The Relationship between Writing Knowledge and Writing Performance among More and Less Skilled Writers

Saddler, Bruce; Graham, Steve

doi:10.1080/10573560701277575

Cited by 80 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Likewise, in several other studies, students with greater discourse knowledge created better text than those with less discourse knowledge (e.g., Englert, Raphael. Fear, & Ander son, 1988;Fidalgo, Torrance, & Garcia, 2008;McCutchen, 1986;Olinghouse & Graham, 2009;Saddler & Graham, 2007). Research has further demonstrated that directly teaching discourse knowl edge improves children's writing performance (see meta-analysis by Graham, McKeown, Kiuhara, & Flarris, 2012;Graham & Perin, 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 90%

The relationship of discourse and topic knowledge to fifth graders’ writing performance.

Olinghouse¹,

Graham²,

Gillespie³

2015

Journal of Educational Psychology

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This study examined whether discourse and topic knowledge separately predicted the overall quality and the inclusion of basic genre elements in 5th grade students' stories, persuasive papers, and informational text once the other type of knowledge as well as topic interest, spelling, handwriting fluency, length of text, and gender were controlled. Fifty students (25 girls, 25 boys) wrote a story, persuasive paper, and informative text about outer space. In addition, students' discourse knowledge, knowledge about the writing topic, interest in the topic, and handwriting fluency were measured. Discourse knowledge made a unique and statistically significant contribution to the prediction of the quality and inclusion of genre-specific elements in story, persuasive, and informational writing beyond topic knowledge and 5 control variables (i.e" gender, topic interest, handwriting fluency, spelling accuracy, and text length). Topic knowledge also predicted story, persuasive, and infor mational writing quality beyond discourse knowledge and the 5 control variables. Further, topic knowledge predicted the inclusion of genre-specific elements in informational text. These findings supported the proposition that discourse and topic knowledge are important ingredients in children's writing and provided support for the architecture of the knowledge-telling model (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987).

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confidence: 90%

The relationship of discourse and topic knowledge to fifth graders’ writing performance.

Olinghouse¹,

Graham²,

Gillespie³

2015

Journal of Educational Psychology

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“…Struggling writers often lack knowledge about what constitutes good writing and the writing process (Englert, Raphael, Fear, & Anderson, 1988;Saddler & Graham, 2007), For example, struggling writers may view the purpose of writing as producing a neat composition with good spelling but not recognize the higher order writing components such as organization and effective communication. In addition, these students often utilize a writing approach that minimizes or eliminates the writing process Graham & Harris, 1997), which can result in impoverished ideas for writing, shorter written text, disorganized compositions, and surface edits rather than revisions that improve writing quality substantially (e,g,, Graham, 1990Graham, , 1997, Because of their writing difficulties, students may lack the motivation to write and, therefore, avoid writing in both personal and school contexts.…”

Section: Use Research-based Instructional Methods and Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective Writing Instruction for Students Who Have Writing Difficulties

Santangelo¹,

Olinghouse²

2017

Exceptional

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Writing well is not just an option for young people-it is a necessity. Along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic requirement for participation in civic life and in the global economy. Yet every year in the United States large numbers of adolescents graduate from high school unable to write at the basic levels required by colleges or employers.... Because the definition of literacy includes both reading and writing skills, poor writing proficiency should be recognized as an intrinsic part of this national literacy crisis. (Graham & Perin, 2007b, p. 3) As Graham and Perin (2007b) assert, the ability to compose represents a fundamental and essential competency for children and adults alike. Writing is one of the most powerful tools we have for learning and for demonstrating what we know. Therefore, difficulties with writing create significant barriers in education, employment, and other life pursuits (Graham, 2006b).Despite the importance of writing, assessment data indicate that we are not yet highly effective at helping students gain the critical knowledge and skills required for competent narrative, expository, and persuasive prose. For example, according to the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 33% of eighth graders and 24% of 12th-graders were classified as proficient writers (Salahu-Din, Persky, & Miller, 2008). The NAEP data further documented that students with disabilities are at particularly high risk for writing difficulties, as the percentage of eighth-and 12th-grade students with disabilities classified as "proficient" writers was 6% and 5%, respectively (see , for a review of research related to writing difficulties among students with disabilities).In this article, we offer a synthesis of contemporary qualitative and quantitative research related to one of the most critical elements vis-à-vis improving struggling writers' performance: effective writing instruction. To facilitate understanding and implementation of the findings from what is, ináeed, a substantial body of literature, we have organized our discussion into four overarching recommendations:1. Establish the context for effective writing instruction. 2. Use research-based instructional methods and practices. 3. Teach writing strategies. 4. Teach word-, sentence-, and paragraph-level skills.

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“…Write an advisory letter to the head of school.' Such knowledge can further be gathered by interviewing students about the purpose of writing; what good writers do when they compose; why some students have difficulty with writing; and what advise they would give a friend when planning and revising, constructing a specific type of paper, or when writing a paper for a younger student (Gillespie, Olinghouse, & Graham, 2013;Saddler & Graham, 2007).…”

Section: What Students Thinkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Writing education around the globe: introduction and call for a new global analysis

Graham

Rijlaarsdam

2016

Read Writ

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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 paper 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 call for a new international study of writing, one that takes more descriptive rather than a comparative approach.

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The Relationship between Writing Knowledge and Writing Performance among More and Less Skilled Writers

Cited by 80 publications

References 14 publications

The relationship of discourse and topic knowledge to fifth graders’ writing performance.

The relationship of discourse and topic knowledge to fifth graders’ writing performance.

Effective Writing Instruction for Students Who Have Writing Difficulties

Writing education around the globe: introduction and call for a new global analysis

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