Software and the Writing Process
by Shasta Turner
Assistant Director, The Writing Center
Claremont Graduate University

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Program:	Inspiration
OS:	Windows/Mac
Price:	evaluation version: free; registered version: $73.00 (student price)
Download from:	Inspiration's download page
Suggested Uses:	This brainstorming and outlining tool helps users create "Mind Maps," which are non-linear cluster diagrams. Particularly useful for students who dislike the rigidity of hierarchical outlining and for those who have a more visually oriented learning style. Inspiration offers the user a little more flexibility than does Mindman (see below), but those benefits come at a somewhat higher price.

 

Program:	MindMan
OS:	Windows
Price:	"Personal" version: free; full version: $60 (student price)
Download from:	Mindman's download page
Suggested Uses:	Another good choice for a mind mapping program. In particular, the "personal" version is a great choice for starving students. It provides the basic functions of the full version but at a great price--free!

 

Program:	PowerPoint
OS:	Windows/Mac
Price:	$159 student price as part of the Microsoft Office suite (student price)
Download from:	I recommend that you purchase a boxed version at your university bookstore or another authorized academic reseller.
Suggested Uses:	While PowerPoint is known primarily as presentation software, it can also be a powerful outlining tool. Organizing information in slides can help students to boil their ideas down to a few key points, resulting in improved organization and focus.

 

Program:	QuoteBase
OS:	Windows
Price:	evaluation version: free; registered version: $16.95 (student discount available)
Download from:	Netscape's shareware archives
Suggested Uses:	Lets students keep scholarly quotations on index-style cards. Particularly useful for those who like the note card system and are interested in keeping track of their notes electronically.

 

Program:	TimeLiner
OS:	Windows/Mac
Price:	evaluation version: free, registered version: $79.95
Download from:	Timeliner's download page
Suggested Uses:	Lets students create and print timelines in various formats. Great for those writing history papers or other essays in which chronological sequences of events might be important. Also good for students who are preparing for comprehensive examinations.

 

Program:	CommonSpace
OS:	Windows/Mac
Price:	evaluation version: free; registered version: $29.95 (student price)
Download from:	Sixth Floor Media's download page
Suggested Uses:	CommonSpace encourages collaborative writing by splitting windows into multiple columns. Annotations appear in a column (or columns) next to an essay, and can include links to other documents or web sites. Fabulous tool for sharing drafts in writing groups or for commenting on student papers.

 

Program:	DeskNotes
OS:	Windows
Price:	evaluation version: free; registered version: $24.95
Download from:	Choose one of DeskNotes' download sites
Suggested Uses:	A program that lets users create electronic "sticky notes." However, with its highly customizable and easy-to-use features, DeskNotes far outdoes 3M's version of this popular product (see below). Might be particularly helpful for those writers who like to keep ideas or short notes separate from their drafts.

 

Program:	Essay Punch and Paragraph Punch
OS:	Windows
Price:	evaluation version: free; registered version: $44 each
Download from:	Merit Audio Visual's home page
Suggested Uses:	Prompts users with questions appropriate to various stages of the writing process. The "answers" to the program's tutorials become the building blocks of a student paper. Great for students who want to learn more about the writing process or for instructors teaching composition in high school or community college settings. However, there is a catch: the programs list a limited number of preformulated topics, so users have fewer choices in the topic generation stage.

 

Program:	Post-It Software Notes
OS:	Windows
Price:	evaluation version: free; registered version: $17.95
Download from:	3M's download page
Suggested Uses:	An affordable electronic version of 3M's paper notes.

 

Program:	Word
OS:	Windows/Mac
Price:	$159 as part of the Microsoft Office suite (student price)
Download from:	I recommend that you purchase a boxed version at your university bookstore or another authorized academic reseller.
Suggested Uses:	Word has a Comment function that lets users attach notes to specific portions of a document. It doesn't work nearly as well as CommonSpace, but Word's wide availability makes this feature worth a try.

 

Program:	Writer's Software Companion
OS:	Windows
Price:	evaluation version: free; registered version: $79.95
Download from:	NovaLearn's download page
Suggested Uses:	An excellent tool for creative writers. Helps writers develop appropriate tone and approach, and facilitates familiarization with various generic conventions.

 

Program:	Writing Coach
OS:	Windows/Mac
Price:	electronic only: $29; boxed version: $39
Download from:	Write Place's download page
Suggested Uses:	Writing Coach integrates with a writer's word processor, providing templates that help users define their audience and clarify how they will approach their task. The templates pose questions designed to get the writing "juices" flowing. The answers serve as drafts! Great for writers who tend to suffer from writer's block.

 

Program:	Category
OS:	Windows
Price:	evaluation version: free (and unlimited); registered version $40.00 (includes 6 other language games)
Download from:	Foreign Language Learning Software's download page
Suggested Uses:	Category is listed as foreign language learning software, but works well for anyone who wants to learn new vocabulary. Users assign words to different categories, rendering the learning process more active.

 

Program:	Mastery Learning Grammar
OS:	Windows
Price:	evaluation version: free; registered version: $29.95
Download from:	MLG's download page
Suggested Uses:	Provides drills and quizzes designed to boost the user's knowledge of grammar. A solid but overpriced program.

 

Program:	Multimedia Spelling Bee
OS:	Windows
Price:	evaluation version: free; registered version: $19.95
Download from:	CNET
Suggested Uses:	A good effort, but the program has several problems. Its interface and symbols are somewhat counterintuitive, and the program moves way too slowly.

 

Program:	EndNote
OS:	Windows/Mac
Price:	evaluation version: free; full version: $99.95 (student price)
Download from:	Niles Software's download page
Suggested Uses:	EndNote helps writers keep track of references and generate citations, but also lets users download search results directly into a database (not all libraries support this function, but Honnold does). Saves a great deal of time that otherwise would have been spent entering data!

 

Program:	ProCite
OS:	Windows/Mac
Price:	evaluation version: free; $395.95 (fill out their request form for info on student pricing)
Download from:	Research Information System's download page
Suggested Uses:	Includes some powerful features, such as the ability to download electronic search results directly into the database and the ability to connect directly to full-text online articles. However, these perks might not be worth the extra money.

 

Program:	Scholar's Aid
OS:	Windows
Price:	"lite" version: free; full registered version: $54 (student discount available)
Download from:	Scholar's Aid's download page
Suggested Uses:	An excellent reference database and citation generator; even the registered version is a fraction of the price of more expensive, commercial bibliography software.

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Comments and questions to shasta.turner@cgu.edu