Once in a great while, a paper crosses my desk that leaves me thinking “wow!” This paper was written as an exploratory study to learn about the use of digital tools by writing professionals when writing in their first or second language. The research questions include:

(1) Do writing professionals use digital tools?

(2) What factors influence their use of digital tools?

(3) What kinds of tools comprise the writer’s toolkit?

Participants in the study were members of the European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW) and of the Israel Forum for Academic Writing (IFAW). The results are based on 103 recipients. Through analyzing the results, the author classifies the tools into eight main groups: research tools; resources (guides, tutorials, and online libraries); organizational tools; focusing and prodding tools; language tools; collaboration tools; design and graphic tools; and reference and bibliography tools. Then comes the best part: table 1 provides subtypes and examples, each with an online link to assist the reader.

The author invites readers to share their personal experiences as academic writers or writing instructors. Among her suggestions for discussion are:

(1) Do instructors feel that digital tools can benefit their students’ writing? If so, what types of tools?

(2) How should digital tools for writing be evaluated?

Whereas all the research questions are answered fully, it is table 1 that confirms my opinion of the value of the paper for academic writing. Graduate course instructors and academic writers owe the author a debt of gratitude for the hours of searching that would be required to unearth this treasure trove of resources.