A study determined if cross-age pairing of first-grade and sixth-grade students would have an effect on writing achievement. For 6 weeks, one group of beginning first-grade writers was paired with more able sixth-grade developing writers, while another group of beginning first-grade writers and sixth-grade developing writers was not cross-age paired. The four groups (all students in the Union County, New Jersey, school district) were given a writing sample and a writing survey before and after the project period. A picture response writing sample and an opinion writing survey of how students perceive themselves as writers and how they think others perceive them as writers were identical for each sixth-grade and each first-grade group. The average gain in holistic scoring results of the paired sixth-grade group was significant when compared with those of the non-paired sixth-grade writers. Ideas and content, word choice, and total words written increased more in the paired group than they did in the non-paired group. In addition, many useful writing skills were shared between paired writers and a friendship developed between many partners. The tutors needed to increase their skills to provide the support necessary to help the grade 1 students. Paired students asked questions, discussed the writing process and sentence structure, and organized their thoughts together. (Attached are 6 appendixes of research materials; contains 39 references.) (Author/TB)