Table 1. Part-of-Speech
Sub-category Measure Notes on Operationalisation Source FindingsAdjectives & Adjective Phrases
Adjectives & Adjective Phrases
# adjectives per 100 word sample
Myhill & Hicks 1999 Overall association with quality in Year 11 UK writing
# adjectives formed adding adjectival suffix to a non-adjective
Golub & Fredrick 1970
Increase in 6th versus 4th grade writing. More frequent in high- and medium- rated writing versus low-rated writing by same students
Adjectives & Adjective Phrases per Grammatical Unit
% tagmas in sample that are adjective phrases
Sampson 2003 No difference in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
Adverbs & Adverb Phrases
Adverbs & Adverb Phrases
# adverbs per 100 word sample Myhill & Hicks 1999 Negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing
# adverbs formed by addition of suffix to a non-adverb
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 6th versus 4th grade writing. More frequent in high- versus medium- versus low- rated writing produced by same students
Adverbs & Adverb Phrases per Grammatical Unit
% tagmas in sample that are adverb phrases
Sampson 2003 No difference in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
Prepositions & Preposition Phrases
Prepositions & Preposition Phrases
log prepositions per 1000 words
Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 3 ("sentence complexity"), which positively correlates with both the age of the student and the quality of their persuasive essays and their expository essays in a sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# prepositional phrases Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
1
# different prepositions Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
Prepositions & Preposition Phrases per Grammatical Unit
# time adverbial PPs per "NRV" (NRV iff finite verb indicating time relative to another verb)
McClure & Platt 1988 No difference in 9th versus 4th grade writing
% tagmas in sample that are preposition phrases
Sampson 2003 Increase in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
# prepositional phrases per t-unit
Thompson et al 1967 Increase in sample of writing by professional authors versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
Nouns & Noun Phrases
Nouns & Noun Phrases
# log nouns per 1000 words Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 2 ("noun-centred text"), which positively correlates with both the age of the student and the quality of their persuasive essays and their expository essays in a sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
Nouns & Noun Phrases per Grammatical Unit
Noun-to-Verb ratio Deane & Quinlan 2010
Complex dimensional loading in sample of 4th through 12th grade writing. Positively loads on dimension 2 ("noun-centred text"), which positively correlates with grade, the quality of the expository essays, and the quality of the persuasive essays. Negatively loads on dimension 4 ("spoken style"), which negatively correlates with grade, positively correlates with the quality of the expository essays, and negatively correlates with the quality of the persuasive essays
% tagmas in sample that are noun phrases
Sampson 2003 No difference in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
Nouns & Noun Phrase Semantics
Degree of noun phrase abstraction
Berman & Nir-Sagiv 2007
For most concrete nouns, general decrease found in 4th versus 7th versus 11th grade
2
writing, with no difference in the 11th grade writing versus the adult writing. For more abstract nouns, significant increase in adult and 11th grade writing
Degree of noun phrase abstraction
Berman & Nir 2010 Overall increase in sample of adult writing versus 11th grade writing versus 7th grade writing versus 4th grade writing, with no difference between the 7th and 4th grade writing
# Abstract nouns Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 1 ("academic orientation"), which positively correlates with age, the quality of the expository essays, and the quality of the persuasive essays in sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# Abstract nouns per 100 word sample
Myhill & Hicks 1999 Positive association with quality in sample of Year 11 UK writing
# Non-abstract nouns per 100 word sample
Myhill & Hicks 1999 Positive association with quality in sample of Year 11 UK writing
# Abstract nouns per noun Nippold et al 2005 Increase in sample of adult writing versus sample of 11-12 year old writing versus 5-6 year old writing
Degree of noun phrase abstraction
Ravid & Berman 2010 Increase in sample of adult writing versus 11th grade writing versus 7th grade writing versus 4th grade writing
# High frequency abstract nouns per t-unit
Sun & Nippold 2012 Increase in 11th versus 5th grade writing but no differences between 5th versus 8th grade writing or 8th versus 11th grade writing
Pronouns & Pronoun Phrases
# 1st person singular pronouns Deane & Quinlan 2010
positively loads on dimension 4 ("spoken style"), which negatively correlates with grade, positively correlates with the quality of the expository essays, and negatively
3
correlates with the quality of the persuasive essays in a sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# 3rd person singular pronouns Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 7 ("narrative style"), which positively correlates with grade, the quality of the expository essays, and the quality of the persuasive essays in a sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# personal pronouns per 100 words
Harpin 1976 Descriptively more frequent in Year 6, Year 5 and Year 4 writing versus Year 3 writing, but no clear difference between Years 6, 5, and 4
# indefinite pronouns Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 6 ("elaboration"), which positively correlates with grade, the quality of the expository essays, and the quality of the persuasive essays.
