ABSTRACT
Writing is often difficult because it is a complex task. Writers must attend to low level demands — such as spelling, punctuation, simple syntax, and the mechanical demands of handwriting — as well as attend to higher-level aspects — such as global plans and goals. We report experiments investigating three ways that the demands of writing might be eased:
Making a written outline plan before composing, which allows the writer to attend first to overall structure with minimal distraction from lower level processes. Then, the written plan itself serves as a reference during composition.
Dictation, which as a composition method bypasses some of the lower level demands, and may allow faster composing, although it does not give the writer (dictator) a visible record for reference during the composition process.
The Listening Word Processor (LWP), which is a simulated computerized speech recognition system. Writers dictate and watch their composition, which is actually keyed by a hidden typist, emerge on a computer screen almost at once. The LWP gives the advantages of dictation plus an inspectable representation of the composition so far.
