Proposes a theoretical information-processing-based neuropsychological model of writing and oral spelling which contains linguistic and motor components and which helps explain agraphia independently of other language disorders. Disruption of the phonological system is thought to cause phonological agraphia. Disruption of the lexical system is…

It is hypothesized that the readers of an essay respond to a variable in terms of its context with other variables. Sex, race, reader expectation, and quality of handwriting were crossed to study their interaction effects. Results showed complex interactions of expectations, writing, and sex within race. (Author/LMO)

Investigated the relationship between hand writing posture and cerebral dominance of 48 left handed writers and 25 right handed writers. Determined that cerebral dominance is related to handedness and to whether or not the writing hand posture is normal or inverted. (SL)

This book is written to support parents and practitioners who wish to understand movement and how it contributes to all aspects of learning--intellectual, social and emotional, as well as the movement/motor aspect itself. Moreover, as there is a huge increase in the number of children with movement learning difficulties (Keen, 2001), that is…

Relates the variations in scribal spacings found in hand-produced Old English manuscripts to linguistic features of the text, including the syntactic structures as identified by immediate constituent analysis. (VJ)

Researchers investigated whether using modern writing tools--mechanical pencils, felt-tip pens, and other devices--would improve the legibility of first-grade students' handwriting. Results showed that children using these tools wrote no better than those using primary pencils. Teachers' practices did influence legibility, however. (PP)

Directional preference for horizontal hand movements was investigated in 49 right- and 49 left-handed four-year-olds using three drawing tests. Directionality for more complex perceptual-motor tasks has a different basis than directionality for simple tasks; such directionality is established at a later age but only for the right hand. (Author/CM)

Word processing may change how people learn to write. The use of a word processor to teach a sixth grader with writing problems showed how the machine can alleviate problems involving writing with pencil and paper, correcting errors, evaluating and revising, and producing a good-looking text. (RW)

Discusses the effects of variability in the shapes of letters on their legibility; summarizes experiments to compare the relative advantages of cursive and block capital writing, to determine the time taken to prepare handwriting movements, and to assess the variability of the timing of movements in handwriting. (Author/GT)

A comparison of compositions written by 19 sixth graders using pencil and paper with those written by 19 sixth graders using word processors found that though the quality of writing, accuracy of grammar, and reading ease did not differ between the two approaches, students using computers wrote more words and sentences. (PEN)

Examined whether writing and working memory (WM) were related to general or process-specific system, whether WM tasks operated independently of phonological short-term memory (STM), and whether WM predicted writing variance beyond that predicted by reading. Found a four-factor model reflecting phonological STM, verbal WM span, executive…

Describes how one urban elementary school turned itself around to become one of the best in the country by using handwriting as a common focus. The emphasis on handwriting served as a springboard for student achievement across the curriculum. A sidebar presents "Diagnosis through Handwriting," a guide to detecting children's allergic reactions.…

The paper examines ways to use word processing programs to ameliorate children's writing problems. Case studies of three children contrast samples of their handwritten work and their compositions using word processing A list of word processing programs for use with children with special needs is included. (Author/DB)

Examines how three and four year olds assert identity, connection to family and peers, and power through early writing skills. (HTH)

Presents results of an experiment seeking relationships between motor activities and more central language production processes. Concludes that the same motor program was used for occurrences of repeated morphemes in the experiment. Reports that nonrepeated morphemes were recovered from verbal memory while the preceding repeated morpheme was being…