Writing Experiences, Attitudes, and Achievement of First to Sixth Graders

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of writing achievement and attitude toward writing as well as the relationship of grade level and gender to attitude toward writing. Subjects were 430 first- to sixth-grade students. Results of the analysis of students' writing competence and their attitudes toward writing support findings of prior research, namely, that grade level, gender, and attitude toward writing are very good predictors of writing achievement. Specifically, students who are in upper grades, are female, and who have more positive attitudes toward writing are more likely to be above-average writers. As a follow-up, 12 students at each grade level were randomly selected to be interviewed regarding writing tasks and activities. Results indicate that children begin school seeing writing as drawing, move to seeing it as printing, and by Grade 6 identify writing as cursive writing; and that students would improve their writing in Grade 1 by attending to surface-level features of writing, by Grade 3 “trying harder,” and by Grade 4 using specific process-writing strategies to approach the writing task.