Do Written Language Bursts Mediate the Relations of Language, Cognitive, and Transcription Skills to Writing Quality?

Abstract

In this study, we examined burst length and its relation with working memory, attentional control, transcription skills, discourse oral language, and writing quality, using data from English-speaking children in Grade 2 ( N = 177; Mage = 7.19). Results from structural equation modeling showed that burst length was related to writing quality after accounting for transcription skills, discourse oral language, working memory, and attentional control. Burst length completely mediated the relations of attentional control and handwriting fluency to writing quality, whereas it partially mediated the relations of working memory and spelling to writing quality. Discourse oral language had a suppression effect on burst length but was positively and independently related to writing quality. Working memory had an indirect relation to burst length via transcription skills, whereas attentional control had a direct and indirect relation. These results suggest roles of domain-general cognitions and transcription skills in burst length, and reveal the nature of their relations to writing quality.

Working memory and second language writing: A systematic review

“…Planning may happen before or during writing, and prewriting planning can be examined as planned notes or reflections on the planning process during planning via think-aloud protocol or after planning through stimulated recall. Translation has been investigated via oral language production (e.g., telling a narrative) based on the argument that “preverbal ideas and thoughts have to be encoded into oral language before being transcribed into written texts” (Kim & Schatschneider, 2017, p. 36), writing bursts (segments between pauses; Kim, 2022), sentence writing (Levy & Marek, 1999), or simply the first draft of a composition (Vandenberg & Swanson, 2007). In L2 research, Gunnarsson-Largy et al (2019) operationalized translation as a dictation task, and other studies used stimulated recall (Révész et al, 2017).…”

“…Kellogg et al (2013) predicted that verbal working memory is involved in programming and that spatial working memory may also be involved in execution on the grounds that "spatial parameters must be set in the motor programming of handwritten output … [and] the spatial arrangement of the keyboard must be held in spatial WM [working memory] during the programming of the ballistic finger movements that strike the keys" (p. 176). There has been evidence that transcription speed and accuracy were indeed predicted by verbal working memory (Kim, 2022) and spatial working memory (Kellogg et al, 2013) as well as phonological short-term memory (Hayes & Chenoweth, 2006). It has also been argued that the role of working memory in transcribing is more evident for children than adults (Salas & Silvente, 2020) and for an unfamiliar transcription tool such as the computer than traditional handwriting stationary (Olive, 2022).…”

Writing fluency: Its relations with language, cognitive, and transcription skills, and writing quality using longitudinal data from kindergarten to grade 2.

“…In addition, a large body of literature has shown the relations of working memory and attentional control (Bourdin & Fayol, 1994; Hayes & Chenoweth, 2007; Kim & Schatschneider, 2017; Olive, 2004), oral language skills (Babayiğit, 2014; Coker, 2006; Kim et al, 2011, 2015), and transcription skills (Graham & Santangelo, 2014; Santangelo & Graham, 2016) to writing quality. Second, as reviewed above, studies have also demonstrated the relation of writing fluency to writing quality (Almond et al, 2012; Friedlander, 1989; Kim, 2022; Limpo & Alves, 2017).…”

“…First, we examined a theoretically guided mediation of writing fluency. Despite the assumed relations among writing component skills, writing fluency, and writing quality, studies that explicitly examined the mediating role of writing fluency are highly limited, and exceptions include the two studies reviewed above (Kim, 2022; Limpo & Alves, 2017). Second, we used longitudinal data from kindergarten to Grade 2 to examine mediation, whereas the two previous studies used cross-sectional data.…”

“…Based on previous studies and theories, we hypothesized that writing fluency would predict writing quality (e.g., Connelly et al, 2012; Kim, 2022; Limpo & Alves, 2017). We also hypothesized that writing fluency would, in general, mediate the relations of working memory, attentional control, handwriting fluency, spelling, vocabulary, and grammatical knowledge to writing quality.…”