ABSTRACT We evaluate how higher- vs. lower-scoring middle-school students differ in their composition processes when writing persuasive essays from source materials. We examined differences on four individual process features–time taken before beginning to write, typing speed, total time spent, and number of words started. Next, we examined differences for four aggregated process measures: fluency, local editing, macro editing, and interstitial pausing (suspending text entry at locations associated with planning). Results showed that higher vs. lower scoring students were most consistently differentiated by total time, number of words started, and fluency. These differences persisted across two persuasive subgenres and two proficiency criteria, essay score and English language arts total-test score. The study’s findings give a more complete picture of how the processes employed by more- and less-successful students differ, which contributes to cognitive writing theory and may have eventual implications for education policy and instructional practice.

中文翻译：

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熟练和不熟练的学生在写作过程中有何不同？

摘要我们评估从源材料撰写有说服力的论文时，高分与低分的中学生在写作过程上的差异。我们检查了四个独立过程功能的差异-开始写之前花费的时间，打字速度，花费的总时间和开始单词的数量。接下来，我们检查了四个汇总过程度量的差异：流利性，本地编辑，宏编辑和插页式暂停（在与计划相关的位置处暂停文本输入）。结果表明，分数较高的学生与分数较低的学生在总时间，开始的单词数和流利程度方面最一致。这些差异在两个有说服力的子流派和两个熟练度标准（论文分数和英语语言艺术总测验分数）上仍然存在。