| Abstract: | This study followed from a previous investigation into the impact of guidance given in writing tasks when six hundred eleven year olds completed writing tasks with varying content and structural support. The aim was to find if the support facilitated better writing and if the nature of the support had differing effects. The findings suggested that the support provided in the stimuli did not significantly affect performance. A qualitative study investigated the reasons why the support did not have a significant effect and explored the factors which affected children as they faced a writing task. ‘Think aloud’ strategies were used to encourage them to verbalise their thoughts as they planned a piece of writing from a given stimulus. The children were then interviewed according to a semi‐structured interview schedule and their planning sheets were also considered. |
