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Unpacking the Complexity of Writing

Writing is a complex process that goes far beyond putting words on a page—it requires the coordination of multiple foundational skills. In this blog, Amy Siracusano, founder of Know Better Do Better Literacy, LLC, breaks down the essential components that support strong writing development, from handwriting to sentence construction. Amy recently shared these insights during a Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) webinar, Handwriting, Syntax, and the Secret Sauce of Strong Writers, where she explored how transcription and composition skills work together. Drawing on decades of experience in literacy education, she offers practical guidance to help educators build confident, capable writers. 

How Does the Conceptual Model, The Not So Simple View of Writing Inform Instruction?  

Not So Simple View of Writing model (Berninger & Winn, 2006), is an organizational framework that examines the connection among multiple components of writing.  The model outlines four components required of writers and of writing tasks.  At the center of the model is cognitive flow that includes short and long-term memory.  Long-term memory involves planning, composing, and reviewing writing.  Short-term memory involves review and revising writing.  The model also includes transcription or foundational writing skills such as handwriting, spelling, and spatial organization.  Another essential component is text generation or composition which includes the writer’s ability to combine words into sentences and sentences into an organized structure for a reader. All of this is tied together by way of executive functions —mental processes that include planning, revising, self-monitoring, and regulating. Executive functions, such as planning, help students organize their thoughts and actions during writing by using tools such as graphic organizers and checklists (tools that help with structure, ideas, and critical reminders). Supervisory attention from an adult, goal setting related to the writing task, and the ability to review and revise are critical components of the writing process. Supporting executive functions in writing is crucial, but it is only one piece of the puzzle.  We must also work to develop handwriting and sentence-level skills that are necessary to support building skilled writers.  

Why is Handwriting so Important and How Can We Support Instruction? 

Handwriting is the building block needed to develop transcription skills.  It requires the integration of three things: the orthographic codes (knowledge of the letter forms), the phonological codes (letter names and sounds), and the graphomotor system (the ability to form the written shape of a letter, a number, or punctuation mark). Automaticity of these skills requires five to ten minutes of daily, intentional, systematic, explicit instruction with feedback from a trained adult over the course of about two years.  Handwriting reinforces the alphabetic principle, automatic letter retrieval, and is a vital to support written expression.  

Research informs us that automatic letter writing by hand is the best unique predictor of later composition length. Teaching handwriting to the point of automaticity—the ability to write letters without conscious thought—is essential for developing skilled writers. This begins with supporting students in developing fine motor skills (e.g., playing with playdough, closing a jacket zipper, buttoning a shirt, paper tearing, and cutting). 

In addition, we need to ensure that students have appropriate writing utensils, such as short, thin writing utensils (i.e. golf pencils). These are the best tools for little hands. By the end of kindergarten with daily practice and enough support, most students should be able to write the upper- and lower-case letters independently without prompting and without a model.  

 

How Do Transcription and Composition Skills Come Together? 

Transcription skills or foundational writing skills take years of systematic, explicit instruction and practice for automatization. Equally important are composition skills (written expression) which become increasingly strategic, beginning with sentence level instruction built on oral language. Educators can support this work by having intentional conversational exchanges with students using complete sentences.   

To support composition skills, it is important to teach students how to ask and answer questions orally. This can be done while looking at an image or listening to a story being read aloud. As an educator reads a story, they will stop at critical points, model how to ask who, what, where, and when type questions until students learn how to ask and answer these types of questions on their own. The more children learn how to ask and answer questions orally using a complete sentence, the more success they will find when they are asked to respond to text-dependent questions in print later in elementary school.  

Once students understand how to generate simple sentences they can be taught how to group sentences on the same topic together to form paragraphs.  By having a scope and sequence for language and writing standards teachers can teach writing using a progression of skills from simple to complex such as beginning instruction with simple sentences moving to complex sentences. Students need systematic, explicit, intentional practice expanding, rearranging, combining, and generating sentences.  In doing so, students will learn how words work in sentences and how to vary sentence length and complexity.  

It’s critical for us to understand that writing is a complex set of cognitive processes involving short and long-term memory, transcription, composition, and executive functions. Foundational writing instruction, such as handwriting, is essential for building transcription skills while providing instruction in oral language and sentence level development supports the building blocks for composition. With enough practice and support, a scope and sequence that builds from simple to complex, and trained educators in teaching writing all students will become skilled writers.  

 

Biography:

Amy Siracusano, the founder and owner of Know Better Do Better Literacy, LLC, is an international literacy consultant with almost 30 years of educational experience.  She’s been a classroom teacher, a Title I teacher, a literacy coach, an administrator, and currently works at Brooklyn College in New York City as an adjunct professor in the Advanced Reading Science Certificate Program.   

 

Sources: 

Ahmed, Y., Kent, S., Cirino, P. T., & Keller-Margulis, M. (2022). The Not-So-Simple View of Writing in Struggling Readers/Writers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 38(3), 272–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1948374 

Berninger, V. W., & Winn, W. D. (2006). Implications of Advancements in Brain Research and Technology for Writing Development, Writing Instruction, and Educational Evolution. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (p. 96–114). The Guilford Press. 

Berninger, V. W. (2012). Strengthening the Mind's Eye. Principal, 91(5), 28-31 

Berninger, V.W. (May-June 2012). Strengthening the Mind’s Eye: The Case for Continued Handwriting Instruction in the 21st Century. Principal, 28-31. 

Berninger, V.W. (March 2013). Educating Students in the Computer Age to Be Multilingual by  

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Berninger, V., B. Wolf, & R.D. Abbott (2016). Effective beginning handwriting instruction: multi-modal, consistent format for 2 years, and linked to spelling and composing. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Publishing. 

Berninger, V., & Wolf, B. (2019). Teaching students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, OWL LD, and dyscalculia: Lessons from teaching and science, Second Edition. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes. 

MacArthur, C. A., Graham, S., & Fitzgerald, J. (2008). Handbook of Writing Research. First edition. Guilford Press.  

MacArthur, C. A., Graham, S., & Fitzgerald, J. (2016). Handbook of Writing Research. Second edition. Guilford Publications. 

The pen is mightier than the keyboard. (2017, September 5). Microsoft News Centre Europe. https://news.microsoft.com/europe/features/new-research-underlines-the-power-of-the-pen-in-learning/ 

Van Cleave, W. (n.d.). Handwriting in a Modern World: Why it matters & What to do about it. https://www.wvced.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2022-Handwriting-Modern-World.pdf