Word processing is being adopted by an increasing number of companies and government agencies because it offers a method for coping with the increasing costs of administrative services. While word processing will not affect the technical aspects of an engineer's job, it will definitely influence the way engineering communications are produced. This article describes several specific areas of engineering communications that will be impacted by word processing. In addition, general information regarding the history of word processing, its principal applications, the basic types of systems being used, a typical system configuration, and some projected developments are included. A supplementary reading list of 11 titles is also provided.