@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Education, Faculty of"@en, "Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Ferris, Judith Ann"@en ; dcterms:issued "2010-05-25T02:06:26Z"@en, "1984"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Arts - MA"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """This exploratory study examined the effect of a process-oriented writing programme on reading skills during one semester in which students were given writing, but not formal reading instruction. Twenty-five students enrolled in English 11 during the first semester served as the experimental group, while twenty-five students not taking English 11 first semester served as a control group. The experimental group participated in a process-oriented writing programme, Writing 44, for nineteen weeks. Both groups were pre-and posttested with the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2 and the Writing 44 Diagnostic Test, Forms C and D, the latter a locally-developed criterion-referenced test of writing skills. Independent t-tests and Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance were used to compare pre-and posttest scores of reading comprehension and vocabulary on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2, and pre-and posttest scores of writing on the Writing 44 Diagnostic Test. A Pearson R Correlation was also carried out to examine relationships between reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing. T-tests for independent samples showed a non-significant difference favouring the experimental group in the vocabulary subtest. The Repeated Measures of Analysis of Variance showed no group differences on the vocabulary subtest, but there was a significant time effect (p <.01). There was no significant difference in the comprehension subtest on either t-tests or Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance. Both t-tests and Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance showed the experimental group made significant gains in writing after participating in the Writing 44 Programme for one semester. In the control group, the writing pretest correlated with both comprehension and vocabulary posttest, significant at .05; the writing posttest correlated with both comprehension and vocabulary pre-and posttests at the .01 level. In the experimental group, the writing pretest correlated with both comprehension and vocabulary pre-and posttests at the .01 level. Writing posttest correlations were non-significant. A process-oriented writing programme did not improve reading comprehension for this selected group of Grade Eleven students during one semester, but it did improve writing ability. The distinction is made that while two areas of language processing are related to each other, the relationship is not necessarily a causal one. The implication is that while reading and writing are related, improvement in one area of language processing does not necessarily result in improvement in another. It is recommended that research be carried out in the following areas: !) a longitudinal study of reading and writing; 2) a study in syntactic growth in writing and reading comprehension; 3) a study of the effect of sentence combining and reading and writing; 4) a comparison of the writing subskills scores and reading comprehension scores; 5) a study of the traits of good readers/poor writers and poor readers/good writers; 6) use of other evaluative instruments, such as cloze, to measure reading achievement; 7) a study on how the reading-writing relationship is affected by different kinds of prose and different modes of writing; 8) a study of the effect of oral language on writing."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/24994?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "WRITING INSTRUCTION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE READING A B I L I T I E S OF SELECTED GRADE ELEVEN STUDENTS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY by JUDITH ANN FERRIS B.A., B i s h o p ' s U n i v e r s i t y , 1963 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n t h e DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION We a c c e p t t h i s t h e s i s as c o n f o r m i n g t o t he r e q u i r e d s t a n d a r d 6b THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August 1984 © J u d i t h Ann F e r r i s , 1984 In presenting t h i s thesis i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements fo r an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of t h i s t h e s i s for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. I t i s understood that copying or publication of t h i s thesis for f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Language Education The University of B r i t i s h Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 Date August 31, 1984 Abstract This exploratory study examined the effect of a process-oriented writing programme on reading s k i l l s during one semester i n which students were given writing, but not formal reading ins t r u c t i o n . Twenty-five students enrolled i n English 11 during the f i r s t semester served as the experimental group, while twenty-five students not taking English 11 f i r s t semester served as a control group. The experimental group participated i n a process-oriented writing programme, Writing 44, for nineteen weeks. Both groups were pre-and posttested with the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2 and the Writing 44 Diagnostic Test, Forms C and D, the l a t t e r a locally-developed criterion-referenced test o f writing s k i l l s . Independent t-tests and Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance were used to compare pre-and posttest scores of reading comprehension and vocabulary on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 o and 2, and pre-and posttest scores of writing on the Writing 44 Diag-nostic Test. A Pearson R Correlation was also carried out to examine relationships between reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing. T-tests for independent samples showed a non-significant d i f f e r -ence favouring the experimental group i n the vocabulary subtest. The Repeated Measures of Analysis of Variance showed no group differences on the vocabulary subtest, but there was a s i g n i f i c a n t time effect ( p ^ . 