Problems and Benefits | A Study of the Problems | Rating Changes | The Future | Works Cited The Future: Implications, More Research, and Directions Research and discussion shows there are many problems students, and other users, have with hypertext including navigation and disorientation, closure, a higher cognitive load, link structures, and concerns over missing information. However, these problems vary depending on whether the student is reading/writing hypertext or Webtext. I found that students have less severe problems with Webtext, suggesting that somehow Webtext better matches their needs and expectations. Some of the difficulties with hypertext and Webtext seem to be the result of users applying linear text conventions to the new multilinear genre of hypertext. This application of an incorrect genre causes problems of surprise and understanding. Many researchers suggest study and practice may aid users in hypertext use, perhaps affecting the interface difficulties the users have. The study I conducted shows that student who took a survey in Spring of 2001 had less problems with hypertext then those who took the same survey almost a year earlier (summer 2000). Perhaps increased experience with Webtext, which often uses some conventions of hypertext, gives the practice some researches think will help students become more comfortable with hypertext. Future research should examine how students experience with hypertext impacts their level of problems with hypertext. We should also look at how the application of different genre conventions might cause some of the problems students are having.