It assumes that the reader knows nothing about computers and their potential. The next chapter, more specific to English instruction, includes a list of commercial sources for computer-based materials and suggests guidelines for developing computer lessons. Finally, the booklet tells how to evaluate courseware and concludes with a bibliography and brief glossary. These link theory and practice but appear contrived, and it is difficult to see how these could be very helpful. Another problem here is the bias toward computer assisted instruction as opposed to other computer applications.
Word processing is given only two paragraphs.
This bias is more understandable when we consider that the booklet was published two years ago and was perhaps written before the word processing boom. Despite its brevity and superficiality, this booklet may continue to provide English teachers with a non-threatening, quick introduction to computers before they move on to more substantial fare. While Computers in the English Classroom places undue emphasis on CAI, the thirteen essays collected and edited by William Wresch in The Computer in Composition Instruction constitute a balanced survey of recent developments on several fronts. Most of the contributors are university teachers of English who have distinguished themselves for their early work in this fledgling field. The samples of computer dialogue found throughout the essays help to illustrate the packages described.