0 1 ) . i i There was no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e i n the comprehension subtest on e i t h e r t - t e s t s or Repeated Measures A n a l y s i s of Variance. Both t - t e s t s and Repeated Measures A n a l y s i s of Variance showed the experimental group made s i g n i f i c a n t gains i n w r i t i n g a f t e r p a r t i c i -p ating i n the W r i t i n g 44 Programme f o r one semester. In the c o n t r o l group, the w r i t i n g p r e t e s t c o r r e l a t e d with both comprehension and vocabulary p o s t t e s t , s i g n i f i c a n t at .05; the w r i t i n g p o s t t e s t c o r r e l a t e d with both comprehension and vocabulary pre-and p o s t t e s t s at the .01 l e v e l . In the experimental group, the w r i t i n g p r e t e s t c o r r e l a t e d with both comprehension and vocabulary pre-and p o s t t e s t s at the .01 l e v e l . W r i t i n g p o s t t e s t c o r r e l a t i o n s were n o n - s i g n i f i c a n t . A process-oriented w r i t i n g programme d i d not improve reading comprehension f o r t h i s s e l e c t e d group of Grade Eleven students during one semester, but i t d i d improve w r i t i n g a b i l i t y . The d i s t i n c t i o n i s made that while two areas of language pro-cessing are r e l a t e d to each other, the r e l a t i o n s h i p i s not n e c e s s a r i l y a causal one. The i m p l i c a t i o n i s that while reading and w r i t i n g are r e l a t e d , improvement i n one area of language processing does not n e c e s s a r i l y r e s u l t i n improvement i n another. I t i s recommended that research be c a r r i e d out i n the f o l l o w i n g areas: !) a l o n g i t u d i n a l study of reading and w r i t i n g ; 2) a study i n s y n t a c t i c growth i n w r i t i n g and reading comprehension; 3) a study of the e f f e c t of sentence combining and reading and w r i t i n g ; i v 4) a comparison of the writing s u b s k i l l s scores and reading comprehension scores; 5) a study.,of the t r a i t s of good readers/poor writers and poor readers/good writers; 6) use of other evaluative instruments, such as cloze, to measure reading achievement; 7) a study on how the reading-writing relationship i s affected by different kinds of prose and different modes of writing; 8) a study of the effect of oral language on writing. V TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ' i i LIST OF TABLES v i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v i i i Chapter I THE PROBLEM 1 Background of the Study 2 Statement of the Problem 4 Design of the Study 4 Questions f o r I n v e s t i g a t i o n 6 N u l l Hypotheses 6 S i g n i f i c a n c e of the Study 7 L i m i t a t i o n s of the Study 7 D e f i n i t i o n of Terms 9 Organization of the Paper 9 I I REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 11 C o r r e l a t i o n a l and D e s c r i p t i v e Studies 11 Teaching Reading to Improve W r i t i n g S k i l l s . . . 16 Teaching W r i t i n g to Improve Reading S k i l l s . . . 19 General Composition and Reading 20 Sentence Combining and Reading Comprehension • . 25 Chapter Summary 31 I I I RESEARCH DESIGN AND PROCEDURES ' . . 33 Research Design 33 N u l l Hypotheses 34 Sample 35 Instrumentation 35 Treatment 37 Data C o l l e c t i o n 41 Data Processing and A n a l y s i s 41 v i Chapter IV ANALYSIS OF DATA 43 Reading Results 44 Reading Pretest Results 44 Reading Pretest Results - Vocabulary . . . 46 Differences - Vocabulary 47 Reading Posttest Results - Comprehension . . 48 Differences - Comprehension 49 Writing Results 50 Writing Pretest Results 51 Writing Posttest Results 52 Differences - Writing 52 Reading, Comprehension, Vocabulary and Writing Relationships . . . . 54 Relationships of Reading and Writing i n Control Group 54 Relationships of Reading and Writing i n Experimental Group 56 Summary 58 V RESULTS, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . 60 Results 60 Reading Changes - Vocabulary Measure . . . 60 Reading Changes - Comprehension Measure . . 62 Writing Changes 63 Changes i n the Relationships between Reading and Writing 63 Control Group Findings 64 Experimental Group Findings 64 Implications and Recommendations 65 Suggestions for Research 68 REFERENCES 72 APPENDIX A 7$ v i i LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page 1 Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, F o r m l , Level F, Vocabulary Subtest 45 2 Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Form 1, Level F, Comprehension Subtest 46 3 Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Form 2, Level F, Vocabulary Subtest . . . . 47 4 Repeated Measures A n a l y s i s of Variance of Gates-M a c G i n i t i e Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2, Vocabulary Subtest Scores . 48 5 Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Form 2, Level F, Comprehension Subtest 49 6 Repeated Measures A n a l y s i s of Variance of Gates-M a c G i n i t i e Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2, Comprehension Subtest Scores 50 7 W r i t i n g 44 Diagnostic Test, Form C 51 8 W r i t i n g 44 Diagnostic Test, Form D . . . . . 