an annotated bibliography of representative software for writers

Choosing Software

An Annotated Bibliography of Representative Software for Writers

James Strickland

Sof tware to H e l p Writers Col laborate over a N e t w o r k

ASPECTS (Macintosh only) ASPECTS provides a shared workspace for collaborative groups of 2 to 16 students to brainstorm, record, and edit ideas into a common document. ASPECTS allows students to look at the same screen together or scroll independently through the document. It also allows the instructor to set the protocol for contributing ideas-- simultaneous contribution or a more formal turn-taking protocol. Group Technologies, 1408 N. Fillmore St., Suite 10, Arlhlgton, VA 22201; (800) 476-8781.

COLLABORATIVE WRITER (Macintosh only) COLLABORATIVE WRrrER teaches writers how to approach projects and work together with other writers on workplace tasks such as memos, progress reports, final reports, feasibility studies, and proposals. Developed by Ann Hill Duin of the University of Minnesota, COLLABORATWE wRrrERprovides on-line tutorials to model analysis of audience, purpose, and content. RDA/Mind Builders, 10 Boulevard Ave., Greenlawn, NY 11740; (800) 654-8715. Also offered through St. Martin's Software.

26 Computers ond Composition VoL 10, No. 1

CONFE~-NCE WRITER (Macintosh only) CONFE~CE WRITER links up to 12 groups of writers on a network, allowing individual writers to compose, share their writing with members of their group, and read and comment upon what others have shared. Written by David Roberts and John Sudderth of Samford University, c o m t e WRITER includes a full-screen editor and built-in word-processing program. RDA/Mind Builders, 10 Boulevard Ave., Greenlawn, NY 11740; (800) 654-8715. Also offered through St. Marthf s Software.

DAEDALUS MAIL

DAEDALUS MAIL is an electronic mail (e-mail) program designed for networked classrooms which offers features such as unlimited message length, private or public posting, windows that allow the user to view one message while composing a reply, and full search capability. (Available separately or as part of the DAEDALUS n~rrE- CRATED wRrr[Nc ENVZRONMENT software package). The Daedalus Group, 1160 Clayton Ln., Suite 248- W, Austin, TX 78723; (800) 879-2144.

DAEDALUS INTERCHANGE

DAEDALUS hNTERCHANGE offers real-time (synchronous) conferencing to facilitate text-based simultaneous discussion by providing private windows for composing messages on a common topic and windows for public posting of those messages on all the worksta- tions participating in the discussion. The bulletin board can be searched chronologically, textually, and by writer-defined links. (Available separately or as part of the DAEDALUS hNTEGRATED WRIThNG ENVIRON~ software package). The Daedalus Group, 1160 Clayton Ln., Suite 248-W, Austhl, TX 78723; (800) 879-2144.

uvE wRrr~R (Macintosh only) LrVE WRrrER offers the student writer the option of allowing the student's instructor to communicate in an interactive editing con- ference while the student is engaged in composing. Developed by' Robert Oakman, Robert Cannon, and Carolyn Matalene of the University of South Carolina, LIVE W~rER lets the instructor observe work in progress and send messages to offer immediate editing help. RDA]Mind Builders, 10 Boulevard Ave., Greenlawn, NY 11740; (800) 654-8715. Also offered through St. Marthf s Software.

Annotated Bibliography 27

DAEDALUS NE'[M. ANAGER (IBM/MS-DOS only) DAEDALUS NETMANAGER is a shell that controls the entry of users onto a network system, provides password protection, security traces, message handling between users, and access to DOS functions. (Available separately or as part of the DAEDALUS hNTEGRATED WRITING ~rVlRONMm'Cr software package). The Daedalus Group, 1160 Clayton Ln., Suite 2 48-W, Austin, TX 78723; (800) 879-2144.

RKALThME WRITER 2.0 REALTL~ WRITER provides up to 40 separate discussion channels for interactive discussion. REALTL'V~E WRITER includes a window for composition and a window for users on an individual channel to read all the comments that have been sent as part of the ongoing dialogue. A third window is provided for the teacher to post notices to any or all of thechannels. The softwarebehind the ENFI Project (Electronic Networks for Interaction), REALTIME WRITER includes password security, class roster, and activity tracking features. Realtime Leanzing Systems, 2700 Connecticut Ave., N. W., Washhzgton, DC 20008-5330; (800) 832-2472.

