Learning to write is one of the great challenges children face in primary grades, requiring both transcription skills (handwriting and spelling) and executive functions (EFs; working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility). Although this claim is widely accepted, the field suffers from some limitations, including few longitudinal…

Writing is a complex task that requires the activation and coordination of several processes. In addition to the research on the domain-specific factors that contribute to school achievement, there is an increasing interest on general variables, such as mindfulness. Here, we aimed to test the contribution of middle-grade students' trait…

There is a growing body of research showing that writers are influenced by motivation-related aspects. This study documents the translation process of the Portuguese version of the Writing Motivation Questionnaire and the construction of two scales to measure self-efficacy for handwriting and story writing. The psychometric properties of these…

A growing body of scholarship in the field of writing research from a cognitive perspective suggests that girls tend to outperform boys in particular writing tasks. Still, our understanding about gender differences continues to evolve. The present study specifically focused on gender differences in writing between students from Grade 4 to Grade 9.…

Writing development seems heavily dependent upon the automatization of transcription. This study aimed to further investigate the link between transcription and writing by examining the effects of promoting handwriting and spelling skills on a comprehensive set of writing measures (viz., bursts and pauses, levels of written language, and writing…