Learning to Write Effectively: Current Trends in European Research: (25 Studies in Writing)

This book provides a detailed overview of current or recent research exploring a wide range of ideas, theories, and practices around written text production. European researchers from a broad range of disciplines brought together under the European Research Network on Learning to Write Effectively were instructed to contribute short papers summarising their current activity. The papers are grouped around the four main themes. The first deals with issues around the development of basic ("low-level") writing skills, mainly in the early years of education. The second section focuses directly on issues around the teaching and learning of writing. This is divided into five parts that describe: evaluations of different forms of writing instruction, research exploring the processes by which writers learn, methods of text assessment in educational contexts, research exploring the effects of various learner and teacher variables on the development of writing skill, and conceptions of and variation in educational text genres. The third section reports research exploring effective document design. The final section has a main focus on tools for exploring the writing process.

Table of Contents:
Foreword: Writing as a Societal Question in Europe Introduction: Why We Need Writing Research SECTION 1: WRITING DEVELOPMENT 1.00.01. Introduction: Writing Development Liliana Tolchinsky 1.00.02. Early Development of Handwriting Motor Skills Olga Soler Vilageliu, Sonia Kandel and Melina Aparici Aznar 1.00.03. Effects of Orthographic Consistency on Children’s Spelling Development Marie-Claire Hazard, Bruno De Cara and Lucile Chanquoy 1.00.04. Acquisition of Spelling Skills with Regard to the Norwegian Language Astrid Skaathun and Per Henning Uppstad 1.00.05. The Impact of Open and Closed Vowels on the Evolution of Pre-School Children’s Writing Cristina Silva and Margarida Alves 1.00.06. Copying Ability in Primary School: A Working Memory Approach Christian Weinzierl, Joachim Grabowski and Markus Schmitt 1.00.07. Acquisition of Linearization in Writing, from Grades 5 to 9 Lucie Beauvais, Monik Favart, Jean-Michel Passerault and Thierry Olive 1.00.08. Construct-Relevant or Construct-Irrelevant Variance in Measures of Reading? Oddny Judith Solheim and Per Henning Uppstad 1.00.09. Studying Written Language Development in Different Contexts, Languages and Writing Systems Liliana Tolchinsky and Joan Perera 1.00.10. The Impact of Oral Language Skills on Children’s Production of Written Text Julie Dockrell, Vincent Connelly, Geoff Lindsay and Clare Mackie 1.00.11. The Development of Written Language in Children with Language Impairment Judy Reilly, Jun O’Hara, Darin Woolpert, Nayme´ Salas, Beverly Wulfeck and Liliana Tolchinsky 1.00.12. Improving Anaphoric Cohesion in Deaf Students’ Writing Barbara Arfe´, Pietro Boscolo and Silvia Sacilotto SECTION 2: LEARNING AND TEACHING WRITING 2.00.01. Introduction: Teaching and Learning Writing Montserrat Castello´ and Otto Kruse Subsection 2.01: Writing Instruction 2.01.01. Implementation of Self-Regulated Writing Strategies in Elementary Classes Sandra Budde 2.01.02. Evaluating Cognitive Self-Regulation Instruction for Developing Students’ Writing Competence Raquel Fidalgo, Mark Torrance, Patricia Robledo and Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a 2.01.03. Are Help Levels Effective in Textual Revision? Olga Arias-Gundı´n and Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a 2.01.04. A Spanish Research Line Focused on the Improvement of Writing Composition in Students With