Noun Phrases with a Non-Nominal Head
% tagmas in sample that are noun phrases with a numeral as head
Sampson 2003 Decrease in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
% tagmas in sample that are noun phrases with a determiner-pronoun as head
Sampson 2003 No difference in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
% tagmas in sample that are noun phrases with a genitival head
Sampson 2003 No difference in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
Verbs & Verb Phrases Verbs and Verb Phrases (generic)
log verbs per 1000 words Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 3 ("sentence complexity"), which positively correlates with grade, the quality of the persuasive and the expository essays in sample of writing at 4th through 12th grade
4
# unique verbs Golub & Fredrick 1970
Decrease in 6th versus 4th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
♯distinct verb types - ♯ distinct core verb types (core verb type iff one of twenty verbs almost universally used by the participants)
Sampson 1964a Positive association with quality in 10 year old writing
Verbs & Verb Phrases per Grammatical Unit (Generic)
% tagmas in sample that are verb phrases
Sampson 2003 Increase in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
Verbs and Verb Phrases (Semantic Types)
# academic verbs Deane & Quinlan 2010
positively loads on dimension 1 ("academic orientation"), which positively correlates with grade, the quality of expository essays and persuasive essays in sample of writing at 4th through 12th grade
# conversation verbs Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 4 ("spoken style"), which negatively correlates with grade, positively correlates with the quality of the expository essays, and negatively correlates with the quality of the persuasive essays in sample of writing at 4th through 12th grade
# mental state verbs Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 4 ("spoken style"), which negatively correlates with grade, positively correlates with the quality of expository essays, and negatively correlates with the quality of persuasive essays in sample of writing at 4th through 12th grade
Verbs & Verb Phrases per Grammatical Unit (Semantic Types)
# metaverbs per verb Nippold et al 2005 Increase in sample of writing by adults and 11-12 year olds versus writing by 5-6 year olds, but no difference between the adults
5
and 11-12 year olds# high frequency meta-cognitive verbs per t-unit
Sun & Nippold 2012 Increase in 11th and 8th grade writing versus 5th grade writing, but no difference between 11th and 8th grade samples
6
Table 2: Phrase & Clause StructureSub-category Measure Notes on Operationalisation Source Findings
Adjective Phrase Structure
General Modification
# verbs with unmodified adjective in predicative position
Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
Adverb Modifiers # adverbs modifying adjectives Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 4th grade writing, but most frequent in 8th grade writing
Preposition Phrase Complements
# preposition phrase complements of adjectives
Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
Complement Clauses (Finite)
# adjective complement clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Blount et al 1969
No difference in 8th versus 12th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
Complement Clauses (Finite)
# adjective complement clauses (subject + finite VP operationalisation)
Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
Complement Clauses (Non-finite)
# infinitival adjective complements Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
Complement Clauses (Non-finite)
# adjective complements modified by a verbal ("verbal" operationalisation unclear; presumed equivalent to a non-finite clause)
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
Adjective & Adverb Phrase Structure
General Modification
# comparative phrases (phrase operationalised so as to include non-finite clauses but not finite clauses)
Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
Finite Comparative Clauses
# finite comparative clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Blount et al 1969
No difference between 8th and 12th grade writing
# finite comparative clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 4th grade writing, but most frequent in 8th grade writing
7
% tagmas in sample that are comparative clauses (clause operationalisation unclear)
Sampson 2003 No difference in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
Adverb Phrase Structure
Adverb Modifiers # adverbs modifying adverbs Hunt 1965 No difference in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
Preposition Phrase Structure
See also Table 4: Complement Clauses - "Noun" Complement Clauses; "Nominal" Complement ClausesGeneral Complementation
# prepositional phrase complements modified by another phrase
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
# prepositional phrase complements modified by a finite clause (clause operationalisation unclear)
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
# prepositional phrase complements modified by a verbal ("verbal" operationalisation unclear; presumed equivalent to a non-finite clause)
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
Complement Clauses
# finite clauses as object of a preposition (clause operationalisation unclear)
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
# verbals as object of a preposition ("verbal" operationalisation unclear; presumed equivalent to a non-finite clause)
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
Noun Phrase Complements
# preposition phrases with a noun phrase complement
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
Noun Phrase Structure
See also Table 4: Relative Clauses (Noun-Modifying)General Composition
# modifiers per noun phrase (Coh-Metrix measure; "modifiers" includes determiners)
Crossley et al 2011
Increase in writing by university students versus 11th versus 9th grade writing
# finite verbs coordinated under the same subject noun phrase
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
8
# unmodified common nouns/proper nouns/personal pronouns
Hunt 1965 Overall decrease in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# modifiers per noun phrase (Coh-Metrix measure; "modifiers" includes determiners)
Olinghouse & Wilson 2013
Variable relationship with quality in 5th grade writing. Initial analysis indicated positive correlation with informative writing but no correlation with narrative or persuasive writing. However, subsequent regression modelling and compositionality analysis did not find measure to be predictive of quality in any genre
total number of points for each noun phrase of a certain length (1pt iff 1-3 words long; 2pt iff 4-6 words long; 3pt iff 7-9 words long; 4pt iff > 10 words long)
Ravid & Berman 2010
Increase in adult sample versus writing at 11th grade, 7th grade, and 4th grade, with no differences amongst the student groups
total number of points for each NP according to unspecified 4 category scale comprising the semantics, morphology, and # modifiers
Ravid & Berman 2010
Increase in adult sample versus writing at 11th grade, 7th grade, and 4th grade, with the 11th grade writing also showing an increase versus the 7th and 4th grade writing
total number of points for each noun phrase according to a 4 category complexity scale operationalised in terms of # complex governed nodes of structures within the noun phrase
Ravid & Berman 2010
Increase in adult sample versus writing at 11th grade, 7th grade, and 4th grade, with the 11th grade writing also showing an increase versus the 7th and 4th grade writing
total number of points for each noun phrase according to a 4 category complexity scale operationalised in terms of the # different modifiers
Ravid & Berman 2010
Increase in adult sample versus writing at 11th grade, 7th grade, and 4th grade, with no differences amongst the student groups
General Morphology
# nominalizations Deane & Quinlan 2010
positively loads on dimension 1 ("academic orientation"), which positively correlates with age, the quality of the expository essays, and the
9
persuasive essays in samples of writing at 4th through 12th grade
# nouns formed by nominalizing another part of speech
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference between 4th and 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# plural "-s"/"-es" endings Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference between 4th and 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
General Premodifiers
# noun premodifiers Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 4th grade writing, but most frequent in 8th grade writing
Adjectives & Adjective Phrases