52 9 Repeated Measures A n a l y s i s of Variance of the Wr i t i n g 44 Diagnostic Test, Forms C and D 53 10 Pearson Product Moment C o r r e l a t i o n s between Reading and W r i t i n g Scores of the Cont r o l Group on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2, and the W r i t i n g 44 Diagnostic Test, Forms C and D 55 11 Pearson Product Moment C o r r e l a t i o n s between Reading and W r i t i n g Scores of the Experimental Group on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2, and the W r i t i n g 44 Diagnostic Test, Forms C and D 57 v i i i Acknowledgements It i s with pleasure that the writer acknowledges her gratitude to those who have contributed i n so many ways to th i s study: To my advisor, Dr. Geraldine Snyder, for her patience, assistance, and encouragement, making th i s an invaluable learning experience. To Dr. Jane Catterson for her interest, substantive comments, and guidance. To Dr. Harold Ratzlaff for his clear explanations of the fine points of research design and s t a t i s t i c s . To Mr. Bob Prosser for his assistance i n computer programming and i n t e r -pretation of the results of the study. To Dr. Leo Marshall, Superintendent of the School D i s t r i c t of North Vancouver, and Mr. Howard Cross, Language Arts Consultant for the School D i s t r i c t of North Vancouver, for their support and encouragement i n making i t possible for me to conduct the study, and for permission to reprint Writing 44 material. To Mr. Ed C o l l i n s , P r i n c i p a l of Carson Graham Secondary School, and the English teachers of the school, for their co-operation i n the study. To Mrs. Marjory P e l l s , who typed not only t h i s thesis, but also much of the o r i g i n a l Writing 44 material. To my mother, my four children, and above a l l , my husband, B i l l , who encouraged me and often put my needs before their own. CHAPTER I The Problem The interrelationships of reading and writing have been the focus of a great deal of research (Armstrong, 1976; Dechant, 1970; Loban, 1966; Moffett, 1968; Robinson, 1963; Robinson and Burrows, 1974; Smith, 1971; Spache and Spache, 1969). Many studies indicated that achievement i n one language s k i l l correlates with achievement i n another language s k i l l (Applebee, 1977; Chomsky, 1973; Crews, 1971; Obenchain, 1971; Reed, 1967). Notwithstanding the correlations between language s k i l l s found i n many studies (as Belanger (1978) pointed out), a corre l a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n -ship i s not the same as a causal relationship. In his study, a programme that improved reading, for example, did not produce an improvement i n writing s k i l l . An examination of the l i t e r a t u r e bears out Belanger's conclusion. With the exception of a few studies the evidence shows that attempts to improve writing by teaching reading or to improve reading by teaching writing have been f r u i t l e s s . Stotsky (1975), i n fact, i n her review of l i t e r a t u r e on reading and writing relationships, concluded that although the assumption that improvement i n one area would naturally result i n improvement i n another had had great influence on teaching practices, 1 2 the assumption had l i t t l e e m p i r i c a l b a s i s . In a s i m i l a r review of l i t e r a t u r e , Shanahan (1980) s t a t e d that most of the s t u d i e s on the r e l a t i o n s h i p s of reading and w r i t i n g had been done i n a g l o b a l , c o r -r e l a t i o n a l manner and d i d not warrant the c o n c l u s i o n that a focus of a t t e n t i o n on one process would r e s u l t i n improvement i n another. Despite t h i s expert agreement about the lack of c l e a r evidence to show that i n s t r u c t i o n i n one language process w i l l produce b e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t s i n another, school systems continue to produce c u r r i c u l a based on that idea and seldom seek to t e s t i t s v a l i d i t y . I t i s suggested here that s p e c i f i c research i s needed by a l l school boards whose teachers use c u r r i c u l a based on an assumption that language processes i n t e r a c t to t h e i r mutual b e n e f i t . U n t i l such research i s done, teaching w i l l be based on i n v a l i d assumptions. Background of the Study In 1978 r e s u l t s of the B r i t i s h Columbia Assessment of Written Expression showed th a t of the 31 w r i t i n g s k i l l s assessed, Grade Twelve students were rated s a t i s f a c t o r y on only three. E n g l i s h placement t e s t s such as those used by B r i t i s h Columbia u n i v e r s i t i e s f o r entrance showed poor r e s u l t s . As a r e s u l t , i n a d e s i r e to improve w r i t i n g , the North Vancouver School D i s t r i c t decided to i n v e s t i g a t e the p o s s i b i l i t y of producing a process-oriented w r i t i n g programme modelled on \" P r o j e c t L i t e r a c y \" of the Huntington Beach Union High School D i s t r i c t , C a l i f o r n i a , 3 a programme that had been based, i t was claimed, on research i n the composing process (Beach, 1976; B r i d w e l l , 1980; Emig, 1971; Matsuhashi, 1979; P e r l , 1979; Pianko, 1979; Squire and Applebee, 1968). In A p r i l , 1980, the Programme and Development D i v i s i o n of the school d i s t r i c t organized workshops f o r E n g l i s h teachers to l e a r n about P r o j e c t L i t e r a c y . A f t e r the E n g l i s h teachers had expressed overwhelming support f o r a programme of t h i s type s i x t e e n teachers worked f u l l t i m e over one summer to adapt P r o j e c t L i t e r a c y f o r North Vancouver schools. The r e s u l t was the l o c a l l y - d e v e l o p e d w r i t i n g programme, Wr i t i n g 44. W r i t i n g 44 was designed, i t was claimed, to address and expand on the f o l l o w i n g goals of reading and w r i t i n g i n s t r u c t i o n as d e l i n e a t e d i n the Secondary Guide to the Teaching of E n g l i s h 8-12 (1978) of the B.C. M i n i s t r y of Education: Develop i n students a range of reading.and study s k i l l s ( u n d e r l i n i n g added). Help students develop appropriate s k i l l s f o r w r i t i n g sentences, paragraphs, and essays. Provide students with