Studies of early writing recognize that learning to write is a complex process requiring students to attend to the composition of the text and the transcription of the ideas. The research discussed here examined six dimensions of early writing—text structure, sentence structure, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, and handwriting—and how each dimension relates to message construction. Specifically, this research aimed to consider the relationships between the authorial and secretarial aspects of writing, in order to support formative assessment and teaching. The research also considered whether there were underlying clusters of students who were engaging with the various dimensions in differing ways as they learned to craft texts. The analysis of data showed a clear conceptualization of the authorial and secretarial aspects of writing, as reflected in a tool for analysing writing. The three authorial dimensions and three secretarial dimensions of writing were well defined statistically. Three clusters of students were identified as having varying degrees of competence across the six dimensions of writing: a group with consistently low scores; a group with consistently medium scores; and a consistently high-scoring group. Attainment for SES groups was reflected in the writing dimensions, and gender differences were also evident; however, the variance explained by gender and SES was small to moderate. The study has implications for supporting students who are at present struggling with the challenges of early writing. The results suggest that when teachers address the dimensions of the writing process in combination, based on an informed analysis of students’ needs, they can focus their teaching and select instructional approaches to increase the efficacy of their teaching.

中文翻译：

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评估早期写作：六要素模型，为评估和教学提供参考

早期写作的研究认识到，学习写作是一个复杂的过程，需要学生参加课文的撰写和思想的转录。这里讨论的研究检查了早期写作的六个维度-文本结构，句子结构，词汇，拼写，标点和手写-以及每个维度与消息构造的关系。具体而言，本研究旨在考虑写作的作者和秘书方面之间的关系，以支持形成性评估和教学。该研究还考虑了是否存在潜在的学生群体，他们在学习如何制作文本时以不同的方式参与了各个方面。数据分析表明，写作的作者和秘书方面有清晰的概念，反映在用于分析写作的工具中。写作的三个作者维度和三个秘书维度在统计学上得到了很好的定义。在写作的六个维度上，确定了三类学生具有不同程度的能力：一组分数始终较低；分数始终保持中等的小组；以及得分高的团队。SES组的成就体现在写作方面，性别差异也很明显。但是，由性别和SES解释的差异很小到中等。该研究对支持目前正在努力应对早期写作挑战的学生具有启示意义。结果表明，当教师根据对学生需求的知情分析，综合考虑写作过程的各个方面时，