This research aims at exploring in an irregular orthographic system like French, if spelling is related to written composition. French spelling is particularly interesting because it includes phonographic irregularities (i.e., inconsistencies), lexical difficulties and numerous morphological silent marks (e.g., plural noun, adjective, and verb…

Multiple factors simultaneously interact during the writing process. The effect of these interacting factors must be considered if writing is studied as a dynamic and complex process that constantly changes. Based on that premise, the study aims to determine how the interaction between the reading medium and the communicative purpose of a writing…

The reactivity of think-alouds (TAs) (i.e., their effects on thinking) has remained an inevitable concern whenever their use is considered or evaluated. This paper reports findings from a study that involved 85 Chinese sophomores, who, having received some instruction in diction, and then written a narrative in English as a baseline task,…

In Higher Education (HE), writers need to regulate their writing processes in order to achieve their communicative goals. Although critical for academic success and knowledge construction, writing regulation processes have been mainly researched in compulsory education rather than in HE, with no systematic review focused on this context. The…

Working memory has been proposed to account for the differential rates in progress young children make in writing. One crucial aspect of learning to write is the encoding (i.e., integration) and retrieval of the correct phoneme-grapheme pairings, known as binding. In addition to executive functions, binding is regarded as central to the concept of…

This paper presents a special issue on writing around the globe. Researchers from across the world describe writing practices in their country using a wide variety of methodology. The papers show that while there are many similarities in writing instruction from one country to the next, there are also many differences. As a result, the authors…

Since its advent word processing has become a common writing tool, providing potential advantages over writing by hand. Word processors permit easy revision, produce legible characters quickly, and may provide additional supports (e.g., spellcheckers, speech recognition). Such advantages should remedy common difficulties among weaker…

The purposes of this review were to determine: (1) if different writing activities were more effective than others in improving students' reading comprehension, and (2) if obtained differences among writing activities was related to how reading comprehension was measured? Meta-analysis was used to examine these questions across studies involving…

A focused scientific research effort on writing research and its relationship to language development and reading is needed to address the writing and broader literacy needs of today's and tomorrow's learners and workers. In the United States, as well as in many other nations, research on writing has been neglected in relation to the emphasis on…

Distinguishes two aspects concerning the production of shapes in handwriting--the spatial variability of letters and the geometric characteristics of letter shapes. Investigates adults' handwriting of a simple letter sequence under different conditions. Finds that alteration of geometric aspects of letters across changed circumstances does not…

Finds that subjects were less able to detect errors in self-generated essays than in unfamiliar other-generated essays but were better able to detect errors in familiar other-generated essays than in unfamiliar ones. Finds also that the disadvantage for proofreading self-generated text is a by-product of extreme familiarity. (RS)

Discusses basic strokes, stroke sequence rules, and motor aspects of drawing in writing Chinese characters. Finds mastery of proper stroke sequence is low even for familiar characters. Discusses three main groups of errors children made. Explores educational implications for the teaching of stroke sequences in the teaching of handwriting based on…

Studies use of cohesion in written stories of normally developing and language-learning disabled elementary children using Cohesive Harmony Analysis. Finds the proportion of words in chains (cohesive density) and chain interaction (cohesive harmony) was consistent across the elementary years. States that children with language-learning…

Presents 4 experiments to examine the mechanism behind choice of script type in Japanese writing. Suggests that there are no implicit relationships between semantic images of script types and personal names in Japanese writing. Hypothesizes two tentative cognitive models to explain how Japanese people select a particular type of script from three…

Finds that lower-level developmental variables are related to beginning writing skills. Identifies an orthographic-linguistic dimension and an automaticity dimension in the battery of developmental skills and writing products. (RS)