o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r w r i t i n g various types of prose. Help students develop wide speaking, l i s t e n i n g , reading, and w r i t i n g v o c a b u l a r i e s ( u n d e r l i n i n g added). Encourage students to express themselves i n a v a r i e t y of genres. The W r i t i n g 44 Teachers' Manual s t a t e s as w e l l , \" Writing 44 w i l l a l s o improve students' speaking, l i s t e n i n g , and reading s k i l l s \" (p.12). As no research was a v a i l a b l e to s u b s t a n t i a t e t h i s c l a i m , i t must 4 be thought to have been based on the assumption from the l i t e r a t u r e r e l a t i n g reading and writing s k i l l s , that improvement i n one area of language w i l l produce improvement i n another. As an adjunct to the curriculum two types of testing were proposed: The Writing 44 Diagnostic Test and an impromptu writing sample. The Diagnostic Test includes the subsections apostrophes, c a p i t a l i z a t i o n and s p e l l i n g ; commas, quotation marks and related punctuation, semi-colons, colons and dashes; subject-predicate agreement, verb usage, pronoun usage, preposition usage, misplaced modifiers, and d i c t i o n a r i e s and Thesaurus, vocabulary. Marking i s objective. The impromptu writing sample i s on a given t o p i c , marked h o l i s t i -c a l l y by a trained group of English teachers. Statement of the Problem The study examines the e f f e c t of the Writing 44 programme on reading s k i l l s during one semester i n which students were given writing, but not formal reading i n s t r u c t i o n . Design of the Study The study examined the influence of writing i n s t r u c t i o n on the reading a b i l i t y of Grade 11 students at Carson Graham Secondary School, North Vancouver. Twenty-five students enrolled i n English 11 during the f i r s t semester served as the experimental group, while twenty-five 5 students not t a k i n g English 11 f i r s t semester served as a c o n t r o l group. Both groups'were pretested i n May, 1982, with the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Form 1 and the W r i t i n g 44 Diagnostic Test, Form C, the l a t t e r a l o c a l l y developed c r i t e r i o n - r e f e r e n c e d t e s t to t e s t w r i t i n g s k i l l . The experimental group engaged i n the W r i t i n g 44 Programme f o r 19 weeks, from September, 1982 to January, 1983. As Carson Graham Secondary School i s on the semester system, Grade Eleven students are e n r o l l e d i n W r i t i n g 44 f o r only one semester. In January, 1983, the experimental group was post-tested with the Gates Ma c G i n i t i e Reading Test, Level F, Form 2 and the W r i t i n g 44 Diagnostic Test, Form D. One week l a t e r , i n February, 1983, the beginning of second semester, the c o n t r o l group was p o s t - t e s t e d , using the same measures. Independent t - t e s t s and Repeated Measures A n a l y s i s of Variance were used to compare pre-and p o s t - t e s t scores of reading comprehension and vocabulary on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2. The same measures were computed on the pre-and p o s t t e s t of the W r i t i n g 44 Diagnostic Test. A Pearson R C o r r e l a t i o n was a l s o c a r r i e d out to examine r e l a t i o n s h i p s between reading comprehension, vocabulary, and w r i t i n g . Permission f o r t h i s study was granted by the A s s i s t a n t Superin-tendent of the North Vancouver School D i s t r i c t , the Language Arts Consultant, and by the P r i n c i p a l of Carson Graham Secondary School. 6 Q u e s t i o n s f o r I n v e s t i g a t i o n S p e c i f i c a l l y , the f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s were a d d r e s s e d : 1. Was t h e r e a d i f f e r e n c e i n the r e a d i n g a b i l i t y o f Grade E l e v e n s t u d e n t s who p a r t i c i p a t e d in the W r i t i n g 44 programme f o r one se m e s t e r and t h o s e who d i d not p a r t i c i p a t e f o r t h a t s e m e s t e r ? 2. Was t h e r e any d i f f e r e n c e i n the w r i t i n g a b i l i t y o f s t u d e n t s who p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e W r i t i n g 44 programme f o r one semester and t h o s e who d i d not p a r t i c i p a t e f o r t h a t s e m e s t e r ? 3. Were t h e r e any c o r r e l a t i o n s among r e a d i n g a b i l i t i e s and w r i t i n g a b i l i t i e s o f s t u d e n t s who p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e W r i t i n g 44 programme f o r one semester and t h o s e who d i d not p a r t i c i p a t e f o r t h a t s e m e s t e r ? S p e c i f i c a l l y between c o n t r o l and e x p e r i m e n t a l g r o u p s ' a:. . w r i t i n g p r e t e s t and v o c a b u l a r y pre-and p o s t - t e s t s b- w r i t i n g p r e t e s t and comprehension pre-and p o s t - t e s t s c. w r i t i n g p o s t - t e s t and v o c a b u l a r y pre-and p o s t - t e s t s id. w r i t i n g p o s t - t e s t and comprehension pre-and p o s t - t e s t s . N u l l Hypotheses The f o l l o w i n g n u l l h y p otheses were t e s t e d f o r the s t u d y : 1. There w i l l be no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e i n r e a d i n g a b i l i t y as measured by the G a t e s - M a c G i n i t i e Reading T e s t , Forms 1 and 2, L e v e l F, between t h o s e s t u d e n t s who p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the W r i t i n g 44 programme f o r one semester and t h o s e who d i d not p a r t i c i p a t e f o r t h a t s e m e s t e r . 7 2. There w i l l be no s i g n i f i c a n t difference i n writing a b i l i t y as measured on the Writing 44 Diagnostic Test, Forms C and D, between those students who have participated in the Writing 44 programme for one semester and those who have not participated for that semester. 