# attributive adjectives Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
log attributive adjectives per 1000 words Deane & Quinlan 2010
Negatively loads on dimension 4 ("spoken style"), which negatively correlates with grade, positively correlates with the quality of expository essays, and negatively correlates with the quality of persuasive essays, in sample of 4th versus 12th grade writing
# noun + adjective constructions per 100 t-units
O'Donnell et al 1967
Increase in 7th versus 5th and 3rd grade writing, with no difference between 5th and 3rd grade writing
Adverbs & Adverb Phrases
# adverbs of place as postmodifier Hunt 1965 No difference in 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
Appositives & Appositive Phrases
# appositive NPs Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th and 8th grade writing versus 4th grade writing
# restrictive appositive NPs Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th and 8th grade writing versus 4th grade writing
# non-restrictive appositive NPs Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 4th grade
10
writing, but with appositives more frequent in both 12th and 4th grade writing versus 8th grade writing
Complement Clauses
# non-finite postmodifying clauses Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# infinitival postmodifying clauses Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# past participle postmodifying clause Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# present participle postmodifying clauses Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 4th grade writing, but more frequent in 8th grade writing than 12th versus 4th grade writing
# noun + infinitival constructions per 100 t-units (clause operationalisation unclear)
O'Donnell et al 1967
No difference in 3rd versus 5th versus 7th grade writing
# noun + participle constructions per 100 t-units (clause operationalisation unclear)
O'Donnell et al 1967
More frequent in 7th versus 5th and 3rd grade writing, but no difference between 5th and 3rd grade writing
# verbals complementing a noun ("verbal" operationalisation unclear; presumed equivalent to a non-finite clause)
Potter (1967) Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
Determiners log definite determiners per 1000 words Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 2 ("noun-centred text"), which positively correlates with grade, the quality of expository essays, and persuasive essays, in sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# determiners (determiner iff "the", "a", "an", or cardinal/ordinal number)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6the grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
11
# determiners per noun (determiner iff "the", "a", "an", or cardinal/ordinal number)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6the grade writing. Negative association with quality in writing by same students
# qualifiers (qualifier if quantificational determiner, including indefinite pronouns)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6the grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
Genitival Structures
# possessive forms (includes possessive pronouns and possessives formed from proper nouns)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
Decrease between 4th and 6th grade writing; Increase in high-versus medium- and low-rated writing by the same students
# possessive endings (possessive ending if "'s" added to a noun phrase)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference between 4th and 3rd grade writing; Increase in high-versus medium- and medium- versus high-rated writing by the same students
# genitival modifiers (genitival pronouns, genitival nouns, PPs headed by "of")
Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# noun + possessive constructions per 100 t-units (possessive if genitival noun or pronoun)
O'Donnell et al 1967
No difference in sample of 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade writing
Preposition Phrases
# PP postmodifiers not headed by "of" Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# distinct preposition phrase postmodifier prepositions
Hunt 1965 No difference between 4th, 8th, and 12th grade writing
# PP postmodifiers of place Hunt 1965 No difference between 4th, 8th, and 12th grade writing
# PP postmodifiers not of place/purpose/time Hunt 1965 No difference between 4th, 8th, and 12th grade writing
# noun + preposition phrase constructions per 100 t-units
O'Donnell et al 1967
Increase in 7th versus 5th and 3rd grade writing, but no difference between 5th and 3rd grade writing
Verb Phrase & See also Table 4: Adverbial Clauses & Complement Clauses and Table 5: Adverbial Placement
12
Clause Structure Finitude (General) # infinitival verb forms introduced by "to" Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference at 4th versus 6th grade. Positive association with quality in writing be same students
# infinitival verbs per verb Loban 1976 No clear association with grade independent of quality, but positive association with quality at 10th through 12th grade
# participle verbs per verb Loban 1976 No clear association with grade independent of quality, but positive association with quality at 10th through 12th grade
% tagmas in sample that are infinitival clauses (clause operationalisation unclear)
Sampson 2003 No difference in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
% tagmas in sample that are subordinate clauses in the base form but not introduced by "to" (clause operationalisation unclear)
Sampson 2003 No difference in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
# finite verbs per 100 words Myhill 1999 Negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing
# finite verbs per 100 words Myhill 2008; 2009
Decrease in Year 10 versus Year 8 writing. Negative association with quality for same students
# finite verbs per 100 word sample Myhill & Hicks 1999
Negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing, but also more frequent in the narrative versus the non-narrative samples
Auxiliary Verbs (General)
# predictive modals (e.g. "will", "would") Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 5 ("overt expression of persuasion"), which negatively correlates with grade, but positively correlates with the quality of the expository essays and the persuasive essays in sample of 4th through 12th
13
grade writing# modal auxiliaries (modal auxiliaries include "have to" and "used to")
Golub & Fredrick 1970
Increase in 6th versus 4th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing be same students
frequency of "do" auxiliary support Hunt 1965 General decrease in 12th grade writing versus 8th and 4th grade writing, but likely too rare for meaningful analysis
frequency of modal auxiliaries, counting only instances of "can"
Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th and 8th versus 4th grade writing, but likely too rare for meaningful analysis
frequency of modal auxiliaries, counting all modal auxiliaries except instances of "can"
Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# lexical + auxiliary verbs as a percentage of words in c-units
Loban 1976 Overall increase in 12th through 4th grade writing. Interaction between grade and quality with a positive association indicated at 4th through 6th grade but a negative association indicated at 7th grade and at 10th through 12th grade
Tense & Aspect # past perfect aspect verbs Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 7 ("narrative style"), which positively correlates with grade, the quality of the expository essays and the persuasive essays in sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# past tense verbs Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 7 ("narrative style"), which positively correlates with grade, the quality of the expository essays and the persuasive essays in sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# present tense verbs Deane & Negatively loads on dimension 7
14
Quinlan 2010 ("narrative style"), which positively correlates with grade, the quality of the expository essays, and the persuasive essays in sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# past tense verbs with "-ed" form Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference at 4th versus 6th grade. Positive association with quality in writing be same students
# verbs with "-ing" ending Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference at 4th versus 6th grade. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# perfective aspect sequences (perfective aspect sequence iff "have" + past participle verb)
Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# progressive aspect sequences (progressive aspect sequences iff "be" + present participle verb)
