Word Processing

2. Read the text

The Case for and against Word Processing

Word processing did not develop out of computer technology. It evolved from the needs of writers rather than those of mathemeticians, only later merging with the computer field. The history of word processing is the story of the gradual automation of the physical aspects of writing and editing, and the refinement of the technology to make it available to individual and corporate users.

People use word processors for writing all kinds of documents, such as letters, school papers and reports. Word processors have many advantages over handwriting and manual typewriters. Word processing is faster and easier than writing by hand and you can store documents on your com-puter, which you cannot usually do on a typewriter. This makes it easier to review and rewrite your documents. You have more formatting choices with a word processor, and the spelling, grammar and language tools are useful, too. You can also print copies of your documents, which look neater than handwritten ones. Many language students use word processors to improve their writing skills and because they help them feel proud of their work.

Word processors do have disadvantages, however. First, it is not easy to read long documents on a computer screen. Second, sometimes the printer does not print an exact copy of what you see on the screen. Not all word processors can read each other's files, which is another disadvantage. Finally, word processors do not always work well with e-mails. If you paste a word-processed letter into an e-mail it may lose a lot of its formatting. Many people use a text editor for the Internet, which is similar to a word processor but has fewer formatting features and can-not use graphics. Text editors, such as Notepad, use a simple coding system called ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), as does e-mail.