writing & spelling

what does speech require?

phonemes (k/a/t)

what does writing require?

graphemes (eg, CAT)

what is the difference between regular and irregular spellings?

• eg - cat = spelled from sound

• irregular spellings (eg, yacht) = spellings have to be MEMORISED

what is the ‘Graphemic Output Lexicon?’

stores known spellings + spellings of known words derived from sound and meaning

• Graphic - letters

• Output - important

• Lexicon - dictionary (store of info of written information of known words)

what is the ‘slip of the pen'?’

• someone does know the right word (familiar), but something strange happens and they write down something else

• slips of the pen, aka - 'homological error'

• word erroneously retrieved from graphemic output lexicon, relating to input from speech output lexicon

• input from semantic system – avoids homophone errors

• semantic slips: NEXT WEEK → LAST WEEK

• grapheme level – buffer holds graphemes (abstract letter identities) until execution

what does the ‘typical’ dual route model by Ellis et al (2003) for spelling show?

explains how humans translate spoken words or thoughts into written text using two parallel processing pathway - the LEXICAL route and the SUB/NONLEXICAL route

what did Patterson (1982) show in spelling unknown words?

• assembled spelling – skilled spellers can assemble plausible spellings of words (based on sound)

• Phonemes —> Graphemes

• e.g. /r/ /e/ /b/ -> R E B

• Phoneme Level → Grapheme Level connection

• Regular words – spelled correctly (e.g. cat → CAT)

• Irregular words – spelled incorrectly (e.g. yacht → YOT)

• Regularisation errors = a feature of children’s spelling

what did Ellis (1993) show in his model for cognitive processes involved in spelling?

divides the writing process into central (linguistic) and peripheral (motor/output) processes

what did Campbell (1983) find in spelling unknown words?

• connection between our graphemic output lexicon and our speech level

• might have influence on the spelling we use

• can the spelling be bias if we get them to spell a real word before we get them to spell them the non word

• assembled and known spelling route - link between the 2

• eg -

BRAIN → brain

PREIN → prain

CRANE → crane

PREIN → prane

model for cognitive processes involved in spelling, Ellis (1993)

what are acquired spelling disorders called?

the dysgraphias

what is acquired dysgraphia split into?

• CENTRAL DYSGRAPHIA - problem with early stages of spelling:

- surface

- phonological

- deep

• PERIPHERAL DYSGRAPHIA - problem with later stages (eg - output {writing})

what happens in surface dysgraphia (central)

• patients can no longer spell irregular words – make regularisation errors

• usually caused by damage to left hemisphere

• Biscuit → BISKET

• Subtle → SUTTLE

• therefore damage affecting use of graphemic output lexicon

• completely unfamiliar and have to construct the words piece by piece

• regular words are fine but not irregular words - errors creep in

• regularising the irregular words

• Hatfield & Patterson (1983) 'TP' - made irregular errors

what are the areas of damage in surface dysgraphia?

damage from the speech output location to graphemic output location + the semantic system to GOL

what happens in phonological dysgraphia (central)

• they can spell known words correctly

• when the non-words got longer couldn't spell

• Shallice (1981) 'PR' - lexicalisation error - generated a real word (eg - ploon = spoon)

• familiar words = good

• easy non words = poor

• therefore damage to phoneme to grapheme route

what happens in deep dysgraphia (central)

• semantic errors in spelling, e.g. time → CLOCK

• poor at spelling nonwords, e.g. datch → ???

• therefore damage to route from semantic system to graphemic output lexicon + phoneme to grapheme route

• Bub & Kertesz (1982) and ‘JC’ (eg - chair = table, whence = wense)

what are damages in deep dysgraphia?

• damage from the speech output location to graphemic output location + phoneme level

what are Hayes & Flower’s (1980, 1986) stages of theory of writing?

• planning (pre-write)

• sentence generation (write)

• revision (rewrite)

not sequential processes in writing - continually interact (early criticism. over simplification)

what is planning?

• task environment - audience, purpose, situational constraints

• long-term memory - knowledge of the topic and audience

• stored plans for writing - familiar strategies or schemas

examples:

• influence of planning on writing:

1. Experts often poor writers (expertise creates distance from their audience), - novice writers (may have more simpler goals than expert writers)

2. Strategic knowledge (goals and sub-goals) influences writing

3. Writer’s block – caused by inflexibility in plan

what is sentence generation

• Kaufer, Hayes & Flower (1986)

- 'translating process'

- protocol analysis - writing and then verbal their thoughts as they write - record what they say and then compare 

• most verbalisations – parts of sentences eventually used

• grey area with expert writers and novice writers as 75% of sentence parts accepted and altered sentences - nearly always changed immediately → therefore experts using larger building blocks

what is revision?

• aka ‘reviewing’

• revising can happen before even writing - interwoven and interacting process

• Bridwell (1980) - text does not match intention

• Hayes et al. (1985) - Process of writing leads to discovery of new ideas

General findings (Sommers, 1980):

- Experts spend longer revising text than novices

- Experts and novices revise different things

Hayes, Flower, Schriver, Stratman, Carey (1985)

• Experts and novices have differences in their error detection during revision:

• expert writers

- discover more problems

- correctly identify nature of problem

• novice writers

- discover fewer problems

- errors in identifying the nature of problem

• both

- rewrite sections without identifying nature of problem

what are advantages of the evaluation of Hayes & Flower’s (1980, 1986)’s theory?

• identification of separate, interacting sub-processes involved in skilled writing

• the components noted in the model

• indicates areas less skilled writers should concentrate on

what are disadvantages of the evaluation of Hayes & Flower’s (1980, 1986)’s theory?

• misses key processes – e.g. transcription, motivation?

• no mention of working memory

• methodology used is problematic (only allows evaluation of conscious processes)

• can 3 processes really be separated? e.g. planning and sentence generation

what did Chenoweth & Hayes (2003) introduce as a 4th writing process?

• transcriber - converts word strings into written or word processed text

order:

• proposer (planning)

• translator (sentence generation)

• transcriber

• evaluator (revison)

what is Hayes (2012)’s revised model?

• conceptualises writing as a recursive cognitive process involving four interacting processes—proposer, translator, transcriber and evaluator

• which operate within a task environment and are regulated by control processes such as motivation, goal setting and writing schemas, while drawing on cognitive resources including attention, working memory, long-term memory and reading.