Impact of the Internet on the Different Steps in the Paper Writing Process, Essay Example

Introduction

Since the advent of the internet, the writing process has been affected from researching or pre-writing, writing, re-writing, and the post-writing process. The writing process is not linear and but the focus of other independent processes. Since the internet is a non-linear environment that links together different abstractions and occurrences, it promotes the writing process, which is a connected and diverse assembly of unrelated phenomena.  The multimedia environment afforded by the internet widens the writing process and offers new and creative ways of potentials in the writing process for both teachers and students. The internet affects how writers handle the writing process, which makes the case for its use in the curricula.

How writing has been affected by the internet

In most learning environments, writing assignments aim at teaching learners the rules and procedures for writing, but fail to focus on the product of writing. The internet appeals to most learners and writers because it facilitates the imagination and picturing of things, and learning by doing things. Since writing is not a linear process, other activities occur in real life other than getting a grade for the writing activity.

The internet has affected how the pre-writing phase of the writing process is conducted. Pre-writing entails generating a topic and researching the topic to get supporting facts. There is no other effective medium of researching a topic than the internet (Whitaker, 2009). The internet facilitates idea generation through brainstorming a d questioning. These pre-writing activities are simplified by the interactive nature of the internet through platforms such as social media and email (Kirszner & Mandell, 2013). A learner is also able to generate an idea by observing pictorials, and reading electronic data. Online libraries and databases have simplifies the ore-writing process because learners ca easily search a specific concept from thousands of articles in the most efficient way (Mathis. 2013). Gone are the days of the fear associated with “white page syndrome” (Sharples & Geest, 1996). Learning institutions have created their own online libraries that contained electronic books, peer-reviewed journals, and articles to facilitate the writing process.

The writing phase, which involves composing and inscribing, has also been affected by the internet. It is possible to plan and outline an essay using special software that is available online. Some internet technologies that promote the writing phase include speech-recognition software, ability to enter information directly through the screen, and scanning texts and images (Lannon, 2012). Microsoft suite and Google docs are examples of software that have simplified the writing process. Some writing software allow users to edit the same document at the same time, while exchanging views using instant messaging platforms that are incorporated into the software.

The third stage of the writing process is rewriting, and some of the activities involved in this stage include revising and correcting (Whitaker, 2009). Spell checker software such as Grammarly are useful tools that have affected the writing process and made rewriting a simple procedure. There are also software technologies that are able to check the grammar, syntax, and punctuation in written text (Kirszner & Mandell, 2013). Before the advent of the internet, theses process was tedious because it involved the manual reading of sentences and making the changes. However, these internet technologies automatically highlight the mistakes in a written document and gives the writer correction options. Plagiarism was also another potential problem before the internet was adopted into the learning environment. By using internet technologies that directly check evidence of plagiarized material, students are able to make revisions and avoid this vice before submitting their essays for grading.

The final stage of the writing process, post-writing has also been affected by the internet. Internet technologies offer editing and distribution opportunities that give new dimension to the writing process. Previously, essays were liner and two-dimensional. With new internet technologies, students are able to seek the comments of their peers and teachers by sharing their work. This facilitates the sharing of information and knowledge o a particular topic (Mathis, 2013). Additionally, internet technologies such as Prezi allows the addition of animation, audio, images, and video to text and this has changed how written data and information is illustrated in the classroom. Distributing student work through the internet will persuade and persuade more than the written material. With the internet, it is possible to continuously review student work and offer constructive feedback, which gives a true picture of a real0life writing process.

Conclusion

The internet has affected how writing is done, and illustrated that the writing process is more than a series of events. With the internet, it is possible to combine various skills an attitudes fro a certain purpose, which is in line with the writing process, which is a non-linear activity. Additionally, the internet encourages writing as an interactive and iterative process that enables the presentation of ideas in an intellectually exciting and rich environment. This explains the reason for the adoption of online learning platforms by learning institutions because the internet has influenced all aspects of the learning process.

References

Kirszner, L. G., & Mandell, S. R. (2013). The Concise Wadsworth Handbook. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Lannon, M. (2012). The Writing Process + New Mycomplab Access Card. Longman Pub Group.

Mathis. P. (2013). Blueprints for Writing: Building Essays. New York: Cengage Learning.

Sharples, M., & Geest, T. (1996). The New Writing Environment: Writers at Work in a World of Technology. London: Springer London.

Whitaker, A. (2009). A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Academic Papers. Academic Writing Guide.