Hunt 1965 General decrease in 12th grade writing versus 8th and 4th grade writing
# futurate "BE + going to" sequences Hunt 1965 General decrease in 12th grade writing versus 8th versus 4th grade writing, but likely too rare for meaningful analysis
# futurate "BE + supposed to" sequences Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing, but likely too rare for meaningful analysis
# "BE + to" sequences Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing, but likely too rare for meaningful analysis
# historical present verbs per NRV (NRV iff finite verb indicating time relative to another verb)
McClure & Platt 1988
Increase in 9th versus 4th grade writing
# past perfect verbs per NRV (NRV iff finite verb indicating time relative to another verb)
McClure & Platt 1988
Increase in 9th versus 4th grade writing
15
# past progressive verbs per NRV (NRV iff finite verb indicating time relative to another verb)
McClure & Platt 1988
No difference between 9th versus 4th grade writing
% tagmas in sample that are past participle clauses (clause operationalisation unclear)
Sampson 2003 General increase in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
% tagmas in sample that are present participle clauses (clause operationalisation unclear)
Sampson 2003 General increase in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
Argument Structure Diversity
# unique t-unit patterns (unique t-unit pattern iff a distinct verb argument structure)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
Adverbials # adverbials Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference between 4th & 6th grade. Positive association with quality in writing by the same students
# adverbials per t-unit Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference between 4th & 6th grade. Positive association with quality in writing by the same students
# adverbials of time (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# adverbials of place (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# adverbials of manner (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
Increase in 6th versus 4th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# adverbials not of time, place or manner (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
Increase in 6th versus 4th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
16
# verbs with adverbial complements (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses)
Hunt 1965 Decrease in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# verbs with optional adverbial (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses)
Hunt 1965 Decrease in 12th versus 8th grade writing, but more frequent in 4th grade than 12th grade and more frequent in 8th grade than 4th grade
# adverbials of manner (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses)
Hunt 1965 Increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# adverbials of motion (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses; includes complements and non-complements)
Hunt 1965 Decrease in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# adverbials of place (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses)
Hunt 1965 No difference between 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# non-complement adverbials of time (excludes finite adverbial clauses but includes non-finite adverbial clauses)
Hunt 1965 Increase in 8th versus 4th grade writing but least frequent in 12th grade writing
# time adverbials excluding "then" per NRV ("NRV" iff finite verb indicating time relative to another verb)
McClure & Platt 1988
Increase in 9th versus 4th grade writing
# time adverbials per NRV ("NRV" iff finite verb indicating time relative to another verb)
McClure & Platt 1988
No difference between 4th and 9th grade writing
# adverbial constructions per 100 t-units O'Donnell et al 1967
Increase in 7th grade writing versus 5th and 3rd grade writing, but with no difference between 3rd and 5th grade
# subject-verb-optional adverbial sentence patterns
Potter 1967 Negative association with quality in 10th grade writing
# "fixed" adverbial phrases and adverbial Thompson et al Descriptive increase in writing by
17
clauses appearing at the end of a clause as a percentage of all t-units
1967 professional writers versus 3rd grade writing but least frequent in the 6th grade sample
# "fixed" adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in writing by professional writers versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
# "fixed" + "movable" adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in writing by professional writers versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
# "movable" adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses appearing at the end of a clause as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in writing by professional writers versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
# "movable" adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in writing by professional writers versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
# sentence patterns with an adverb as complement of "BE"
Zeman 1969 Increase in 3rd versus 2nd grade writing
Di-Transitives # di-transitive verbs Hunt 1965 General decrease in 12th versus 4th grade writing, but most frequent in 8th grade writing
# di-transitive verb sequences as a percentage of t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Increase in 6th versus 3rd grade writing and writing by professionals but no difference between the 3rd grade and the professional writers
# di-transitive verb sentence patterns Zeman 1969 No difference between 2nd & 3rd grade writing
Intransitives # in-transitive verbs Hunt 1965 Decrease in 12th grade writing versus 4th and 8th grade writing
# in-transitive verb patterns per 100 t-units O'Donnell et al 1967
Increase in 7th and 5th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
18
# intransitive verb sequences as a percentage of t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Increase in 6th grade writing and professional writing versus 3rd grade writing, but no difference between 6th grade writing and the professional writing
# intransitive verb sentence patterns Zeman 1969 No difference between 2nd & 3rd grade writing
Mono-transitives # mono-transitive verbs Hunt 1965 Descriptive increase in 12th versus 4th grade writing, but decrease between 4th and 8th grade writing
# mono-transitive sentence patterns Potter 1967 Negative association with quality in 10th grade writing
# mono-transitive sentence patterns per 100 t-units
O'Donnell et al 1967
No difference in 3rd versus 5th versus 7th grade writing
# mono-transitive sentence patterns sequences as a percentage of t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Decrease in sample of professional writing versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
# mono-transitive sentence patterns Zeman 1969 No difference between 2nd & 3rd grade writing
Nominals Nominal Complexity Score I (Score calculated, for each noun, in terms of # NP modifiers + # verbal complement clauses + # prepositional complement clauses)
Hunt 1965 Increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
Nominal Complexity Score II (Variant of Nominal Complexity Score I, but counted in terms of number of nominals with a score of ≥2)
Hunt 1965 Increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
Nominal Complexity Score II (Variant of Nominal Complexity Score I, but counted in terms of number of nominals with a score of ≥3)
Hunt 1965 Increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
19
# present participle verbal complement clauses and prepositional complement clauses + nominalised present participle nouns
Hunt 1965 Increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# nominals (nominal iff common noun, proper noun, gerund, personal pronoun, expletive "it")
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# nominals per t-unit (nominal iff common noun, proper noun, gerund, personal pronoun, expletive "it")
Golub & Fredrick 1970
Increase in 6th versus 4th grade writing. No association with quality in writing by same students
# nominal constructions per 100 t-units (nominal iff fulfils a nominal function)
O'Donnell et al 1967
Increase in 7th versus 5th and 3rd grade writing
# gerund phrases per 100 t-units (operationalisation unclear)
O'Donnell et al 1967
No difference between 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade writing
# temporal subject & object noun phrases per NRV ("NRV" iff finite verb indicating time relative to another verb)
McClure & Platt 1988
