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From a cognitive perspective, writing is a complex and costly skill that places multiple demands on the writer (Hayes, 1996). Writing is such a complex and demanding activity that it generally takes more than two decades to achieve writing expertise (Kellogg, 2008). According to Berninger’s cognitive model (Berninger & Winn, 2006), writing relies on the interaction between transcription and high-level writing processes. 

 

In the long road to writing expertise, one of the first processes that beginning writers need to master is transcription. Transcription refers to the transformation of language representations, which draws on the integration of spelling and handwriting (or typing). Spelling involves the retrieval, assembling, and selection of orthographic symbols (i.e., spelling), whereas handwriting (or typing) involves the execution of fine motor movements required by the particular writing tool used to produce those symbols (Abbott & Berninger, 1993). Mastering transcription is important because, once handwriting gets sufficiently fast and spelling gets sufficiently accurate, writers are able to simultaneously activate the high-level writing processes that underlie expert writing (Berninger & Winn, 2006; Kellogg, 1996; McCutchen, 2006; Olive & Kellogg, 2002). According to the influential writing processes view (Hayes & Flower, 1980) The three most important high-level writing processes are planning, translating, and revising. Planning is the generation and organization of ideas along with the formulation of rhetorical goals; translating is the conversion of generated ideas into well-formed strings of language; and revising involves the monitoring, evaluation, and change of the intended and the actual written text.

 

There is considerable research demonstrating that more proficient transcription skills, in particular, more fluent handwriting and more accurate spelling, are associated with better writing quality (for reviews, see Graham & Harris, 2000; Graham & Santangelo, 2014; Santangelo & Graham, 2015). The relationship between transcription and writing performance is mostly noticeable in novice writers, who still struggle with the process of putting language onto the page. Limpo and Alves (2013) studied the contribution of transcription skills, planning, revising, and self-efficacy to text quality at two developmental points (Grades 4-6 vs. 7-9). They showed that transcription contributed to text quality directly in younger students, and indirectly, via planning and self-efficacy, in older students. Limpo et al. (2017) provided further evidence on the link between transcription and writing in Grades 7-8 by examining the mediating role of planning and translating. Results showed that the effects of transcription on writing were fully mediated by these processes: handwriting contributed to text quality through planning, and spelling contributed to text quality through translating.

 

 

Writing is a complex and demanding skill

that relies on the articulation between transcription and high-level processes.

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The cognitive problem-solving account of writing, attributes a key role to executive functions to support the enactment of transcription and high level processes (Berninger & Winn, 2006). Yet, empirical data on when and to what extent executive influence writing is scant. The M2S project aims to extend our prior work, by examining the link between executive functions and writing with a longitudinal and multidisciplinary approach.