Software to Help Writers Invent LINES

FLWE ~WeS is subtitled, "Planning, Drafting, and Revising on the Computer." Its seven modules reflect a recursive model of writing, allowing users to move from invention strategies (freewriting, focusing, and listing) to outlining, drafting, and revising strategies. FINE ~ includes a journal module, using single- or double- column format. Houghton Mifflin, One Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108; (800) 323-5663.

DAEDALUS INVENT

DAEDALUS n'WENT evolved from the original computer invention programs, ToPob TAGb and BURKE, written in 1979 by Hugh Bums at The University of Texas. The program offers three sets o f prompts--- based on Aristotle's topoi; Kenneth Burke's pentad; and Richard Young's, Alton Becker's, and Kenneth Pike's tagamemic matrix and is designed to help writers systematically explore their topic. (Available separately or as part of the DAEDALUS INTEGRATED WRITING ENV[RONMm, Cr software package.) The Daedalus Group, 1160 Clayton Ln., Suite 248- W, Austin, TX 78723; (800) 879-2144.

28 Computers and Composition VoL I0. No. 1

ORGANIZE

ORGANLZE, written by Helen Schwartz, features four modules for prewriting: "Development," containing seven tutorials to generate ideas; "Audience," containing a tutorial to assess audience needs and attitudes; "Argument," containing four tutorials to create an argument for debate; and "Approaches," containing three tutorials to begin drafting. Wadsworth Publishing, 10 Davis Dr., Behnont, CA 94002.

RHIZOME PI~OJECT (Macintosh only) RmZOME (Research on HYPERCARD as an Interactive Zone for the Open, Mediated Essay) PROJECT is an interconnected sequence of heuristic prompts for writing an argument. RHLZOME fosters idea generation and critical analysis of the ideas produced through a series of six stacks: jazzwriting, brainstorming, arguprompt, enthymemes, transitions, and style reference. Dr. Marth~ Rosenberg, Department of English, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85282-0302; (602) 965-3168. E-maih < <[email protected]> >.

STORYSPACE (Macintosh only) STORYSPACE is a hypertext program for writing that facilitates invention, drafting, arrangement, presentation, outlining, map- ping, and linking of text. STORYSPACE was developed by Jay David Bolter, Michael Joyce, and John B. Smith. Eastgate Systems, Civilized Software, P. O. Box 1307, Cambridge, MA 0223& (800) 562-1638.

SUCCESS WITH WRITING

success WITH WR1Tn~G is a comprehensive writing process package, using the PACE system: 'q~rewrite," "Arrange, .... Compose," and "Evaluate." Its "Prewriting" module, in addition to freewriting and brainstorming, contains an invisible wriring module thatblanks the screen. The "Compose" module lets users draft either with or without the notes and outlines from the first two modules. Scholastic, P. O. Box 7502, 2931 E. McCarty St., Jefferson City, MO 65102; (800) 541-5513.

THOUGHTLe~E (IBM/MS-DOS only) T H O U C ~ generates ideas by asking questions and uses the answers to prompt further responses, mimicking open-ended nondirective dialogue with the user, much the way Joseph Weizenbaum's ELIZA program did. XPERCOM, 3605 Luallen St., Carfolltown, TX 75007; (214) 492-8530.


WRITER'S HELPER: PREWRIThNG AND REVISD, IG SOFTWARE

WRrrER'S HELPER is an integrated software package for writers, offering 19 prewrifing activities (six to find a topic, five to examine the topic from different perspectives, and eight to help organize the ideas generated) and 20 revising tools (nine to examine the struc- ture of a document, eight to look at audience considerations, and three to check for problem words). Developed by William Wresch, thewc, a)ows versionofw~TER'S HELPER includes even more pre~ .vrifing activities and revising tools and an export link with the word- processing program being used. Conduit, University of Iowa, Oakdale Campus, Iowa City, IA 52242; (800) 365-9774.

Software to A l l o w C o m m e n t a f t e r C r i t i c a l Reading co.xc~h-',rr 2.0 (Macintosh only)

CO.Xt'aENT allows editorial comments to be placed inside a text without altering the original document. The presence of comments, each of which may be up to 32K, is indicated by buttons which may then be opened either manually or automatically when the file itself is opened. Deneba Software, 3305 N. W. 74th Ave., Miami, FL 33122; (305) 594- 6965.

DAEDALUS RESPOND

DAEDALUS RESPOND is an evaluation program that prompts users to read and respond to a text by dividing the screen into three windows, one displaying the text, another displaying an heuristic prompt, and the third providing a notepad for critical response. (Available separately or as part of the DAEDALUS INTEGRATED WRITING E N V : R O ~ software package.) The Daedalus Group, 1160 Clayton Ln., Suite 248-W, Austin, TX 78723; (800) 879-2144.