No difference between 4th and 9th grade writing
# gerunds per 100 t-units (unclear operationalisation)
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in sample of professional writing versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
# gerund phrases per 100 t-units O'Donnell et al 1967
No difference in 3rd versus 5th versus 7th grade writing
Phrasal & Prepositional Verbs
# phrasal verbs Hunt 1965 No difference between 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade writing
# prepositional verbs Hunt 1965 No difference between 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade writing
Predicatives # copular verbs not headed by "BE" Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th versus 8th and 4th grade writing, with no difference between 4th and 8th grade
# copular verbs headed by "BE" Hunt 1965 Increase in 12th grade writing versus 8th & 4th grade writing
20
# verbs with an AdjP/NP as object predicative Hunt 1965 Overall decrease in 12th versus 8th grade writing, but subtotals indicate AdjP objective predicatives consistently decrease whilst NP objective predicatives consistently increase
# copular verb patterns with an NP subject predicative per 100 t-units
O'Donnell et al 1967
No difference in 3rd versus 5th versus 7th grade writing
# copular verb patterns with an AdjP subject predicative per 100 t-units
O'Donnell et al 1967
No difference in 3rd versus 5th versus 7th grade writing
# linking verb sequences with an AdjP subject predicative as a percentage of t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Increase in professional writing versus 3rd grade writing and 6th grade writing but more decrease in 6th versus 3rd grade writing
# copular verb patterns with a subject predicative
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
# object predicative sentence patterns Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
# linking verb sequences with an NP subject predicative as a percentage of t-units
Thompson et al 1967
No difference between samples of writing by professional writers, students at 3rd grade and students at 6th grade
# sequences with an AdjP as objective predicative as a percentage of t-units
Thompson et al 1967
No difference between samples of writing by professional writers, students at 3rd grade and students at 6th grade, but form too rare for meaningful analysis
# sequences with an NP as objective predicative as a percentage of t-units
Thompson et al 1967
No difference between samples of writing by professional writers, students at 3rd grade and students at 6th grade, but form too rare for meaningful analysis
# sentence patterns with an AdjP subject predicative
Zeman 1969 No difference between 2nd & 3rd grade writing, with form entirely absent in both subsamples
21
# copular sentence patterns with an NP as subject predicative and not headed by "BE"
Zeman 1969 No difference between 2nd & 3rd grade writing, with form entirely absent in both subsamples
# sentence patterns with an AdjP/NP as object predicative and headed by a conceptualising verb (e.g. "I called him a president"/"I thought him honest")
Zeman 1969 No difference between 2nd & 3rd grade writing, with form entirely absent in both subsamples
# sentence patterns with an AdjP/NP as object predicative and headed by a performative verb (e.g. "I voted him president")
Zeman 1969 No difference between 2nd & 3rd grade writing, with form entirely absent in both subsamples
# copular sentence patterns with an AdjP as subject predicative and headed by "BE"
Zeman 1969 No difference between 2nd and 3rd grade writing
# copular sentence patterns with an NP as subject predicative and headed by "BE"
Zeman 1969 No difference between 2nd and 3rd grade writing
Pseudo-Transitives
# verbs with expletive subject + NP object Hunt 1965 Overall decrease in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
22
Table 3: CoordinationSub-category Measure Notes on Operationalisation Source Findings
Generic Coordination Coordinators / Conjunctions
# coordinators between main clauses (clause operationalisation unclear)
Hunt 1965 Decrease in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade
# distinct coordinators/coordinator combinations within a t-unit (patterns include asyndetic coordination, whilst coordinators include correlatives, as well as "instead of", "as well as" "rather…than")
Hunt 1965 No difference in 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade
extent of coordinating conjunctions (operationalisation unclear)
Percival 1966 Positive predictor of quality in Year 6 UK writing
% of times the coordinators "and" + "but" used to link a t-unit vs other coordinators such as "for" + ";"
Potter 1967 Negative association with quality in 10th grade writing
Miscellaneous Coordinations
# occasions on which ≥2 units coordinated within a t-unit
Hunt 1965 No difference in 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade
# compound predicate t-unit types as a percentage of all t-units (compound t-unit iff includes a coordinated verb phrase)
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in sample of writing by professional authors versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
Clause Coordination Clauses # coordinated clauses per 100 words (clause iff verb phrase)
Myhill 1999 Negative association with quality
# coordinated clauses per 100 words (clause iff verb phrase)
Myhill 2008; 2009 Negative association with quality
23
# coordinated clauses per 100 words (clause iff verb phrase)
Myhill & Hicks 1999
Negative association with quality, but more frequent in narrative versus non-narrative writing
Proportion of clauses linked by "and"/"but"/"for"/"so (clause iff verb phrase)
Verhoeven et al 2002
Decrease in adult writing versus 4th grade writing, and generally more frequent in narrative versus expository writing
Phrasal Coordination Coordination (Verb Phrases)
# finite verbs coordinated under the same subject noun phrase
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# occasions on which ≥2 verbs coordinated within same verb phrase
Hunt 1965 General descriptive decrease in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade
Argument Structure (Subject Function)
# occasions on which ≥2 subjects coordinated within a t-unit
Hunt 1965 General descriptive decrease in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade
# occasions on which ≥2 subjects coordinated within a clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 General descriptive decrease in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade
Argument Structure (Object Function)
# occasions on which ≥2 direct objects coordinated within a t-unit
Hunt 1965 General descriptive increase in 12th versus 8th and 4th grade writing
# occasions on which ≥2 direct objects coordinated within a clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 General descriptive increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
24
Argument Structure (Predicate Function)
# occasions on which ≥2 predicate adjectives coordinated within a t-unit
Hunt 1965 Descriptive decrease in 12th versus 8th grade but least frequent in 4th grade writing
occasions on which ≥2 predicate adjectives coordinated within a clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Descriptive increase in 8th and 12th versus 4th grade writing, with no clear differences between 8th and 12th grade
# coordinated predicates per 100 t-units (operationalisation unclear)
O'Donnell et al 1967
Increase in 7th and 5th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing, with no difference between 7th and 5th grade
Argument Structure (Prepositional Object Function)
# occasions on which ≥2 prepositional objects coordinated within a t-unit
Hunt 1965 Descriptive decrease in 12th versus 8th grade but least frequent in 4th grade writing
# occasions on which ≥2 prepositional objects coordinated within a clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Descriptive decrease in 12th versus 8th grade but least frequent in 4th grade writing
Argument Structure (Nominals)
# coordinated nouns in subject & object position
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference at 4th versus 6th grade. No association with quality in writing by same students
# occasions on which ≥2 predicate nominals coordinated within a t-unit
Hunt 1965 No clear differences between 4th, 8th and 12th grade but too rare for meaningful analysis
# occasions on which ≥2 predicate nominals coordinated within a clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 No clear differences between 4th, 8th and 12th grade but too rare for meaningful analysis
# coordinated nominal constructions per 100 t-units (nominal iff fulfils a nominal function)
O'Donnell et al 1967
