Abstract

This article suggests that computerized word processing provides a closer analogue to the mental processes involved in prose writing than use of a pen or pencil or a typewriter. This statement may appear paradoxical because word processing depends upon a complex technology that for some observers may appear to be “unnatural.” However, the flexibility provided by this technology, especially the infinite opportunities to alter an impermanent set of notations, accommodates the multiple and overlapping cognitive activities essential to writing. This thesis is supported by the various interdisciplinary studies contained in Cognitive Processes in Writing.