and Without LD Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a and Esther Garcı´a-Martı´n 2.01.05. Results of Writing Products After a Motivational Intervention Programme According to Students’ Motivational Levels Ana M. de Caso and Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a 2.01.06. Can Different Instructional Programmes Achieve Different Results on Students’ Writing Attitudes and Writing Self-Efficacy? Ana M. de Caso and Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a 2.01.07. Enhancing Writing Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Students With Learning Disabilities Improves Their Writing Processes and Writing Products Ana M. de Caso and Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a 2.01.08. Comparative Studies of Strategy and Self-Regulated Interventions in Students With Learning Disabilities Raquel Fidalgo and Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a 2.01.09. Instructional and Developmental Online Approaches of Writing Composition in Students With and Without Learning Disabilities Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a, Marı´a-Lourdes A ´ lvarez, Carmen Dı´ez and Patricia Robledo 2.01.10. Effective Characteristics of Intervention Programmes Focused on Writing and Agenda Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a and Esther Garcı´a-Martı´n 2.01.11. Improving Struggling Writers via Digital Recordings Margunn Mossige and Per Henning Uppstad 2.01.12. Non-Fiction Writing in Lower Secondary School Anne Ha˚land 2.01.13. Observational Learning in Argumentative Writing Martine Braaksma, Gert Rijlaarsdam and Huub van den Bergh 2.01.14. Hypertext Writing: Learning and Transfer Effects Martine Braaksma, Gert Rijlaarsdam and Huub van den Bergh 2.01.15. Effective Instructional Strategies in Collaborative Revision in EFL: Two Empirical Studies Elke Van Steendam, Gert Rijlaarsdam, Lies Sercu and Huub van den Bergh 2.01.16. Tutoring the End-of-Studies Dissertation: Helping Psychology Students Find Their Personal Voice When Revising Academic Texts Montserrat Castello´, Anna In˜esta, Marta Pardo, Eva Liesa and Reinaldo Martı´nez-Ferna´ndez 2.01.17. Learning Philosophy by Writing in a Community of Learning Mariona Corcelles and Montserrat Castello´ 2.01.18. Improving Students’ Academic Writing: The Results of Two Empirical Projects Helmut Gruber, Birgit Huemer and Markus Rheindorf 2.01.19. Classroom Teaching of Writing Throughout Schooling Luı´sa A ´ lvares Pereira, Ineˆs Cardoso and M. Jose´ Loureiro 2.01.20. Teaching Reading and Writing to Learn in Primary Education Isabel Martı´nez, Elena Martı´n and Mar Mateos 2.01.21. Effects of Being a Reader and Observing Readers on Argumentative Writing Noreen S. Moore and Charles A. MacArthur 2.01.22. Writing and Text Genre Acquisition Among 4- to 8-Year-Old Icelandic Children Rannveig Oddsdo´ttir, Freyja Birgisdo´ttir and Hrafnhildur Ragnarsdo´ttir 2.01.23. Parental Intervention in Improving Children’s Writing and Their Achievement Patricia Robledo and Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a 2.01.24. Supporting Children in Improving Their Presentation of School Reports Hans van der Meij Subsection 2.02: Learners’ Writing Processes 2.02.01. Explaining Knowledge Change Through Writing Veerle Baaijen, David Galbraith and Kees de Glopper 2.02.02. Patterns of Meta-Cognitive Processing During Writing: Variation According to Reported Writing Profile Marion Tillema, Huub van den Bergh, Gert Rijlaarsdam and Ted Sanders 2.02.03. Formulating Activities in L1 and L2 and Their Relation With Text Quality Daphne van Weijen, Marion Tillema and Huub van den Bergh 2.02.04. Relationship