MARKUP (Macintosh only) MARKUP allows a group to either exchange texts or edit the same document simultaneously without seeing one another's suggestions. MARKUP merges the group comments into a single annotated text while saving each editor's individual comments for later review. Mainstay, 5311-B Derry Ave.,A goura Hills, CA 91303; (818) 991-6540.

PREp ED:TOR (Macintosh only) PREP EDITOR is designed to facilitate marginal commenting by coau- thors and editors, the type of contributions associated with works

30 Computers ond Composition VoL 10, No. 1

in preparation. The authors and commenters create marginal columns of text that can be manipulated much the same way as spreadsheet columns. The prototype is under development at Carnegie Mellon and is suppor tedby grants fromNSF(IRI-8902891) and Apple External Research. hzquire through Carnegie Mellon (412) 268-2468. E-maih <<prep [email protected]> >.

SEEN: TUTORIALS FOR CRITICAL READING

SEEN: TUTORIALS FOR CRITICAL READING features six authorable tutorials for examining a particular subject---character analysis, plotting in literature, essay analysis, exploratory essays, art exploration, and historical conflicts---in order to develop and support a thesis. Developed by Helen Schwartz, SE~,~ includes bulletin boards that accompany the tutorials. Through the bulletin boards, students can read and comment on the work of their peers and receive reactions to their own work, comments that are necessary to revise for a real audience. Conduit, University of Iowa, Oakdale Campus, Iowa City, IA 52242; (800) 365-9774.

Software to Help W r i t e r s W r i t e Research Papers DISCOURSE DETECTIVE (IBM/MS-DOS only)

DISCOURSE DETECTIVE: A HYPERTEXT E',ITRODUCTION TO EXPERT DISCOURSE i s

an application of TOOL~)OK developed by Helen Schwartz and Paul Nicholas. A hypertext tutorial, DISCOURSE DETECTIVE guides novice scholars in the reading of expert discourse. Its features include tasks such as getting to the gist of a scholarly article, understanding the text in depth, and entering the scholarly community. The program also explains aspects peculiar to the scholarly journal or the discipline. The tutorial provides a notepad for interactive commenting. Helen Schwartz, Department of English, Indiana University-Purdue University at hldianapol is, 425 University Blvd., hldianapolis, IN 46202; (317)274-0083, E-maih <<IBGLIOO@INDYCMS>>.

DOCUPOp (IBM/MS-DOS only) DocuPoP, a companion program to on-line handbook GR~POP, is a memory resident program that guides users in questions of documentation and handles both APA and MLA formats. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 301 Commerce St., Suite 3700, Fort Worth, TX 76102; (800) 237-2665.


LEaR~NC TOOL (Macintosh only) LEARNING TOOL is a hypertext program developed by Robert KoTma and John Van Roekel of Arborworks. LEAR~'Cn';C TOOL, described as an electronic notebook, allows writers to make notecards and build relationships between concepts at various levels o f abstraction. The screen actually, looks as though it has notecards spread out on it, and the writer has the option of searching and organizing the notes, picking one up to read, a n d / o r continuing to write. Distributed by hztellimation, P. O. Box 1922, Santa Barbara, CA 93116- 1922; (800) 626-6266.

NOTA BENE (IBM/MS-DOS only) NOTA B~NE is a word-processing program designed for scholarly writing~ including automatic footnoting, page numbering, generation of tables of contents, lists of illustrations, bibliographies, and indexes. NOTA BENE features keyboard adaptions for all major Western European languages and special supplements for non- Western European languages. Dragonfly Software, distributed by Modern Language Association, 10 Astor Pl., New York, NY 10003-6981; (212) 614-6383.

PRO-CITE

PRo-cn'E is a utility program for creating bibliographies that offers a wide variety of formats for record types and style sheets and provides sorting, searching, and indexing capabilities. Personal Bibliographic Software, Distributed by Modern.Language Asso- ciation, 10 Astor Pl., New York, NY 10003-6981; (212) 614-6383.

THE RESEARCH HELPER

THE RESEARCH HELPER contains two programs: NOTEFILER, designed to store and sort information collected and compiled for a research paper; and DOCtrMENTOR, a guide for writing bibliographic entries in MLA or APA format. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 301 Commerce St., Suite 3700, Fort Worth, TX 76102; (800) 237-2665.

