I went to college about 30 years ago. At that time, there were copiers but not computer. I used to avoid doing written reports all the time. Once my teacher assigned one to me, I had to go to library as soon as possible and search for the information I needed for that report. If I was lucky, I could borrow the reference books I needed in time and spent a long time copying down the material word for word by hand. If those books had been checked out, I had to rush to another library to take a chance. I was a poor students couldn't afford expensive books at all.
Nowadays, things are totally different. Computers come in so handy that almost every student has one of his/her own. No matter when he/she has to write out a report, he/she can take his/her time. All he/she has to do is click open the computer and type in key words .....