The impact of word processing on the preparation and submission of written essays in a tertiary course of study

Oliver, Ron; Kerr, Trevor

doi:10.1007/bf01406953

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Enquiry 3. Oliver and Kerr (1993) studied the marks obtained by 240 student teachers who submitted essays in either a handwritten, typewritten or word-processed form.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Writing through time: longitudinal studies of the effects of new technology on writing

Hartley

Howe

McKeachie³

2001

Brit J Educational Tech

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This paper contributes to the discussion about the effects of new technology on writing by assessing whether or not people's writing styles and ways of thinking change when new technologies are introduced. The writing styles of the three authors, prolific writers in their own fields, were assessed by comparing materials written by each author over a thirty-year period. During this time there were, for each author, great changes in the ways that they used new technology to help them to write. Nonetheless, the results indicated that, although the writing styles of each author differed from each other, their individual styles were remarkably consistent over time. These results thus suggest that although the new technologies may change the ways that individual writers work, they do not alter the styles of their resulting products. IntroductionThere is an ongoing debate in the field of writing research about whether or not computer-aided writing programs change the ways that people write and think. Undoubtedly, the new technology has-and will continue to-change the methods by which people write. But is this change only a cosmetic one? Is what we do with new technology basically much the same as what we did with the old technology? Or are the changes more fundamental than this?

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“…Enquiry 3. Oliver and Kerr (1993) studied the marks obtained by 240 student teachers who submitted essays in either a handwritten, typewritten or word-processed form.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Writing through time: longitudinal studies of the effects of new technology on writing

Hartley

Howe

McKeachie³

2001

Brit J Educational Tech

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…They confirm that those students electing to type their examinations do in practice avail themselves of the option to edit and revise their text; they deliberately changed words and moved sentences in an effort to improve their essays. Others have found this type of behaviour to lead to an increase in the mark awarded (Burke and Cizek, 2006; Oliver and Kerr, 1993). Additionally, most students can type more than they can handwrite in an essay, and length is correlated with quality for word-processed scripts (Lovett et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Others use a computer throughout the process, and may ‘plant’ key points and then ‘grow’ further associated content around them. Students who review and revise their work often are rewarded with a consequent improvement in their mark (Burke and Cizek, 2006; Oliver and Kerr, 1993). In contrast, in an examination, students may not have time to revise their words; hence the ability to handwrite or to type quickly, together with the approach they used to generate an acceptable written response in limited time, although not necessarily the key factors in performance, might become more important.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students’ choices between typing and handwriting in examinations

Mogey

Cowan

Paterson³

et al. 2012

Active Learning in Higher Education

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Keyboarding (typing) is a ubiquitous skill for most UK students, and most coursework essays must be word processed. However, few examinations, other than for students with disabilities, permit the use of a word processor. It is not known how students would respond given a free choice between handwriting and word processing in an essay examination. This study reports the findings when students were encouraged to choose between these methods of composition for an examination. Few opted to word process; the students' reactions immediately after the examination were obtained. The demands of essay examinations compared with assignments are identified and discussed, and implications for future enquiries are considered.

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“…When using a word processor it is easy to review your work and make small but significant changes, and there is much less incentive to write in a highly linear fashion (Ferris 2002). Oliver and Kerr (1993) demonstrated a positive correlation between score and number of revisions of a text. For students who are proficient typists there is clearly the opportunity to write more, as well as the opportunity to revise and reshape what is initially written.…”

Section: Initial Considerations About Fairness and Equitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The end of handwriting? Using computers in traditional essay examinations

Mogey

Sarab²,

Haywood

et al. 2007

Computer Assisted Learning

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Most of our students complete most of their written assignments using a word processor, but they are still asked to handwrite responses in an examination. It could be argued that they have not practiced this task and the validity of the assessment could thus be questioned. This paper explores the possibility of bringing computers into the traditional essay-examination context, describes an appropriate hardware and software configuration, and provides feedback from initial evaluations with students and their reactions to the idea. Some of the implications and equity concerns that need to be considered before a decision can be made to use computers in essay exams are also discussed.

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The impact of word processing on the preparation and submission of written essays in a tertiary course of study

Cited by 6 publications

References 13 publications

Writing through time: longitudinal studies of the effects of new technology on writing

Writing through time: longitudinal studies of the effects of new technology on writing

Students’ choices between typing and handwriting in examinations

The end of handwriting? Using computers in traditional essay examinations

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