AN ADJUNCT WRITING INSTRUCTION ASSISTANT, THE COMPUTER, WITH AN ILLUSTRATION Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 215 AN ADJUNCT WRITING INSTRUCTION ASSISTANT, THE COMPUTER, WITH AN ILLUSTRATION Dale Varble, Indiana State University Lawrence Knight, Indiana State University The results of employer surveys repeatedly emphasize the importance of writing skills in all fields of business. To develop student skills in writing universities use several strategies. Some require two, three or more writing courses in the student’s matriculation. Criticism of courses devoted to writing primarily rest on the premise that writing can not be taught in a single, or even several courses. To develop and hone writing skills above a basic level, students must practice daily over an extended period. Therefore a second strategy encourages writing in all subject courses. The activity of writing may improve writing ability but evaluation and instructor feedback is even more effective in improving writing. In spite of admirable intentions, many professors yield to time pressures and grade content only. Computer Based Writing Assistance The computer with software now available can function as an adjunct assistant for writing instruction. Software currently on the market is designed to produce better written communications. Outline, Checker and Thesaurus Software Outline programs help students organize thoughts, choose a presentation sequence and map communication strategy. Besides ensuring better continuity, outline programs encourage the writer to put down ideas and later organize them. Thus a major benefit is the lessening of writer’s block. Freestyle, Framework, Idea Processor, MaxThink and ThinkTank are outline software. Spell checkers identify misspellings and typographical errors. Most do not check homonyms. Spell checker capabilities have become a standard feature of word processing software. After spelling is corrected many errors may still exist. Cleanup, a mechanical checker, catches careless mechanical errors such as capitals in the middle of words, open parentheses, and double typed words. Word choice improves with the use of thesaurus software, and lessens boring repetitive use of a word. Thesaurus programs must be immediately available to be useful. Programs with advanced capabilities, like Webster’s New World on-line Thesaurus, attempt to maintain grammatical consistency by preserving capitalization, tense, prefixes, etc. As with spell checkers, word-processing software now include thesaurus features. Style Analysis Programs Style analysis software focuses on the style of the writing. Usually this means that the program checks the copy for poor grammar and the use of passive voice, errors that make writing look unprofessional. Phase, for example, identifies redundant, verbose, and folksy writing and suggests alternatives. Grammatik, in addition to spotting sloppy phrases, flags gender specific terms helping the writer to eliminate sexist writing. CorrecText, a recent entry into the market, has won plaudits from the industry for its very powerful grammar checker. The suggestions offered by CorrecText are often more relevant to the identified error. Besides checking grammar Rightwriter develops four indices. The readability index measures the educational level a reader will need to comprehend the writing. The strength index measures how clear, concise and to the point the copy i~. The descriptive index measures the use of adjectives and adverbs. The use of jargon is measured by the jargon index. Grammatik, CorrecText and RightWriter check for complete sentences and subject/verb agreement. None of the three, however, can choose correct prepositions. Some students need more than practice at writing; they need training in basic writing concepts. Two programs, Future and Conditional Verb Commands and Writing. Competency can help. The first provides rules on verb use and the second teaches letter writing, report generation and persuasion. These writing style analysis programs are not without their shortcomings. Critics contend that style analysis software Inhibits the development of a unique individual style. Rather they advocate an “official style”. These critics also point out that, style analysis programs stress a “rigidity in grammar.” They say that hardly a rule in the English language holds in all possible situations. It is too easy to over use or take “suggestions” literally. In addition they contend that adherence to the readability index can lead to staccato copy which is unpleasant to read. A possible outcome of the use of style analysis programs according to these opponents is stuffy writing that lacks creativity and eloquence. Critics f ear too that the compulsive person may be tempted to revise and revise in an attempt to gain perfection. An Illustration At Indiana State University the computer serves as an adjunct assistant for writing instruction. Students are encouraged to use the spell checker and thesaurus on every writing project. On major projects when they turn in hardcopy and a disk the hardcopy serves as a basis for manually grading the content. Instructor conments are written on the hard copy. The Rightwriter style analysis program analyzes the writing project on the disk and the results are printed. A spell checker seeks out spelling errors on the disk copy. These errors are circled on the RightWriter printed hardcopy. Student receive back the hardcopy they turned in with comments about content, a copy of RightWriter results with spelling errors circled and the disk. When the results are returned the instructor answers any questions and expresses a willingness to discuss the results. The adjunct computer assistant from the instructor’s perspective works well. Evaluating written work is much less cumbersome and time consuming. The instructor looks forward to reading the content of the paper without the hindrance of correcting spelling, grammar and mechanics. Has student writing become more professional? The starting premise was that writing skills when practiced develop over an extended period of time, thus large changes were not expected nor were attempts at measuring improvements made. Colleagues agree, however, student writing on major writing assignments has improved. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's