3. There w i l l be no s i g n i f i c a n t correlations between reading comprehension as measured on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Forms 1 and 2, Level F and writing a b i l i t y as measured on the Writing 44 Diagnostic Test, Forms C and D. S p e c i f i c a l l y .\"between control and experimental groups' a. writing pretest and vocabulary pre-and post-tests b. writing pretest and comprehension pre-and post-tests c. writing post-test and vocabulary pre-and post-tests d. . writing post-test and comprehension pre-and post-tests. Significance of the Study The results of a study on any perceived effect of the Writing 44 Programme on students' reading a b i l i t y should prove valuable For future planning and assessment of process-oriented writing programmes i n the community involved, contribute to the growing body of research on the influence of writing on reading achievement, and suggest further factors to explore with reference to writing growth and concommitant growth i n reading. Limitations of the Study There are three l i m i t a t i o n s to the study: 8 1. The study, confined to a randomly s e l e c t e d group of Grade Eleven students at Carson Graham Secondary School i n North Vancouver, took place over only one semester. While a semester may not be s u f f i c i e n t to show d e f i n i t i v e r e s u l t s , trends i n the data may be h e l p f u l to educators. 2. The r e s u l t s of the study apply to the North Vancouver School population f o r whom the Wr i t i n g 44 Programme was developed. Only i n s o f a r as the sample r e f l e c t s the l a r g e r population can the r e s u l t s be gen e r a l i z e d to other groups. 3. The study i s l i m i t e d to the use of two measures, the Gates-Ma c G i n i t i e Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2, reading comprehension and vocabulary s u b t e s t s , and the W r i t i n g 44 Diagnostic Test, Forms C and D. While h o l i s t i c scores on students' w r i t i n g samples (ranging from 1 to 6) were f e l t to be too gross a measure for s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s , the researcher had hoped to examine the c o n t r o l and experimental groups' w r i t i n g samples i n order to measure growth i n s y n t a c t i c fluency. How-ever, the i n d i v i d u a l scores became u n a v a i l a b l e during the course of the study. The scored w r i t i n g samples were not re t a i n e d by the D i s t r i c t . The study was l i m i t e d to measuring reading a b i l i t y by the subtests of vocabulary and comprehension of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2, g e n e r a l l y used by the D i s t r i c t of North Vancouver, and to measuring w r i t i n g a b i l i t y on the Writing 44 Diagnostic 9 Test, Forms C and D, a criterion-referenced test developed by the District. Thus, the findings can be generalized only to these particular tests. Definition of Terms Vocabulary scores are defined as those scores obtained on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2. Comprehension scores are defined as those scores obtained on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level F, Forms 1 and 2. Writing scores are definedas those scores obtained on the Writing 44 Diagnostic Test, Forms C and D. Organization of the Paper The report i s organized into five chapters as follows: 1. Chapter One provides an introduction and overview of the study. This chapter discusses the nature of the problem, provides the back-ground of the study, the rationale, problems and hypotheses, states the significance and limitations of the study, defines terms, and gives an overview of the organization of the study. 2. Chapter Two contains the review of literature. This chapter outlines research on the relationship of reading and writing and examines in detail correlational and descriptive studies in reading and writing, studies which attempt to teach reading in order to improve writing 10 s k i l l s , and the converse, those teaching writing to improve reading s k i l l s . The chapter ends with a section on the effects on sentence combining on reading comprehension. 3* Chapter Three,describes the experimental procedures. This chapter describes the research design, states the hypotheses, de t a i l s the sample, instrumentation, treatment, and data c o l l e c t i o n , and explains the data processing and analysis of the data. The chapter ends with a discussion of the l i m i t a t i o n s of the study. 4. Chapter Four describes the analysis and evaluation. This chapter reports the reading pre-and post-test r e s u l t s , writing pre-and post-test r e s u l t s , and correlations between reading and writing results. This chapter also includes appropriate charts and tables i l l u s t r a t i n g the data. 5. Chapter Five includes the r e s u l t s , implications and recommendations. This chapter discusses the results of the investigation of the effect of writing i n s t r u c t i o n on reading a b i l i t y and makes recommendations for further research into the nature of the relationship between reading and writing. CHAPTER I I Review o f t h e L i t e r a t u r e The purpose o f t h e c h a p t e r i s t o p r e s e n t r e s e a r c h on t h e r e l a t i o n -s h i p o f r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g . The c h a p t e r b e g i n s w i t h summaries o f c o r r e l a t i o n a l and d e s c r i p t i v e s t u d i e s o f r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g . F o l l o w i n g a r e summaries o f s t u d i e s t h a t a t t e m p t e d t o t e a c h r e a d i n g i n o r d e r t o improve w r i t i n g s k i l l s . . The r e v i e w o f l i t e r a t u r e c o n c l u d e s w i t h summaries o f s t u d i e s t h a t a t t e m p t e d t o t e a c h w r i t i n g t o improve r e a d i n g s k i l l s . The r e v i e w i s i n t e n d e d t o e s t a b l i s h t h e r e s e a r c h base f o r e x a m i n i n g t h e q u e s t i o n o f whether r e a d i