New Term: Prescripts

In discussing the influence of templates, I will suggest the term prescripts for that which is already written before you begin, that is, the parts of the work that are pre-written in the template.

I will argue that it is meaningful to discern between (at least) three kinds of prescripts. They are different kinds, as they influence the creation process in different ways:

  • Interface prescripts reduce the means of expression available to the user.
  • Design prescripts add semiotic modes to the ones the user creates.
  • Genre prescripts lock the creation to a certain genre.

Although computer authoring with templates may resemble earlier forms of creation (forms that users are familiar with), it is also different in that the prescripts are so very visible and rigid. I argue that prescripts are a new form of creation based on the variability and the "creativity by selection" so typical of computer media.

If we are to teach students how to be computer literate, we must direct their attention to the different prescripts of different authoring tools. We cannot escape templates and their prescripts, but every user should ideally be aware of them, be able to choose to work with them or against them, and then also choose alternative templates when available and suitable.

Let us look at the three kinds of prescripts in more detail:

Next: Interface Prescripts >>