Textual Grounding: How People Turn Texts into Tools

<jats:p> The author argues that users see texts as tools when they recognize the texts' specific value and function within highly localized use settings. The author argues that users “ground” their texts to local use settings by altering the ways in which the texts structure and represent information (e.g., underlining, annotation, and sketching). The author discusses three practices by which texts are grounded as tools in document reviews: mode shifting, layering, and marking. These practices reflect different ways by which users add, subtract, and restructure information in a text so that it is usable under very specific conditions. This article explores document review as a practice in which grounding is the object of discussion (how others use the reviewed documents) and a practice by which review is facilitated. These observations will be important for exploration of technology to support “grounding” practices. </jats:p>