Working Memory and Transcription in a Written Composition Task in Second-Grade Children

Written composition relies on both domain-specific (i.e., transcription) and domain-general (i.e., working memory) processes. This study investigates the direct and indirect (via transcription) relationship between working memory (WM) and written composition in beginner Italian writers. This investigation extends previous knowledge since we consider how text quality and productivity are directly and indirectly (via spelling and via handwriting) related with WM. Seven hundred-fifty Italian children (mean age: 7 years and 7 months, SD = 5.90; female, 53%) attending second-grade. Participants were administered three handwriting tasks, three spelling tasks (dictation of words, nonwords, and text), two WM tasks and a written composition task (writing a narrative text). Using a structural equation model we found that transcription skills affect the text quality and the productivity (the number of words written) of the written composition task. Spelling affects the text quality whereas handwriting affects productivity. WM is not directly related to written composition, but it is related to text quality via spelling and to productivity via handwriting. Overall, these results extended previous studies, since we focused on the direct and indirect role of WM on written composition, finding that its role is primarily mediated by transcription skills in beginner writers.