Dimensionality and Predictors of Written Composition for First-Grade Students in Korea

• In Event: Written Language Studies Across Culture

Abstract

In this study, we examined dimensionality of children’s written composition, and the relations of various language and literacy predictors to the multiple dimensions of written composition. Written composition was evaluated by various scoring approaches. Predictors of children’s performance on written composition included oral language, spelling, reading, and letter writing automaticity. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the following multiple dimensions were identified in children’s written composition: macro organization, linguistic complexity, productivity, and spelling and writing conventions. While oral language, reading, spelling, and letter writing automaticity were all related to the four dimensions of writing, their unique relations varied for specific dimensions.
Previous studies have shown that multiple dimensions exist in written composition for children in elementary and middle school grades (Puranik, Lombardino, & Altmann, 2008; Wagner et al., 2011). Theories of developmental model of writing and empirical studies suggested that transcription related skills (e.g., spelling, handwriting fluency) and linguistic and cognitive skills are related to writing development across various stages (Berninger & Swanson, 1994). We included the following as predictors of written composition based on accumulating evidence: oral language skills (Abbott & Berninger, 1993; Kim et al., in press; Shanahan, 2006), spelling (Graham et al., 1997; Graham et al., 2002; Kim et al., in press), reading (Abbott & Berninger, 1993; Fitgzerald & Shanahan, 2000; Shanahan, 2006), and handwriting fluency (including letter writing automaticity; Berninger, Whitaker, Feng, Swanson, & Abbott, 1996; Graham, Berninger, Abbott, Abbott, & Whitaker, 1997; Kim et al., in press).
Two primary goals were (1) to examine dimensionality of children’s written composition, and (2) to examine relations of various language and literacy predictors to the identified dimensions of written composition.
Writing samples were collected from 180 first grade students in South Korea. Approximately half were girls and all were native speakers of Korean. [Measures]Written-composition. Students were asked to compose texts upon two researcher-created story prompts (Lemke, Deno, & Hall, 2003; McMaster et al., 2009). Students were given 15 minutes to complete their writing per prompt. Students’ written composition was evaluated using various scoring procedures including number of written words, number of T units, and quality of writing. Oral-language. Two language comprehension tasks were used in which the student heard brief passages and was asked comprehension questions. Reading. Children’s reading skills were assessed by multiple measures including word reading, pseudo word reading, and word reading efficiency. Spelling. A spelling dictation task was used to assess children’s spelling skills. Letter-writing-automaticity. Students’ letter writing automaticity was assessed by asking children to write as many Korean alphabet letters as possible in one minute with accuracy (Jones & Christensen, 1999; Kim et al., in press; Wagner et al., 2011).
Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the following four dimensions were identified from children’s written composition: macro organization, linguistic complexity, productivity, and spelling and writing conventions. When these four dimensions were predicted by the oral language and literacy predictors, oral language, reading, spelling, and letter writing automaticity were all related to the four dimensions of writing. However, their unique relations varied for different dimensions.

Authors

• Young-Suk Kim, Florida State University

• Chea Hyung Park, Pusan National Unversity