This study examined the longitudinal relationship between early handwriting skills and the growth of spelling and reading skills in a large sample (N = 569) of 5- to 6-year-old children unselected for ability. The quality of children's handwriting was assessed using five indicators (letter form, slant, rhythm, ability, general appearance).…

Data were collected for this study early in the school year to analyze the direct and indirect effects of word-level literacy skills (word recognition, spelling, and written vocabulary use) and handwriting fluency on writing quality across three genres of typewritten papers. We further explored whether typing fluency and text generation fluency…

Data were collected for this study early in the school year to analyze the direct and indirect effects of word-level literacy skills (word recognition, spelling, and written vocabulary use) and handwriting fluency on writing quality across three genres of typewritten papers. We further explored whether typing fluency and text generation fluency…

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between language variables and writing outcomes with linguistically diverse students in grades 3-5. The participants were 197 children from three schools in one district in the mid-Atlantic United States. We assessed students' vocabulary knowledge and morphological and syntactical skill as…

National estimates of students' writing abilities in the United States indicate that in 2002, 72% of elementary-aged students were unable to write with grade-level proficiency (Persky, Daane, & Jin, 2003). Although performance feedback is one type of intervention that improves students' writing skills, no study to date has examined…

To examine the importance of manual character writing to reading in a new writing system, 48 adult Chinese-as-a-foreign-language students were taught characters in either a character writing-to-read or an alphabet typing-to-read condition, and engaged in corresponding handwriting or typing training for five consecutive days. Prior knowledge of…

There were two goals of the present study. The first was to create a scoring scheme by which 9-year-old Chinese children's writing compositions could be rated to form a total score for writing quality. The second was to examine cognitive correlates of writing quality at age 9 from measures administered at ages 6-9. Age 9 writing compositions were…

Written essays are a common feature of classroom and high stakes standardized tests at many age levels. However, little is known about how small alterations in the writing task affect students' writing, an issue made more important by the increasing use of task alterations for students with disabilities. In the present study, 140 college students…

This study investigated the cognitive effort of 5th and 9th graders while writing a text. We manipulated genre (narrative text vs. argumentative text) and tested how level of handwriting automatisation contributes to cognitive effort and fluency in writing. The participants were 23 students from Grade 5 and 21 from Grade 9, who wrote two texts…

This research investigates students' performance while writing Chinese essays using an interactive online writing system. Participants include students from two seventh-grade classes of a junior high school in Taoyuan County, Taiwan. The experimental group uses the conditioned writing interactive online system, while the control group receives…

Fifth-grade students with learning disabilities who were good (n=12) and poor (n=11) handwriters and 56 matched controls were asked to copy text under two conditions, quickly and neatly. Students with learning disabilities were not as capable of increasing writing speed and demonstrated a slower rate of speed. (Author/CR)

The representational abilities of 24 preschool children were investigated in relation to their ability to use their knowledge of graphic notation. Although the children came from similar backgrounds, their responses showed varying constructs about the appropriate graphic notation to use in referential tasks. (SLD)

Two studies examined developmental changes in handwriting variability. Results indicated that, between 3 and 5 years, the number of grip patterns that children routinely use declines and the variability associated with pen-surface positioning declines. Older 3-year-olds used an adult grip pattern more often and were less variable in pen-surface…

Annual evaluation for 5 years of the handwriting of 121 Dutch primary school children revealed that children with dysgraphic handwriting had lower fine motor ability, exhibited poorer structural performance, and, in higher grades, showed less preference for a personal style, than did other writers. Children with and without dysgraphic handwriting…

A study examined the effects of several text-entry methods, including handwriting and five computer-based approaches, in enhancing the speed of text entry for 108 students with learning disabilities. Handwriting was found to be the fastest mode of text entry, followed by word prediction. All methods improved writing accuracy. (Author/CR)