Discourse-level oral language, spelling, and handwriting fluency completely mediate the relations of language and cognitive skills to writing quality in Grade 1¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · checked against its sources 2026-10-24 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Among four DIEW model variations, the complete mediation model best described the data: discourse-level oral language and transcription skills directly related to writing, while other language and cognitive skills related to writing only indirectly. → Kim Young-Suk Grace 2017 q2 i? The complete mediation model explained approximately 67% of variance in writing quality and 62% of variance in discourse-level oral language. → Kim Young-Suk Grace 2017 (2)

Evidence¶

Kim Young-Suk Grace 2017¶

Kim Young-Suk Grace, Schatschneider Christopher. (2017). Expanding the developmental models of writing: A direct and indirect effects model of developmental writing (DIEW). Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000129

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Structural equation modeling with 193 Grade 1 children compared four DIEW variations; chi-square difference tests showed no differences between models (0.12 ≤ Δχ2 ≤ 1.96), and direct paths in partial mediation models were nonsignificant (ps ≥ .19), so 'the complete mediation model (Figure 3a) was chosen as the final model.'

"Therefore, based on parsimony and the chi-square test results, the complete mediation model (Figure 3a) was chosen as the final model."

Kim Young-Suk Grace 2017 (2)¶

Kim Young-Suk Grace, Schatschneider Christopher. (2017). Expanding the developmental models of writing: A direct and indirect effects model of developmental writing (DIEW). Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000129

q2 · i? · associational · r2

In the final complete mediation SEM model (Figure 6), the included language and cognitive skills explained '67% of variance in writing' and 62% of variance in discourse-level oral language for the 193 Grade 1 children.

"A total of 67% of variance in writing and 62% of variance in discourse-level oral language were explained."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Communication Skills — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Oral Language — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Writing Skills — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Total effects on writing quality are largest for discourse-level oral language (.46), working memory (.43), and spelling (.37) — related
• Working memory is a foundational cognitive skill for language and transcription skills, but its relation to writing is primarily mediated by other component skills — related
• Total effects of oral language, cognition, transcription, and reading comprehension vary largely across the three dimensions of written composition — related
• Discourse oral language is strongly related to writing quality and reading comprehension but unrelated to writing productivity in Grade 2 — related
• Discourse-level oral language is directly predicted by theory of mind, vocabulary, and working memory, but not inference or grammatical knowledge, in Grade 1 — related
• Inference, but not theory of mind, is independently related to writing quality after accounting for transcription skills and working memory — related