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Focus Group on Computer
Tools Used for Professional
Writing and
Preliminary Evaluation of
LinguisTech
Marie-Josée Goulet and Annie Duplessis
University of Quebec in Outaouais
Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Introduction

What is professional writing?

The production of documents such as letters, newsletters,
policies, guidelines, releases, annual reports, legal
documents or procedural documents, in a professional
setting (L’intervention: usages et méthodes, Céline
Beaudet, 1998)
Which computer tools are used by professional
writers?
Are these tools meeting their needs?
Do writers know what these tools can do?
Outline of presentation

Report on an exploratory study on computer tools
used for the production of written documents in the
work place
Description and analysis of LinguisTech (web site for
language professional)
Exploratory Study on Computer Tools
Used by Professional Writers
Focus Group
Number of participants: 8
Profile:
3 to 12 years experience in professional
writing
Sector of activity: government and parapublic, enterprise,
non-profit organisation, professional association, print
media

Lenght of discussion: 2 sessions of 1.5 hour
Recorded discussion
Analysis from transcripts
Results – Information Research and Processing

Documents consulted = electronic format
Personal files, intranet or internet
Newspapers, annual reports, web pages, social
networks

Immensity of the web

Duplication of documents

Processing information:
Using available search engine in conventional
operating system
Copying and pasting parts of source documents in a
thematic text file

Search engine:
Requires research using lexical variants and synonyms
Duplicate of documents = increased difficulty in
processing
Produces a lot of non relevant information (noise)

Copy-and-paste
Loss of information = difficulty in interpreting
information
Difficulty in organising copied parts in the target
document

Results – Information Structuring

Planification of ordering

Using a word processor
No participants use mind mapping tools
Results – Writing

Use of traditional language technologies
Text correction software (Word, Antidote)
Electronic dictionaries (Le Petit Robert, Le Grand Robert
et Collins, Word Reference)
Terminology data banks (Termium Plus, Le Grand
dictionnaire terminologique)

Results – Revising and Document Transmission

Revising
Use of Word’s advanced functions (track changes,
comments)
Use of same language technologies than during writing

Results – Revising and Document Transmission

Document Transmission
Emails
Use of web-based file hosting services
Groupware (Google Documents)

The practice of group writing is growing
(Interacting with Computers, Adler et al., 2006)
Summary of computer tools used by participants
Research &
Processing
Structuring
Writing
Revising &
Transmitting
Web search engine
Text processor
Text processor
Text processor
Email
Text correction
software
Text correction
software
Operating system
Dictionaries
Dictionaries
Office tools (text
processor, database)
Terminology data
banks
Terminology data
banks
*Information and
document management
software*
*Writing memory
system*
File hosting service
Collaborative
platform
Email
General Conclusions
Most important problems reported
Conventional operating systems are not effective to
retrieve information or documents on personal
computers
Access to more specialised tools such as writing memory
systems is difficult
Desktop is cluttered up with too many computer tools
and windows
Training on computer tools is needed

Preliminary Evaluation of LinguisTech
Description of LinguisTech www.linguistech.ca

Launched in September, 2011
Developed by the Language Technologies Research
Center (LTRC)
Funded by the Government of Canada’s Canadian
Language Sector Enhancement Program
Description of LinguisTech

Toolbox for language professionals offering
language technologies in both Canadian official
languages (French and English)

Documentation and training centre

Virtual community

Toolbox (41 tools for language professionals)
Free online tools
Virtual desktop = software language tools already
configured and installed

LinguisTech virtual desktop

Type of tools: office tools, search engines, text correction
software, text analysis software, concordancers,
dictionaries and terminology tools, translation and
localization tools
Documentation and training center
Tutorials and exercices for tools included in the toolbox as
well as for concept mapping tools and text aligners
Analysis

How does LinguisTech respond to professional
writers’ needs in terms of computer tools and
training material?
Can LinguisTech solve any of the problems
mentioned by our participants?
Analysis – Information Research and Processing

Useful tools (ex.: Microsoft Office, Windows)

Tutorials or exercices available for many of the tools
No tool, tutorial or exercise related to email
No solution provided to meet the need for more
effective information retrieval systems
Analysis – Information Structuring

Text processor available

Training available
Analysis – Writing

Text processor, text correction software, dictionaries
and terminology data banks available

Tutorials and exercises available
No specialised tools such as writing memory nor
training material available
Analysis – Revising and Document Transmission

No hosting services (ex. Dropbox) nor collaborative
platforms (ex. Google Documents) in toolbox

No tutorials and exercices for those tools
Many useful computer tools, but no interface to
integrate them in an ergonomic way
General Conclusions

Most of the computer tools used by the participants
of the focus group when producing a written
document are available on LinguisTech
Need for integration of more effective information
and document management systems and specialised
writing tools (ex. authoring memory systems)
General Conclusions

Tutorials and exercises provide an effective solution
to absence of training on information and language
technologies
LinguisTech could serve as an introduction to new
tools
Conclusion

Professional writers could not work without the
computer tools they mentioned during the focus
group, but they would welcome training as well as
more specialised writing tools
LinguisTech is useful for professional writers, but it
would be better adapted for their work if it was to
offer more effective information and document
mangagement systems, specialised writing tools,
and training material on collaborative platforms
References

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