Tools for management and support of multiple constraints in a writer's assistant.

O'Malley, C.; Sharples, M.

Abstract

A new generation of text editors act as writer's assistants, allowing the user to view and alter the organisational structure of text, as well as providing tools to support related tasks, such as spelling correction and proofreading. These systems have two important limitations: they do not appear to be derived from an explicit model of the writing process, one that is based on observations of expert writers; and, as a result, they are limited in their ability to represent and satisfy the constraints involved in writing. This paper sets out a framework for the design of a writer's assistant, based on a model derived from current research on the writing process. The system would give support to the user engaged in a variety of writing tasks, by explicitly representing the structure of text at various levels, by providing tools for the manipulation and transformation of such structures, and by taking over some of the demands of planning and constraint satisfaction.

Citation

O'Malley, C., & Sharples, M. (1986). Tools for management and support of multiple constraints in a writer's assistant. In People and Computers, Desk for Usability, Proceedings of the Second Conference of the British Computer Society; Heslington, England (115-131)

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (Published)
• Conference Name: Second Conference of the British Computer Society
• Publication Date: 1986
• Deposit Date: Aug 15, 2018
• Pages: 115-131
• Book Title: People and Computers, Desk for Usability, Proceedings of the Second Conference of the British Computer Society; Heslington, England
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1144531