Demographic and Biographic Predictors of Writing Ability

Abstract

Research has indicated that factors such as achievement in school, age, sex, and social class affect writing ability. Through the use of computers, written essays were analyzed and the linguistic varimax factors obtained run as criterion variables in the resulting multiple linear regression models. The regression analysis indicated that achievement in city high schools and university courses, as well as an English-speaking background were significant predictors of mechanical accuracy in writing and sentence complexity. Examination of one correlation matrix revealed further that, students who attended city, as opposed to rural schools, and, students with an English-speaking background, as opposed to any other language background, had significantly higher mean scores in mechanical accuracy, fluency, and sentence complexity factors. The study supported earlier research in demonstrating writing ability as a complex process and in revealing differential effects of the environment and achievement on the ability to write.