Record Detail

Much research has been conducted to investigate
the quality of writing and high-level revisions in word
processing-assisted and pen-and-paper writing modes.
Studies that address cognitive aspects, such as experience
and comfort with computers, by which students compose
essays during writing assessments have remained relatively
unexplored. To fill this gap, the present study investigates
the impact of writing using computers versus traditional
writing with pen-and-paper based on 366 undergraduate
students in Singapore. It analyses the students’ thinking
processes, the quality of their written work, and their perceptions
of working with computers. The results indicate
that the students demonstrated a positive attitude towards
working with computers. Furthermore, the computerdelivered
writing mode has a positive impact on their
quality of writing in both technical aspects (content,
organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics)
and global aspects (setting macro rhetorical goal and
ordering information in achieving the macro rhetorical
goal). On the other hand, the results show that there was no
significant difference between the paper and computer
writing modes in their effects during the planning stage of
writing in-class reflections. The study contributes to writing
research by encouraging teachers to give students an
option of delivery modes, beyond traditional pen-andpaper,
for their writing assessments