To test the hypothesis that induced mental imagery would facilitate the contemplation and reflection that have been suggested as being important to the writing process, a study investigated the effects of instructions to induce mental imagery upon the written language of young children. Subjects, 28 third grade children, were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: one group received instructions to induce mental imagery, while the other group received instructions to "think about" what they read. After silently reading a section of a story, subjects were asked to predict what would happen next. Analysis of results revealed no significant difference between the two groups for thought units, facts, or predictions, but a statistically significant difference in favor of the imagery group was found for total number of words written. This difference in the number of words written suggests that mental imagery is a viable strategy for young writers. (JL)