More than half of the entering freshmen at Rio Grande College in Ohio are required to take developmental English. In addition to having grammar, reading, and writing difficulties to overcome, most of these students have negative attitudes toward writing. In an effort to improve students' writing skills and attitudes, word processing instruction was integrated into a developmental English course. To assess the effects of word processing, two class sections, using the same syllabus and taught by the same professor, were compared in terms of attitude change, class and lab attendance, comments, quality of final papers, grades, and English usage. The experimental class spent 2 of the 3 hours of required lab time on the word processor and just 1 hour doing supplemental reading work, while the control class spent the entire lab time doing the supplemental reading. Study findings included the following: (1) the experimental class had a more positive attitude toward the course, expressing interest and enthusiasm for the word processor from the beginning; however, pre- and post-test scores on the attitude survey showed no significant differences between the two classes; (2) of the control group (N=15), six students officially withdrew and another 3 stopped coming to class, while 11 of the 12 students completed the experimental course; (3) class absences were higher among the experimental class than the control class; (4) the experimental class had a slightly higher mean score on their final papers than the control class; and (5) both classes made significant gains in English grammar and usage improvement, with the control group making greater gains. A course outline, the student survey, instruction sheets for using the word processor, writing assignments, and detailed study findings are attached. (MDB)