n g a b i l i t y w i l l i mprove as a r e s u l t o f a p r o c e s s - o r i e n t e d w r i t i n g programme i n use i n a suburban Vancouver community. C o r r e l a t i o n a l and D e s c r i p t i v e S t u d i e s A l t h o u g h r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s a r e o f t e n t a k e n f o r g r a n t e d , t h e r e i s c o n f l i c t i n g e v i d e n c e i n t h e d a t a . R e s e a r c h e r s have examined t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p from many a s p e c t s . In h i s l o n g i t u d i n a l s t u d y on t h e i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f language development, L o b a n ; ( 1 9 6 6 ) found h i g h c o r r e l a t i o n s between r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g above Grade Two. H i s s u b j e c t s were 338 c h i l d r e n i n O a k l a n d , C a l i f o r n i a , f o l l o w e d from K i n d e r g a r t e n t o Grade S i x . A c u m u l a t i v e 11 12 r e c o r d o f r e a d i n g as w e l l as t h e S t a n f o r d Reading T e s t was used. F i s h c o (1966) examined 95 Grade Seven s t u d e n t s t o see whether t h e r e was a r e l a t i o n s h i p between c r e a t i v i t y i n w r i t i n g and comprehension i n r e a d i n g , u s i n g t h e Gates B a s i c Reading T e s t as t h e r e a d i n g measure and a C r e a t i v i t y S c a l e e s p e c i a l l y c o n s t r u c t e d f o r s c o r i n g s t u d e n t s ' w r i t i n g . He found r e a d i n g comprehension and c r e a t i v i t y i n w r i t i n g c o r r e l a t e d beyond t h e .05 l e v e l . Evanechko, O l l i l i a , and A rmstrong (1974) s t u d i e d Grade S i x s t u d e n t s t o d e t e r m i n e t h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f i n d i c e s o f w r i t i n g p erformance which might p r e d i c t r e a d i n g achievement and t o i d e n t i f y and a p p l y v a l i d i n d i c e s o f w r i t t e n language b e h a v i o u r based upon t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l . g r a m m a r t h e o r y . The c o r r e l a t i o n a l a n a l y s i s showed a l l measures were h i g h l y r e l a t e d , r e i n f o r c i n g t h e c o n c e p t o f a s t r o n g r e l a t i o n s h i p among language s k i l l s . Of t h e 13 i n d i c e s used as p r e d i c t o r s o f r e a d i n g achievement, f o u r were s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l . These were number o f communica-t i o n u n i t s , two-count s t r u c t u r e s , s e n t e n c e p a t t e r n s , and t h e average number o f words p e r communication u n i t . L a z d o w s k i (1977) c o n s t r u c t e d a f o r m u l a t o p r e d i c t r e a d i n g l e v e l from such f e a t u r e s o f s t u d e n t w r i t i n g as mean s e n t e n c e l e n g t h , s y l l a b l e s p er t h o u g h t u n i t , and p o l y s y l l a b i c words per s e n t e n c e . S t u d y i n g 338 w r i t i n g samples from h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s as w e l l as c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s who had r e a d i n g l e v e l s r a n g i n g from Grades 2 t o 14, L a z d o w s k i p r e d i c t e d r e a d i n g a c h i e v e m e n t t o w i t h i n one grade l e v e l o f a c t u a l achievement w i t h a r e a l i a b i l i t y o f .88. 13 D'Angelo (1977) r e p o r t e d r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g a b i l i t y c o r r e l a t e d a t t h e .01 l e v e l i n h i s s t u d y o f 245 Grade Nine s t u d e n t s . However, he c o n c l u d e d t h a t l i s t e n i n g comprehension and l i s t e n i n g memory were more e f f e c t i v e p r e d i c t o r s o f r e a d i n g a b i l i t y t h a n was w r i t i n g a b i l i t y . B i p p u s (1977) i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between measures o f q u a l i t y o f w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e , p r o d u c t i v i t y o f w r i t i n g , and r e a d i n g comprehension and a t t e m p t e d t o d e t e r m i n e t h e b e s t i n d i c e s o f s t u d e n t s ' w r i t t e n l anguage p e r f o r m ance t o p r e d i c t r e a d i n g comprehension. She t e s t e d 57 s t u d e n t s i n Grades 4 and 6. The measures used f o r q u a l i t i e s o f w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e were i d e a s , o r g a n i z a t i o n , w o r d i n g , f l a v o u r , usage, p u n c t u a t i o n , s p e l l i n g and h a n d w r i t i n g . Each c o m p o s i t i o n was e v a l u a t e d by two t r a i n e d r a t e r s w i t h c r i t e r i a s e t by t h e E d u c a t i o n a l T e s t i n g S e r v i c e C o m p o s i t i o n S c a l e . The r e a d i n g measure was t h e r e a d i n g comprehension s u b t e s t o f t h e SRA Achievement T e s t . P a r t i a l c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s were computed o v e r a l l a s p e c t s o f q u a l i t y o f w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e , p r o d u c t i v i t y o f w r i t i n g , and r e a d i n g c o mprehension. S t e p w i s e m u l t i p l e r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was used t o i d e n t i f y t h e b e s t i n d i c e s o f s t u d e n t s ' q u a l i t y o f w r i t t e n l a nguage and p r o d u c t i v i t y o f w r i t i n g t o p r e d i c t r e a d i n g comprehension. S i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p s were found between c e r t a i n a s p e c t s o f s t u d e n t s ' q u a l i t y o f w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e , p r o d u c t i v i t y o f w r i t i n g , and r e a d i n g c omprehension. Thomas (1976) examined t h e e x t e n t o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s between -r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g o f 405 c o l l e g e freshmen. S u b t e s t s f o r r e a d i n g 14 comprehension and v o c a b u l a r y o f t