THE ST. MARTE'q~S HOTLINE

THE ST. MARThN~S HOTLINE is an on-line pop-up guide to styles of referencing. For each of the four major styles of documentation, including MLA and APA, the HOTL~,a~ explains listings of works cited, parenthetical and endnote in-text documentation, and ap- propriate page layouts. St. Martin " s Press, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010; (800) 446-8923.

32 Computers ond Composition Vol. I0. No. 1

SWIFrNOI~_.S (Macintosh only) SWIFrt~OTES is a utility program that provides notecards to aid researchers in entering bibliographic information, taking notes, and making hypertext links between key words. Some of its features include the ability to export one or all notes on a topic into a text document, a running reminder list of references to be con- sulted, anti the ability to sort by author or key word. Sterling Swift Software, 8901 Grmmda Hills Dr., Austin, TX 78737- 1450.

Software to Help Writers Analyze Style/Mechanics/Usage

EDIT! EDIT! checks documents written with its own internal word-processing program and documents generated by other programs. EDIT! has four levels: word, sentence, and paragraph levels and an overall level, checking topic and concluding statements for sentence length, variety, and idea development, asking "post-write" questions, and displaying statistics. McGraw-Hill, 11 West 19th St., Nao York, NY 10011; (800) 262-4729.

E~ITOR (IBM/MS-DOS only) EmTOR is the Modem Language Association's stand-alone, menu- driven style and usage checker. Developed by Elaine and John Thiesmeyei', EDXTOR reads and analyzes errors in punctuation, mechanics, and spelling (nonstandard spellings and colloquialisms not caught by most spell checkers), using four separate usage dicfionaries--F~x, TIGHTEN, POLISH, and CONSIDER.. TASL, Box 8202, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695- 8202; (800) 955-8275.

GRAMMATIK IV GR~'~V[ATIK IV 2.0 reads text, comparing each word against its collec- tion of rules for grammar, style, punctuation, and spelling, offering. advice and suggestions for revision. The writing styles can be adjusted from business and technical to general and informal. GR~',~MATm IV works by hot key within most of the popular word- processing programs. Reference Software, 333 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107; (800) 872- 9933.

RIGH~VmTER 4.0 RIGHTWRITER flags errors in punctuation, grammar, usage and style by producing a copy of the original document, analyzing the text,


and displaying the copy marked with explanations. RIGHTW~TER 4.0 has a hot key interface with nine popular word-processing programs to simplify the process of moving from original to copy, marking the copy, editing the marked copy, and exiting with a clean copy. An electronic edition of Strunk and White's Elements of Style is included as a bonus. Q UE Software, Prentice-Hall, 11711 N. College Ave., Cann el, IN 46032; (800) 428-5331.

WRrrER'S WORKBL-'~C'H (IBM/MS-DOS only) The AT&T WRITER'S WOP, KB~'~CH is a Collegiate Edition of the style- checking program developed by AT&T Bell Laboratories and tested at Colorado State University. WP, rrER'S WORKBE'~CH includes 13 programs whose names indicate their focus-- "Organization," "Development," "Findbe," "Diction & Suggest," "Vagueness," "Spell," "Check" (for troublesome pairs such as affect and effect), "Punctuation," "Grammar," "Prose" (comparisons), "Style" (analysis), and "Abstract" (words or phrases). AT&T, P. O. Box 19901, hzdianapolis, IN 46219; (800) 432-6600.

Software to O f f e r O n - L i n e Reference Guides

AMERICAN ~'~GLISH WRITh"~G GUIDE

AMERICAN ~,~GLISH WRITING GUIDE is a n o n - l i n e r e f e r e n c e h a n d b o o k

with pop-up, pull-down menus and search capability. Nova Development, 23801 Calabasas Rd., Suite 2005, Calabasas, CA 91302; (800) 950-6682.

BORZOI ON-LL'qE HANDBOOK FOR WRITERS (IBM/MS-DOS only) BORZOI ON-LINE HANDBOOK FOR WRITERS is a memory-resident program that provides access to information contained in the printed ver- sion of the Borzoi Handbook. Designed by David Roberts, the main menus offer selections based on the types of writing errors that first- year college students make most often, while the secondary menu selections are headings from the printed handbook and contain page references should further explanation be required. McGraw-Hill, 11 W. 19th St., New York, NY 10011; (800) 262-4729.

