| . Word Processors E-Mail The Web Voice Recognition Software | Word Processors, E-Mail, the Web, and Voice Recognition SoftwareMuch student writing, and almost all business writing, is
now done with computers. Word
processing programs have revolutionized the editing and distribution of
documents.
They have, however, also had a perverse effect on writing itself.Word ProcessorsWord processing programs are a mixed blessing. Like any
other tool, they have limitations. Spelling and grammar checkers are only as
good as their user. They don't catch and correct inappropriate
usage. When typing with AutoCorrect
features turned on, a word processor will automatically correct spelling and
usage, but only to its best guess of the desired word. You may mean to type:All men are created equal. You may actually type:Tll men are crated qual. The computer may decide you meant:
Tall men are crated quail. Microsoft Word suggests that indepent clauses become an indecent clauses,
and that inpedent clauses become impudent clauses. The trick
is to use spell-checks appropriately. And that includes making hardcopies of
your work for pencil editing.E-MailE-mail can greatly facilitate the sharing of information. It is equally useful
for researching information, and for submitting papers to courses
for preliminary or final review. Yet e-mail, by its very nature, encourages
poor writing habits. It caters to quick responses with little thought and with
little development of ideas. It caters to single-sentence paragraphs,
with little formal structure. It caters to speaking in shorthand, rather than
utilizing broader linguistic resources. Wired Style: Principle of English Usage
in the Digital Age(Constance Hale and Jessie Scanlon, Broadway Books, 2nd edition, 2000) advises
writers to "Think
blunt bursts and sentence fragments." [ See also "Hints on writing style for
Usenet,"
http://www.inet.bg/faq/style.htm.] E-mail caters to relatively passive,
thoughtless, impetuous, simplistic thought—none of which is desirable when
writing extended texts. The WebThe Internet and World Wide Web provide access to an
unbelievable amount of information and ideas. Anyone can be a publisher on the
web. Here again, we must take the good with the bad. Not everyone has
something significant to
say, and not everyone can be trusted to adhere to traditional academic
standards of openness and honesty. Anyone interested in criteria for analyzing
web pages might consult:Evaluating Web Resources,
http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/webeval.htm
Evaluating Internet Research Sources,
http://www.sccu.edu/faculty/R_Harris/evalu8it.htm
Bibliography on Evaluating Internet
Resources,
http://refserver.lib.vt.edu/libinst/critTHINK.HTM The possibilities of deceit are compounded with Internet
chat groups. With chat groups we communicate with others, remark by remark, as
in speech. We respond based on an image
of others derived from our analysis of their written remarks. In fact, we do
not truly know whether our
chat companion is a child, a serial killer, or a very intelligent monkey!Voice Recognition SoftwareFinally, those in the forefront of technology considering
inputting their term paper with voice recognition software would do well to
recall Emily Perl Kingsley's experience inputting a nursery rhyme. She spoke
clearly and slowly:Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king horses and all the
king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together
again The computer
produced the following.
humped
the dump D Saturn a wall
clumpy
dumped had agreed fall
Rollicking
sources and all that is man
Couldn't
become handy dandy together again.[3] Here again, the editing "hard copy" is
strongly advised. | |