Between Text Quality and Management of the Writing Processes Caroline Beauvais, Thierry Olive and Jean-Michel Passerault 2.02.05. Spanish Children’s Use of Writing Strategies When Composing Texts in English as a Foreign Language Jose´ Marı´a Campillo Ferrer, Sonia Lo´pez Serrano and Julio Roca de Larios 2.02.06. The Effects of Dyslexia on the Writing Processes of Students in Higher Education David Galbraith, Veerle Baaijen, Jamie Smith-Spark and Mark Torrance 2.02.07. Subcomponents of Writing Literacy: Diagnosis and Didactical Support Joachim Grabowski, Michael Becker-Mrotzek, Matthias Knopp, Nicole Nachtwei, Christian Weinzierl, Jo¨rg Jost and Markus Schmitt 2.02.08. What Expert Writers Do When They Don’t Solve Problems? Literate Expertise Revisited Atle Skaftun and Per Henning Uppstad 2.02.09. Effects of Creative Writing on Students’ Literary Response Tanja Janssen 2.02.10. Writing Summaries and Syntheses to Learn in Secondary and Higher Education Isabel Sole´, Mariana Miras, Marta Gra`cia, Nuria Castells, Sandra Espino, Mar Mateos, Elena Martı´n, Isabel Cuevas and Ruth Villalo´n Subsection 2.03: Text Assessment 2.03.01. CEFLING: Combining Second Language Acquisition and Testing Approaches to Writing Maisa Martin, Riikka Alanen, Ari Huhta, Paula Kalaja, Katja Ma¨ntyla¨, Mirja Tarnanen and A ˚ sa Palviainen 2.03.02. Designing and Assessing L2 Writing Tasks Across CEFR Proficiency Levels Riikka Alanen, Ari Huhta, Maisa Martin, Mirja Tarnanen, Katja Ma¨ntyla¨, Paula Kalaja and A ˚ sa Palviainen 2.03.03. What Is ‘Improvement’ in L2 French Writing? Cecilia Gunnarsson 2.03.04. DESI — Text Production Astrid Neumann 2.03.05. Indicator Model of Students’ Writing Skills (IMOSS) Astrid Neumann and Swantje Weinhold 2.03.06. Assessment of Written Proficiency: Finnish-Speaking University Students Writing in Swedish A ˚sa Palviainen 239 2.03.07. Development of Written and Spoken Narratives and Expositories in Icelandic Hrafnhildur Ragnarsdo´ttir Subsection 2.04: Learner and Teacher Variables 2.04.01. What Do Portuguese University Students Say About Their Writing in Exams? Jose´ Branda˜o Carvalho 2.04.02. The Impact of Educational Experiences on Writing Processes and Products Florentina Nicola´s Conesa 2.04.03. Taking and Using Notes and Learning Approach in University Students Sandra Espino and Mariana Miras 2.04.04. The Effect of Beliefs on Writing Synthesis from Multiple Texts Mar Mateos, Isabel Cuevas, Elena Martı´n, Ana Martı´n, Maria Luna, Gerardo Echeita, Mariana Miras, Isabel Sole´, Nuria Castells, Sandra Espino and Marta Minguela 2.04.05. The Dynamics of Writing Beliefs and Composing Strategies Florentina Nicola´s Conesa 2.04.06. Does the Quality of Teaching Determine Students’ Achievement in Writing? Deilis-Ivonne Pacheco-Sanz, Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a and Carmen Dı´ez 2.04.07. Perspective Taking: A Prerequisite of Communicative Writing Markus Schmitt and Joachim Grabowski 2.04.08. Development of Fluency in First and Foreign Language Writing Eva Lindgren, Kirk Sullivan and Kristyan Spelman Miller 2.04.09. Writing Counter to Personal Opinion: Can Advanced Communication Students Set Aside Their Own Understanding of a Field? Denis Alamargot and Ce´line Beaudet 2.04.10. Peer Interaction in Students With/Without Learning Disabilities in Writing (LD, NLD and ADHD) Carmen Dı´ez, Deilis-Ivonne Pacheco-Snaz and Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a Subsection 2.05: Genre in Educational Contexts 2.05.01. Academic Genres in French Humanities Isabelle Delcambre and Christiane Donahue 2.05.02. Comparing Genres of Academic Writing: Abstracts and Summaries Cornelia Ilie 