h e S c h o l a s t i c A p t i t u d e Test were used t o measure r e a d i n g a chievement. Sentence m a t u r i t y and o v e r a l l w r i t i n g q u a l i t y were examined i n a 500 word w r i t i n g sample done by each s t u d e n t . Thomas found a c o r r e l a t i o n o f .128, s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .028 l e v e l , between r e a d i n g comprehension and w r i t i n g a c hievement. Grobe and.rG.robe/ (1977) a l s o examined c o l l e g e freshmen t o see whether t h e r e was a c o r r e l a t i o n between r e a d i n g a b i l i t y and w r i t i n g . The d a t a showed t h a t t h e s t a n d a r d i z e d r e a d i n g t e s t d i s c r i m i n a t e d among l e v e l s o f w r i t i n g a b i l i t y . C o r r e l a t i o n s showed t h a t t h o s e w i t h t h e h i g h e s t s c o r e s tended t o be c l a s s i f i e d i n t o t h e h i g h e s t w r i t i n g l e v e l g r o up. Bebensee (1977) s t u d i e d 300 Grade F i v e s t u d e n t s from t h e i n n e r c i t y t o d e t e r m i n e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between r e a d i n g comprehension and achievement i n w r i t t e n c o m p o s i t i o n . He c o n c l u d e d t h a t r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g a chievement were not s t r o n g l y r e l a t e d when w r i t i n g a b i l i t y was measured i n c o m p o s i t i o n c o n t e n t . Bebensee s u g g e s t e d t h a t d i f f e r e n c e s i n p urpose and p r o c e d u r e o f v a r i o u s measures o f w r i t i n g a b i l i t y c a used c o n f l i c t i n g c o n c l u s i o n s . Simmons (1977) s e l e c t e d 100 s t u d e n t s a c c o r d i n g t o r e a d i n g s c o r e s on t h e Iowa S i l e n t Reading T e s t t o d i s c o v e r whether s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r -ences e x i s t e d i n w r i t i n g a b i l i t i e s among s t u d e n t s who a r e h i g h , medium, and low i n r e a d i n g a chievement. A n a l y s i s o f t o t a l w r i t i n g s c o r e s d a t a r e v e a l e d s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between low and medium r e a d i n g a c h i e v e -ment g r o u p s , medium and h i g h g r o u p s , and between low and h i g h g roups. 15 A c o r r e l a t i o n o f .61 was o b t a i n e d between w r i t i n g mechanics s c o r e s and t o t a l r e a d i n g s c o r e s o f t h e 100 s t u d e n t s . H a m i l l and McNutt (1980) s u r v e y e d t h e l i t e r a t u r e on language a b i l i t i e s and r e a d i n g as a b a s i s f o r i d e n t i f y i n g t h e c o n s t r u c t s f o r l i n k i n g t h e language p r o c e s s e s . They examined 20 j o u r n a l s on p s y c h o l o g y , r e a d i n g , s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n , and speech between 1950 and 1978. They had s t r i n g e n t c r i t e r i a f o r s e l e c t i n g c o r r e l a t i o n a l s t u d i e s . Each had t o have a t l e a s t 20 s u b j e c t s ; r e s e a r c h e r s had t o have used some t y p e o f c o r r e l a t i o n a l p r o c e d u r e t o r e l a t e measures o f r e a d i n g t o measures o f l i s t e n i n g , s p e a k i n g , o r w r i t i n g . They l o c a t e d 89 s t u d i e s which met t h e c r i t e r i a , a t o t a l o f 992 c o n c u r r e n t c o e f f i c i e n t s w hich had r e a d i n g as t h e dependent v a r i a b l e . The i n d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s were l i s t e n i n g c o m p r e h e n s i o n , m e a n i n g f u l s p e a k i n g , m e a n i n g f u l w r i t i n g . However, i n ex a m i n i n g t h e c o n s t r u c t s f o r m e a n i n g f u l w r i t i n g , s u f f i c i e n t d a t a w h i c h s a t i s f i e d t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r s ' r e q u i r e m e n t s was found f o r o n l y t h e c o n -s t r u c t s o f s p e l l i n g and mechanics. These r e s u l t s c o n t r a s t w i t h t h e many s t u d i e s r e p o r t i n g c o r r e l a t i o n s i n o t h e r c o n s t r u c t s o f m e a n i n g f u l w r i t i n g . Summary o f c o r r e l a t i o n a l s t u d i e s . D e s p i t e t h e d i v e r s i t y o f i n s t r u m e n t s used-Gates B a s i c Reading T e s t , SAT, SRA, and t h e Iowa S i l e n t Reading T e s t - and t h e d i v e r s e a s p e c t s o f w r i t i n g t e s t e d - c r e a t i v i t y , c ommunication u n i t s , s e n t e n c e p a t t e r n s , usage, p u n c t u a t i o n , s p e l l i n g -c o r r e l a t i o n s were found among r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g s k i l l s i n a l l but one s t u d y . Reading and w r i t i n g were found t o be r e l a t e d . 16 Teaching Reading to Improve Writing S k i l l s Researchers have been attempting since 1931 to teach reading to improve writing s k i l l s , using as their rationale the assumed r e l a t i o n -ship between reading and writing s k i l l s . As early as f i f t y years ago, Eurich (1931) conducted a two-year study attempting to enhance s k i l l in written composition by improving reading at the college l e v e l . Eurich performed four twelve-week experiments i n which the 83 experimental group- students were taught vocabulary and paragraph reading s k i l l s while the 87 control group students studied the normal freshman composition course. The experi-mental groups showed s i g n i f i c a n t gains on two out of eleven measures, the two vocabulary measures. Both groups made equal gains on four other measures, one of which was reading comprehension. No conclusions could be drawn about reading-writing relationships. More recently, Schneider (1971) did a fifteen-week study of remedial students at a junior college. The experimental group had 20 hours out of a t o t a l of 75 hours of reading instruction. The control group had no reading instruction. The three measures used were a standardized reading