EDITORIAL ADVISOR (Macintosh only) EDITORIAL ADVISOR is a fully indexed and hierarchically linked on-line reference handbook that can be customized to include notes and editorial policies to establish individual style sheets. Petroglyph, 123 Townsend, Suite345, San Francisco, CA 94107; (415) 979-0588.

34 Computers and Composition VoL I0, No. I

CRaMPOP (IBM/MS-DOS only) c~MPoP is a memory-resident program designed to provide an- swer questions of grammar and usage. The program is modeled upon and contains specific references to the Harbrace College Hand- book. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 301 Commerce St., Suite 3700, Fort Worth, TX 76102; (800) 237-2665.

RESIDh-NT EXPERT FOR EFFECTIVE WRITING

RESIDL-NT EXPERT FOR EFFECTWE WRITING i s a memory-residen t program containing advice on matters of punctuation, grammar, organization, and style. Its main menus offer a list of key words, from which hypertext links allow users to navigate through a series of high- lighted key words to find explanations and examples. RESID~rr EXPERT includes an on-line almanac of facts and statistics gathered from geography, history, math, science, language, and technology. Parsons Technology, One Parsons Dr., P. O. Box 100, Hiawatha, IA 52233-0100; (800) 223-6925.

Sof tware to A u t h o r M u l t i m e d i a Courseware

AUTHORWARE PROFESSIONAL

AUTHORWARE PROFESSIONAL is a program providing multimedia capabilities for interactive teaching--such asdigitized sound, data- driven animation, and video interface. The authoring system uses a graphics-based, visual tool kit and depicts the branching alterna- tives with How charts. Telespectnun, Inc., 190 Admiral Cochrane Dr., Suite 100, Annapolis, MD 21401; (800) 828"-6067.

CU:DE 2.0 (Macintosh only) CUIDE is an authoring system that creates courseware using text, graphics, and images to present computer-based instruction, including drivers for videodisc and CD ROM. Owl hltemationaI, 2800 156th Ave. S. E., Bellevue, WA 98007; (206) 747-3203.

HYPERCARD (Macintosh only) HYPERCARD is the Macintosh hypertext authoring program that creates stacks of cards that can be read by another in much the same way that index card s can be read and sorted into stacks. Once stacks are created users can manipulate them in any fashion imaginable, including adding comments to the cards and creating links between items on the cards or in the stacks. The authoring program includes HYPERTALK, an English-like scripting language.


Apple Computer, 20525 Mariani Ave., Cuperthzo, CA 95014; (800) 538- 9696.

LLNq~'WAY LWE! (IBM/MS-DOS only) LINKWAY LWE! is IBM's multimedia authoring program that creates linked files which can be selected by on-screen buttons and pop-up and pull-down menus. LnNKWAY LIVE! includes features found in other LINKWA¥ versions (paint program, text editor, font editor, and demonstration folders) and also supports both analog and digital full-motion video with device-independent digital sound support. IBM, Multhnedia & Education Division, 4111 Northside Pkund., Atlanta, GA 30327; (800)426-9402.

MULTIMEDIA TOOLBOOK (IBM/MS-DOS only) TOOLBOOK AND MULTLMEDIA RESOURCE KIT, collectively referred to as MULTLMEDIA TOOLBOOK, is an authoring package for developing multimedia software that uses OPENSCRIPT, an English-like scripting language similar to HYPERTALK. MULTIMEDIA TOOLBOOK supports a variety of formats for the importing and exporting of text and data. Asymetrix, One-Ten 1 lOth Ave. N. E., Suite 717, Bellevue, WA 98004; (800) 624-8999, x299, and (206) 637-1500.

QUEST 3.0 (IBM/MS-DOS only) QUEST AUTHORING SYSTEM is a program to create courseware using video, audio, and graphics to present Compu ter-based learning and interactive video. Allen Communication,5225 Wiley Post Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84116; (800) 325-7850.

Software to Help A s s e s s W r i t e r s

GRADY PROFILE--PORTFOLIO ASSESS.MGNrF (Macintosh only) GRADY PROFILE creates a portfolio for assessment of individual students, storing text, sound, and image data in hypertext stacks. Scanners and microphone peripherals allow the GRADY PROFILE to

include oral readings and handwritten samples as part of the portfolio. Although the assessment checklist included in the package was developed for grades pre-K to 8, the rest of the features in the GRADY PROFILE could be used at any level and could be adapted to allow students to assemble their own portfolios. Aurbach & Associates, 8233 Tulane Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5019; (314) 726-5933.

James Strickland is a Professor of English at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.

an annotated bibliography of representative software for writers

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