Increase in 7th versus 5th versus 3rd grade writing
25
Argument Structure (Other)
# occasions on which ≥2 non-argument structure elements coordinated within a t-unit
Hunt 1965 No difference in 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade
26
Table 4: SubordinationSub-category Measure Notes on Operationalisation Source FindingsGeneral Subordination
All Subordinate Clauses
# subordinate clauses per clause (clause operationalisation unclear) Harpin 1976
Increase in Year 6 versus Year 5 versus Year 4 versus Year 3 student writing
# subordinate clauses per 100 word sample (clause iff verb phrase) Myhill 1999
Overall negative association with quality
# subordinate clauses per 100 word sample (clause iff verb phrase) Myhill 2008
Negative association with quality in Year 8 & Year 10 UK writing
# subordinate clauses per 100 word sample (clause iff verb phrase) Myhill & Hicks 1999
Overall negative association with quality, but also higher in non-narrative versus narrative writing
total number of clauses per utterance (clause iff subject + verb phrase) Nippold et al 2005
No difference in sample of writing by adults versus 5-6 year olds versus 11-12 year olds
# subordinate clauses (clause operationalisation unclear) Noyce & Christie 1985
Increase in 5th versus 3rd grade
# subordinate clauses per 100 words (clause operationalisation unclear) Noyce & Christie 1985
Increase in 5th versus 3rd grade
# subordinate clauses per clause (clause operationalisation unclear) Watts 1944
Overall increase in UK student writing from ages 7-8 through 14-15
# different kinds of subordinate clause (clause operationalisation unclear) Watts 1944
Overall increase in UK student writing from ages 7-8 through 14-15
Subordinators Frequencies of 10 most frequently-used connectives (connectives identified as "when"/"that"/"if"/"because"/"what"/"who"/"where"/"until"/"after";
Noyce & Christie
Distributions broadly similar though positions shift
27
also includes relative clauses without an explicit subordinator such as "who" or "that")
1985 relative to each other; e.g. at 3rd grade: "if" more frequent than "because", at 5th: "because" more frequent than "if", but nothing especially marked otherwise
frequency of subordinating conjunctions Percival 1966
Positive predictor of quality in Year 6 UK writing
proportion of clauses linked by a subordinator (subordinators identified as "that"/"after"/"before"/"since"/"until"/"when"/"while"/"because"/"as"/"so that"/"in order to"/"so as to"/"if"/"although"/"as if" (clause iff verb phrase)
Verhoeven et al 2002
Increase in sample of adult writing versus 4th grade writing
Finite Subordinate Clauses
# finite subordinate clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Golub & Fredrick 1970
Increase in 6th versus 4th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# finite subordinate clauses per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade
# finite subordinate clauses per clause (clause operationalisation unclear) Potter 1967
No association with quality in 10th grade writing
Non-Finite Subordinate Clauses
♯ participial phrases marking sequentiality or simultaneity per NRV (unclear operationalisation)
McClure & Platt 1988
Increase in 9th versus 4th grade
# present participle subordinate clauses (clause iff verb phrase) Myhill 2009
Positive association with quality in Year 8 & Year 10 UK writing
# infinitive verbal phrases per 100 t-units Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing and
28
professional writing versus 3rd grade writing, with minimal difference indicated between the 6th grade and professional sample
# non-finite verbal phrases (including gerunds) per 100 t-units Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in sample of professional writing versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
% present participle verbal phrases per 100 t-unit Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in sample of professional writing versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
% past participle verbal phrases per 100 t-units Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in sample of professional writing versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
Adverbial Clauses
See also Table 5: Adverbial Placement
Adverbial Clauses (General)
# finite adverbial clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Blount et al 1969
Decrease in 12th versus 8th grade writing
# finite adverbial clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing. Increase in high- and medium- versus low-rated writing by same students
# adverbial clauses (clause iff finite verb phrase) Harrell 1957
Increase in 10th versus 8th versus 6th versus 5th grade
29
writing# finite adverbial clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Hunt 1965 No difference in 4th versus
8th versus 12th grade writing
% finite adverbial clauses per subordinate clause (clause operationalisation unclear)
Loban 1976
Overall increase in 12th through 4th grade writing. Interaction with grade and quality, with positive association in high- versus low- ability students at 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th, 11th and 12th grade but negative association at 7th, 8th and 10th grade
# adverbial clauses (clause operationalisation unclear) Potter 1967
Negative association with quality in 10th grade writing
Adverbial Clauses (General) per Grammatical Unit
# finite adverbial clauses per t-unit (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Blount et al 1969
Decrease in 12th versus 8th grade writing
# adverbial clauses per subordinate clause (clause operationalisation unclear)
Harpin 1976
Overall descriptive decrease between Year 4 versus Year 6 UK writing, but most frequent in Year 3 sample
# adverbial clauses per clause (clause iff finite verb phrase) Harrell 1957
Increase in 10th versus 8th versus 6th versus 4th grade writing
# adverbial clauses per subordinate clause (clause iff finite verb phrase) Harrell 1957
General decrease in sample of writing by 4th, 8th, 6th, and 10th grade writing, with no differences between the 6th, 8th, and 10th grade writing
# finite adverbial clauses per t-unit (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Hunt 1965 No difference in 4th versus
30
8th versus 12th grade writing
# adverbial clauses per utterance (clause iff subject + lexical verb) Nippold et al 2005
No difference in samples by adult writers, 5-6 year olds, and 11-12 year olds
# t-units with an adverbial clause (clause operationalisation unclear) Noyce & Christie 1985
Increase in 5th versus 3rd grade writing
# finite adverbial clauses per 100 t-units (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
O'Donnell et al 1967
Increase in 7th and 5th versus 3rd grade writing
% tagmas in sample that are adverbial clauses (clause operationalisation unclear)
Sampson 2003
Increase in sample of UK student writing aged 9-12 versus adult writing
# finite adverb clauses per 100 t-units (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Thompson et al 1967
Increase in sample of writing by professional writers versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
# adverbial clauses per 100 t-units (clause operationalisation unclear) Veal 1974 Interaction between grade and quality. At 2nd grade, increase in high- versus medium- versus low-rated writing. At 4th grade, increase in high- and medium- versus low-rated writing. At 6th grade, increase in high- versus medium- and low-rated writing
Adverbial Clauses Introduced by Specific
range of adverbial clause subordinators (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Blount et al 1969
No descriptive difference between 8th and 12th grade writing. Especially frequent use of "because", "if",
31
Subordinators "when" across both grades, although "when" is markedly more frequent at Grade 8 where it accounts for approx one-third of all adverbial clauses
range of finite adverbial clause subordinators (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 No difference in 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade writing
range of adverbial clause subordinators (clause iff verb phrase) Myhill 2008
Descriptive analysis only. High-rated writing uses "as" and "how" more frequently whilst Lower-rated uses "because", "if" and "when" more frequently; weak writers use non-standard "like" more frequently
Adverbial Clauses (Syntactic Subtypes)
# adverbial relative clauses (subject + finite VP operationalisation) Blount et al 1969
No difference between 8th versus 12th grade writing
Adverbial Clauses (Semantic Subtypes)
