Josh Whitney

Dr. Cassel
English Composition II
November 23, 2015
Writing Technologies
Question: What types of writing median do Sinclair students prefer when producing a
paper?
Abstract
With the introduction of many new technologies, new ways and forms of writing
have emerged. It seems as if everything can be done online and through a computer.
Observing others at Sinclair paints a picture of this new age of technology. Seemingly
everyone doing schoolwork is either on a laptop, computer, or mobile phone. Very rarely
will you see students using a pen and paper to do assignment. Through a survey,
results had shown that to be very true. Most students prefer to do their writing on some
form of computer technology. Whether it is texting, social media, or writing a paper,
technology seems to be taking over the way we write.
Key Words
Writing
Technology
Students
Sinclair
Surveys

Introduction
The key audience of this study is Sinclair students and also the staff. Readers
will benefit from this by learning the way other students prefer to write and maybe
changing their way to write in response. With the changing and introduction of new
technologies, finding new and improved ways to write is essential for every college
student. The benefits of finding new writing methods can include a quicker and easier
way to write as well as a better paper being produced. Students may still use a pen and
paper that have yet to truly write on computers. This is relevant in many students who
are older. Finding new ways to write may improve performance.
Methods
The first thing we did was come up with a valid question that went a long with the
White Papers. With technology becoming more prevalent, we wanted to do a study to
see how people preferred to do their writing. First we observed other students around
us and went to the library at Sinclair. We noticed that nearly every student was either
working on a computer or on their mobile phones. We saw very little people who used a
pen and paper. From this information we hypothesized the results of a survey we would
write and assumed that most people prefer to use technology. From there we created a
survey of a few simple questions such as Which Technologies do you use most while
writing? We administered the survey through emails to students and got 76 students to
take the survey. We then collected the information from the surveys and drew
conclusions from the information we received.

Social Media

Laptop

Academic
Desktop
Texting
Paper/Pen
Personal
Phone

Laptop

18-21
22-30

Desktop

31-45
Phone

46-60

Typewriter

Results
The following results to the survey that we created are shown above. The first
chart is the results of the question: What type of writing do you do most in everyday life?
We concluded that most people who answered the survey used texting as their number
one form of writing. Academic writing followed shortly after. The second chart to the top
left is the results of the question: Which technologies do you use most when writing?
We concluded that most people either use a laptop or smartphone when writing. The
third chart to the bottom left is the results to the question: What technology would you
recommend to a friend when writing? We concluded that most people would
recommend the use of a laptop when writing. Lastly, the last chart was a simple
question asking of people's age. We found that most people who took the survey were
between the ages of 18 to 21.

Conclusion
From the information that we collected from the observations and survey
we concluded that most students at Sinclair prefer to write using technologies such as
computers, laptops, and smart phones. This information can be useful to current
students who are still using pen and paper in helping them to find new and more
efficient ways to write. This information, however, could be much more accurate if more
people would have taken the survey. Also asking more questions could help to create a
more accurate project.
I read another database article within the Sinclair Library that had to do with
writing proficiency with technology. The survey was conducted with graduating students
in capstone classes. The study found that students who were given a tutorial on how to
write with laptops better produced better papers. The more familiar a student was with
his or her computer, the better they were able to write.
Works Cited
McGill, Murray R. Millson Patsy Tinsley. "Technology Improves Undergraduate
Sentence-Level Writing Skills." International Journal Of Learning Technology 2 (2015):
Academic OneFile. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.