Four overlapping areas of exploration have sparked creative thought about computers and their relationship to writing. The area receiving the most attention is computers and writing pedagogy. Some of the directions taken by research in this area have focused on computers and the composing process; computers, writing instruction, and learning style; computers and exchanging information about writing; computers and responses to student writing; and writing aids. The second area of exploration takes into consideration the theoretical implications of computers and revolves around the following theoretical perspectives: communication, language, and rhetoric and writing processes. The third area of exploration considers computers from a historical perspective--the history of the machines and how they have been used in communication, information exchange, and education. The final area of exploration considers computers from a knowledge base outside the discipline, including computer science, psychology, brain research, and ethics. As computers continue to be added to the writing environment, it becomes all the more important to integrate what has already been discovered about the composing process with these four areas of investigation. (HOD)