# conditional subordinators such as "if" and "unless" (clause operationalisation unclear)
Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 5 ("overt expression of persuasion"), which negatively correlates with grade, but positively correlates with the quality of the expository essays and the persuasive essays in samples of writing at 4th through 12th grade
# concessive subordinators such as "though" and "although" (clause operationalisation unclear)
Deane & Quinlan
Positively loads on dimension 6 ("elaboration"),
32
2010 which positively correlates with grade, the quality of the expository essays, and the quality of the persuasive essays in samples of writing at 4th through 12th grade
# adverbial clauses of "cause" (clause iff finite verb phrase) Harrell 1957
Increase in 10th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing, but least frequent in 6th grade writing
# adverbial clauses of "time" (clause iff finite verb phrase) Harrell 1957
Increase in 10th versus 8th versus 6th versus 4th grade writing
% adverbial clauses of "cause" per total adverbial clauses (clause iff subject verb phrase)
Harrell 1957
Increase in 10th versus 8th versus 6th grade writing, but no difference between 4th versus 10th grade writing
% adverbial clauses of "time" per total adverbial clauses (clause iff finite verb phrase)
Harrell 1957
Increase in 8th and 6th grade writing versus 10th and 4th grade writing
# "logical adverbial clauses" per subordinate clause (clause operationalisation unclear; clause is "logical" if introduced by "because", "if", or "so that")
Rubin 1982
Increase in 4th grade writing versus sample of writing by adult writers, but no differences otherwise in the samples of writing by adults, 4th graders, 8th graders, and 12th graders
Comparative Clauses
See Table 2: Adjective Phrase Structure & Adverb Phrase Structure
Complement Clauses
See also Table 2: Adjective Phrase Structure & Adverb Phrase Structure; Noun Phrase Structure; Preposition Phrase Structure"Verbal" # clauses following a verb like seem (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Blount et No difference in 12th versus
33
Complement Clauses
al 1969 8th grade, but form likely too rare for meaningful analysis
# "noun" clauses in subject, object, or predicate function (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Descriptive increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# verbal complement clauses in subject or object function per utterance (clause iff subject + verb phrase)
Nippold et al 2005
No difference in writing by adults versus students aged 11-12 versus students aged 5-6
"Noun" Complement Clauses
# clauses appearing in subject, object, or prepositional complement position (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# "noun" clauses in subject, object, predicate, or prepositional object function
Hunt 1965 Descriptive increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
% tagmas in sample that are antecedentless relative clauses (clause operationalisation unclear)
Sampson 2003
No difference in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
"Nominal" Complement Clauses
# "noun" clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Blount et al 1969
Increase in 12th versus 8th grade writing
# "noun" clauses per 100 t-units (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Blount et al 1969
Increase in 12th versus 8th grade writing
# "complementations" (clause operationalisation unclear) Fagan 1981
Increase in 11th grade writing and writing by teachers versus 5th grade writing, but no differences between teacher and 11th
34
grade writing# "complementations" per utterance (utterances operationalised as t-units) Fagan
1981No difference in writing by teachers, 11th graders, and 5th graders
# "noun" clauses per sentence (clause operationalisation unclear) Harpin 1976
Overall decrease in Year 6 through Year 3 UK writing
% noun clauses per adverbial/noun/relative clause (clause operationalisation unclear)
Loban 1976
Overall increase in 12th through 4th grade writing. Interaction between grade and quality, with a negative association with quality indicated at 5th through 7th grade, a positive association with quality indicated at 8th, 10th & 12th grade, but no association with quality indicated at 4th, 9th, or 11th grade
# noun clauses per 100 words (clause operationalisation unclear) Noyce & Christie 1985
Descriptive decrease in 5th versus 3rd grade writing
# "nominal" clauses per 100 t-units (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) O'Donnell et al 1967
No difference in 7th versus 5th versus 3rd grade writing
♯ "nominal" clauses replacing a noun per 100 t-units in 1000 word sample (clause operationalisation unclear)
Peltz 1973 No difference between 10th graders and writing by professional authors
# "noun" clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Hunt 1965 Overall increase in 12th versus 4th grade, but least frequent in the 8th grade
35
writing# "noun" clauses per t-unit (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Hunt 1965 Descriptive increase in 12th
versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
% tagmas in sample that are declarative complement clauses (clause operationalisation unclear)
Sampson 2003
Increase in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
% noun clauses per 100 t-units (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Thompson et al 1967
Increase in writing by professional authors versus 6th grade writing versus 3rd grade writing
# "nominal" clauses per 100 t-units (clause operationalisation unclear) Veal 1974 Interaction with grade & quality. At 2nd grade, increase in high- and low-rated writing versus medium-rated writing. At 4th grade, increase in high- versus medium- and low- rated writing. At 6th grade, increase in high- and medium- versus low-rated writing
Relative Clauses (Noun-modifying)
Relative Clauses
# relative clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Blount et al 1969
No difference between 8th versus 12th grade
# relativizations (clause operationalisation unclear) Fagan 1981
Increase in 11th grade writing versus 5th grade writing and writing by teachers, with teacher writing exhibiting an increase versus 5th grade writing
# relative clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Golub & More frequent in 6th versus
36
Fredrick 1970
4th grade writing; More frequent in high- and medium-rated writing versus low-rated writing by same students
# relative clauses (clause iff finite verb phrase) Harrell 1957
Increase in 10th versus 8th versus 6th versus 4th grade writing
# relative clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) Hunt 1965 General increase between 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade
# relative clauses per 100 words (clause operationalisation unclear) Noyce & Christie 1985
Increase in 5th versus 3rd grade writing
# relative clauses (clause operationalisation unclear) Potter 1967
No association with quality in 10th grade writing
Relative Clauses per Grammatical Unit
# relative clauses per noun phrase (clause iff unified predicate that describes a single activity/state/event operationalisation)
Berman & Nir-Sagiv 2007
More marked association with expository versus narrative writing from 11th grade
# noun-modifying relative clauses per 100 t-units (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Blount et al 1969
Increase in 12th versus 8th grade writing
# relativizations per utterance (clause operationalisation unclear) Fagan 1981
Increase in 11th grade writing and writing by teachers versus 5th grade writing, but no differences between teacher and 11th grade writing
# noun-modifying relative clauses per subordinate clause (clause operationalisation unclear)
Harpin 1976
General increase in Year 3 through Year 6 UK writing
# relative clauses per subordinate clause (clause iff finite verb phrase) Harrell Increase in 10th versus 8th
37
1957 versus 6th versus 4th grade writing
# noun-modifying relative clauses per t-unit (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Overall descriptive increase, but no significant difference in 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade writing
% noun-modifying relative clauses per subordinate clause (clause operationalisation unclear)
Loban 1976
General descriptive increase in 4th through 12th grade writing; Mixed descriptive relationship with student ability at each grade level, with a negative association in 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 12th grade but a positive association in 5th, 8th and 10th grade
# relative clauses per utterance (clause iff subject + lexical verb) Nippold et al 2005
Increase in adult versus 5-6 year old writing, but no differences in adult versus 11-12 year old writing or 11-12 year old writing versus 5-6 year old writing
