Information technology is changing the way we write. Special features
such as outliners, spelling checkers and graphic facilities have
transformed word processors into document processors; document
processors have, in turn, integrated with other electronic resources
such as e-mail and the Internet to provide a complete writing
environment. The New Writing Environment examines the knowledge
that is needed in order to develop, use and evaluate computer-based
writing environments. The emphasis is firmly on practical issues: tasks
performed by writers at work, problems they encounter, and documents
they actually produce. Writing is defined within a wide social and
organisational context, in order to give an accurate assessment of how
the new technology affects the social and cooperative aspects of
authorship. The result is a wide-ranging and comprehensive assessment of
the relationship between writing and computers.