to flow -- knowing that they can rearrange and edit them later. During composition, writers may refrain from deleting passages that do not seem to fit, but rather move them to the end of the file where they can easily be recovered if they are later found to be appropriate (as is often the case) or they can be discarded as extraneous when the piece is finished.
Practice and skill are necessary
In order to take advantage of the powers of word processing requires considerable skill in its use. Those who understand only a little about word processors will probably employ them in a linear fashion like an expensive typewriter and compose in exactly the same way they would on a typewriter because they simply do not know how to use the sophisticated editing features of a word processor. (In fact, some people write out their compositions in longhand, and then enter them on a word processor simply in order to print an attractive final draft.)
Good writing requires concentration and focus on the words used to express the ideas of the writer, and that means that the writer cannot be distracted by the mechanics of operating the word processor; its operation should be almost second nature.
The great advantage of word processing is that it allows writers to compose by moving and copying and editing at any point without limitations, but, in order to do those things without losing their train of thought, writers should not have to give much conscious thought to the use of function keys or mouse clicking to perform editing functions: they should be almost instinctive, and that requires a good deal of practice and skill.
A good word processor can help the user write better, and it can also save a terrific amount of time. Macros economize key strokes, and procedures for merging, boiler-plating, and file retrieval and inclusion make it unnecessary to enter the same text more than once -- which not only saves time, but helps prevent errors. Of course, these procedures are not obvious, and they require study and repetition to learn.
Conclusion
In short, the significant advantages of word processing are available exclusively to those who are proficient in the use of the hardware and software; they will be inaccessible to those who have only a little understanding of word processing. A stand-alone computer skills course (taught by a school or by a computer dealer) may not be the best means to teach substantial knowledge of word processing; examples and practice will inevitably be simulated and artificial, and there will be little motivation to fully understand the applications. Since word processing is a way of writing, probably it should be taught, practiced, and mastered in English composition courses. Word-processor commands to delete, insert, copy, and move can naturally be taught as parts of instruction on editing and revision. Document saving, retrieval, and inclusion can be taught as parts of research writing.
In any case, it seems unlikely that a little knowledge of word processing will produce the notable benefits for writers that are possible from modern software and hardware.
Eric Johnson is the author of more than one hundred published articles, volumes, and papers mostly about computers, writing, and literature. He can be contacted by electronic mail as JohnsonE@jupiter.dsu.edu
Click here to go to Eric Johnson's home page.
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