test, a writing mechanics test, and an essay test. No s i g n i f i c a n t difference was found on growth i n either reading or writing a b i l i t y . No conclusion could be drawn on the relationship between growth i n read-ing and growth i n writing a b i l i t y . O'Donnell (1974) used two different methods of teaching reading to 42 black remedial college freshmen i n a one-month intensive course, a 17 t r a d i t i o n a l method and a. p s y c h o l i n g u i s t i c t u t o r i a l method. N e i t h e r method r e s u l t e d i n s i g n i f i c a n t g a i n s i n s y n t a c t i c m a t u r i t y , c o m p o s i t i o n q u a l i t y , o r r e a d i n g comprehension as measured on a s t a n d a r d i z e d t e s t . C a m pbell (1976) t a u g h t an i n t e g r a t e d r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g c o u r s e t o two s e c t i o n s o f freshman c o m p o s i t i o n f o r 12 weeks. Two c o n t r o l groups s t u d i e d w r i t i n g s k i l l s o n l y . A s l i g h t , n o n - s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e f a v o u r e d t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l group on t h e r e a d i n g comprehension measure. Campbell found t h a t r e a d i n g a b i l i t y c o u l d be p r e d i c t e d from a w r i t i n g sample. Maat (1977) asked whether improvement i n comprehension o f e x p o s i t o r y and a r g u m e n t a t i v e p r o s e would be accompanied by improvement i n w r i t i n g such p r o s e . He s t u d i e d two groups o f Grade Twelve s t u d e n t s , h a v i n g 40 s u b j e c t s i n each group. For n i n e weeks t h e t r e a t m e n t group d i d n ot w r i t e any c o m p o s i t i o n s , but had i n s t r u c t i o n i n r e a d i n g . The c o n t r o l group wrote c o m p o s i t i o n s and had r e a d i n g i n s t r u c t i o n . A n a l y s i s o f r a t e r s ' s c o r e s showed s i g n i f i c a n t improvement i n t h e t o t a l w r i t i n g o f a l l s t u d e n t s . S m a l l , n o n - s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s i n g a i n were found i n t h e t o t a l w r i t i n g s c o r e s f o r t h e t r e a t m e n t group and a s i g n i f i c a n t g a i n i n comprehension s c o r e s f o r t h e t r e a t m e n t group, b u t no s i g n i f i -c a n t g a i n o r l o s s i n comprehension s c o r e s f o r t h e c o n t r o l group. B e l a n g e r (1978) asked whether a change i n r e a d i n g s k i l l would produce a consequent change i n w r i t i n g s k i l l . I n r e v i e w i n g t h e l i t e r a t u r e i n t h i s a r e a , B e l a n g e r e x p r e s s e d s u r p r i s e a t the s m a l l number o f e m p i r i c a l s t u d i e s e x a m i n i n g t h i s p a r t i c u l a r a s p e c t . He n o t e d t h a t 18 most o f t h e s t u d i e s were i n c o n c l u s i v e because o f t h e i n a b i l i t y o f t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r s t o a l t e r r e a d i n g s k i l l . In B e l a n g e r ' s own s t u d y ( 1 9 7 8 ) , he c o n f i r m e d s i g n i f i c a n t changes on t h e r e a d i n g measure b e f o r e a n a l y s i s o f t h e w r i t i n g samples was done. B e l a n g e r used 8 i n t a c t c l a s s e s o f Grades 9 and 10, 194 s t u d e n t s i n a l l . The D a v i s S e r i e s 2 Reading T e s t was a d m i n i s t e r e d and w r i t i n g samples on a s s i g n e d t o p i c s were c o l l e c t e d i n November, F e b r u a r y , and May, p r o v i d i n g t h r e e t e s t c o m p a r i s o n s - p r e - m i d , m i d - p o s t , and p r e - p o s t . The r e a d i n g t r e a t m e n t was t h e S.O.S. Reading Technique ( M a r t i n and M a r t i n , 1974), and g a i n s were c o n f i r m e d a t t h e end o f t r e a t m e n t . W r i t i n g samples were a n a l y s e d f o r o v e r a l l q u a l i t y , s y n t a c t i c d e n s i t y , t - u n i t l e n g t h , and f l u e n c y . A sub-sample o f t h e c o m p o s i t i o n s was a n a l y s e d f o r 4 major s e n t e n c e e r r o r s : run-on s e n t e n c e s , f r a g m e n t s , e r r o r s i n s u b j e c t - v e r b agreement, and e r r o r s i n pronoun agreement. A n a l y s i s o f t h e r e a d i n g measure showed t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l groups were s u p e r i o r t o the c o n t r o l groups on b o t h p r e t e s t - m i d t e s t c o m p a r i s o n and p r e t e s t - p o s t t e s t . A n a l y s i s o f t h e 4 major w r i t i n g measures showed d i f f e r e n c e s which were o n l y randomly s i g n i f i c a n t between e x p e r i m e n t a l and c o n t r o l g r o u p s . S u b s i d i a r y a n a l y s i s o f major e r r o r s was t h e o n l y w r i t i n g measure t o show p r o m i s e . The c o r r e l a t i o n between the r e a d i n g and q u a l i t y measures f o r the sample were above .47 (p ^ . 0 0 0 1 ) . The c o r r e l a t i o n between r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g f l u e n c y measures ranged from .19 t o .27 ( p . 0 0 8 ) . C o r r e l a t i o n between r e a d i n g and s y n t a c t i c d e n s i t y and r e a d i n g and t - u n i t l e n g t h measures were v e r y s l i g h t and o f t e n n e g a t i v e . When t h e mean 19 reading and writing scores of experimental and control boys and g i r l s were compared, no consistent relationship was evident. Belanger concluded that the study produced no evidence to suggest a causative relationship between reading s k i l l and writing s k i l l or that s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t changes i n the reading measure produced s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t changes i n writing a b i l i t y . One possible explanation suggested by Belanger i s that one-half year's growth i n reading i s not s u f f i c i e n t to produce a change i n writing. Summary of studies teaching reading to improve_writinq[ sj