2.05.03. Writing Cultures and Student Mobility Otto Kruse 2.05.04. Students’ Conceptions About Academic Writing Ruth Villalo´n and Mar Mateos SECTION 3: DOCUMENT DESIGN 3.00.01. Introduction: Design of Written Professional Documents Franck Ganier 3.00.02. Four Characteristics of Procedural Texts Franck Ganier 3.00.03. The Anatomy of Procedural Instructions Michae¨l Steehouder 3.00.04. Some Constraints on the Processing of Procedural Instructions Franck Ganier 3.00.05. Textual Motivational Elements in Cell Phone User Instructions Nicole Loorbach and Joyce Karreman 3.00.06. Enhancing the Design of Instructions for Use: A Contribution of Cognitive Psychology Franck Ganier 3.00.07. Writing Easy-to-Read Documents for People With Intellectual Disabilities R. Ignacio Madrid, Vicenta A ´ vila, Inmaculada Fajardo and Antonio Ferrer 3.00.08. Reading Strategies and Cognitive Load: Implications for the Design of Hypertext Documents R. Ignacio Madrid, Jose´ J. Can˜as and Herre van Oostendorp 3.00.09. Designing Multimedia Documents for the Workplace Patricia Wright 3.00.10. Ide´e Suisse: Language Policy and Writing Practice of Public Service Media Journalists Daniel Perrin, Marcel Burger, Mathias Fu¨rer, Aleksandra Gnach, Michael Schanne and Vinzenz Wyss SECTION 4: TOOLS FOR STUDYING AND SUPPORTING WRITING 4.00.01. Introduction: Tools for Studying and Supporting Writing: Technological Advances in Writing Research Luuk Van Waes and Anne Mangen 4.00.02. Eye and Pen: A Device to Assess the Temporal Course of Writing Production — Three Studies Denis Alamargot 4.00.03. EyeWrite — A Tool for Recording Writers’ Eye Movements Mark Torrance 4.00.04. Reading During Text Production Roger Johansson, Victoria Johansson, A ˚ sa Wengelin and Kenneth Holmqvist 4.00.05. Inputlog 4.0: Keystroke Logging in Writing Research Marie¨lle Leijten and Luuk Van Waes 4.00.06. Fluency in Second-Language and in Mother-Tongue Writing Processes Maarit Mutta 4.00.07. Handwriting versus Typewriting: Behavioural and Cerebral Consequences in Letter Recognition Jean-Luc Velay and Marieke Longcamp 4.00.08. Text Production in Handwriting versus Computer Typing Roger Johansson, Victoria Johansson and A ˚ sa Wengelin 4.00.09. The Visual Writer Gunn Helen Ofstad Oxborough 4.00.10. Computer Capture of Writing Under Keyboard and Handwriting Conditions Kristyan Spelman Miller 4.00.11. Memory for Word Location: Studies in Writing Nathalie Le Bigot, Jean-Michel Passerault and Thierry Olive 4.00.12. Writing with PowerPoint Gisella Paoletti 4.00.13. Modelling Writing Phases Daniel Perrin and Marc Wildi 4.00.14. Design of an Open Corpus and Computer Tool for Writing Development and Instruction among 8 to 16 Years Old Students With and Without Learning Disabilities Esther Garcı´a-Martı´n and Jesu´s-Nicasio Garcı´a 4.00.15. Developing Writing Through Observation of Writing Processes Using Keystroke Logging Eva Lindgren and Kirk Sullivan 4.00.16. The Haptics of Writing: Cross-Disciplinary Explorations of the Impact of Writing Technologies on the Cognitive-Sensorimotor Processes Involved in Writing Anne Mangen and Jean-Luc Velay Author Index Subject Index List of Volumes

Review :
"Learning to write effectively contributes to our fundamental knowledge of how we learn to write in many different contexts and how this is changing with the advent of new technology. The book adds to our knowledge, and it does so from an unusual—European—perspective. Researchers in the field will find it a useful resource for finding out what is going on and for making contact with European colleagues." James Hartley, British Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 70-71.