# relative clauses per 100 t-units (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase) O'Donnell et al 1967
Increase in 7th and 5th grade versus 3rd grade
# noun-modifying relative clauses per 100 t-units (clause operationalisation unclear)
Peltz 1973 No difference in sample professional writing versus 10th grade US writing
% tagmas that are relative clauses (clause operationalisation unclear) Sampson 2003
No difference between sample of adult writing and sample of UK student writing aged 9 to 12
# relative clauses per 100 t-units (clause operationalisation unclear) Thompson et al 1967
General increase in sample of professional writing, 6th
38
grade writing, and 3rd grade writing
# relative clauses per 100 t-units (clause operationalisation unclear) Veal 1974 Interaction between grade and quality. At 2nd grade, increase in high- versus medium- and low-rated writing. At 4th and at 6th grade, increase in high- and medium- versus low-rated writing
Proportion of relative clauses (clause iff verb phrase) Verhoeven et al 2002
Higher proportion in adult versus 4th grade writing
Relative Clauses with Specific Internal Structure
# noun-modifying relative clauses with relativized element in subject position (clause operationalisation unclear)
Potter 1967
Positive association with quality
# noun-modifying relative clauses with relativized element in object position (clause operationalisation unclear)
Potter 1967
Negative association with quality
# relative clauses introduced by "who"/"whom"/"which"/"when", & "where" vs. "that" or Ø (clause operationalisation unclear)
Potter 1967
Positive association with quality
# relative clauses introduced by "which" (clause operationalisation unclear) Potter 1967
Positive association with quality
# relative clauses introduced by "ø" instead of "which" (clause operationalisation unclear)
Potter 1967
Negative association with quality
# relative clauses introduced by a relative pronoun (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
More frequent in 6th versus 4th grade writing; More frequent in high- and medium-rated writing versus low-rated writing by same students
39
Miscellaneous Subordination
Uncommon Subordinate Clauses
# subordinate clauses not functioning as a noun/relative/adverb clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 6th versus 4th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by same students
# uncommon subordinate clauses (uncommon iff not a finite nominal clause in object position nor a finite adverbial clause of time) per subordinate clause (unclear operationalisation)
Harpin 1976
Overall increase in UK student writing between Year 3 and Year 6
Dependent Predicates
# dependent predicates per predicate Harrell 1957
Increase in 10th versus 8th versus 6th versus 4th grade writing
# dependent predicates per predicate (LaBrant's lexical verb operationalisation)
Sampson 1964a; 1964b
Positive association with quality in 10 year old writing
40
Table 5: Information StructureSub-category Measure Notes on Operationalisation Source Findings
Adverbial Placement Adverbials in Initial Position # adverbial phrases & non-finite adverbial clauses as first word of a t-unit
Golub & Fredrick 1970
Decrease in 6th versus 4th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by the same students
# sentences opening with an adverbial phrase
Myhill 2008 Interaction between age and quality in Year 8 & Year 10 UK writing, with a positive association at Year 8 but no association at Year 10
% t-units opening with an "opener"
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
# "movable" adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses appearing at the opening of a clause as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
No evidence differences in sample of writing by professional authors versus 6th versus 3rd grade writing
# "fixed" adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses at the opening of a clause, between the subject and the verb, or as part of a divided verb slot as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Overall descriptive increase in sample of writing by professional authors versus 6th versus 3rd grade writing, but negligible difference between the professional and the 6th grade writers
Adverbials in Final Position # adverbial phrases and non-finite adverbial clauses occurring as the final word of a t-unit
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 6th versus 4th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by the same students
Adverbials in Pre- versus Post- Verbal Position
# adverbial phrases and non-finite adverbial clauses appearing before the verb of a clause (excludes finite adverbial clauses)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference between 4th and 6th grade writing. Positive association with quality in writing by the same students
# adverbials appearing Golub & Fredrick Increase in 6th versus 4th grade writing.
41
immediately after the verb of a clause (excludes finite adverbial clauses)
1970 Positive association with quality in writing by the same students
♯ affirmative/negative adverbs preceding the main verb (e.g. "always", "not", "n't", "just", "only")
Hunt 1965 Increase in 12th versus 8th grade but no difference between 8th and 4th grade
# "fixed" adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses either following the verb when the t-unit has a canonical order or following the second major slot within an inversion structure as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in sample of writing by professional authors versus 6th versus 3rd grade writing
# "movable" adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses between the subject and the verb or as part of a divided verb slot as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in sample of writing by professional authors versus 6th versus 3rd grade writing
# "movable" adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses either following the verb when the t-unit has a canonical order or following the second major slot within an inversion structure as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptive increase in sample of writing by professional authors versus 6th versus 3rd grade writing
Adverbial Clause Placement
Adverbial Clauses in Initial Position
Percentage of finite adverbial clauses in initial position (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Descriptive decrease in 4th versus 12th and 8th grade writing, but also in 12th versus 8th grade writing
42
# sentences opening with a finite adverbial clause (clause iff verb phrase)
Myhill 2008 No difference between Year 8 & Year 10 UK writing. No association with quality in writing by same students
# sentences opening with a non-finite adverbial clause (clause iff verb phrase)
Myhill 2008 Interaction with grade & quality in Year 8 and Year 10 UK writing. No association with quality at Year 8; positive association with quality at Year 10
# subordinate clauses in initial position per 100 words (clause operationalisation unclear)
Noyce & Christie 1985
No difference at 3rd versus 5th grade
# non-finite clauses used as sentence openers in 500 word composition (clause operationalisation unclear)
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
# sentences in 500 word composition opening with a finite conditional clause in 500 word composition (clause operationalisation unclear)
Potter 1967 Negative association with quality in 10th grade writing
# sentences in 500 word composition opening with a finite temporal clause in 500 word composition (clause operationalisation unclear)
Potter 1967 Negative association with quality in 10th grade writing
# finite adverbial clauses headed by "if" in initial sentence position in 500 word composition (clause operationalisation)
Potter 1967 Negative association with quality in 10th grade writing
# sentences opening with a clause that is neither a temporal clause nor a
Potter 1967 No association with quality in 10th grade writing
43
conditional clause (clause operationalisation unclear)
Adverbial Clauses in Medial Position
percentage of finite adverbial clauses in medial position (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Descriptive increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# subordinate clauses in medial position per 100 words (clause operationalisation unclear)
Noyce & Christie 1985
Increase in 5th versus 3rd grade
Adverbial Clauses in Final Position
percentage of finite adverbial clauses in final position (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Descriptive increase in 8th versus 12th and 4th grade writing, and also in 12th versus 4th grade writing
# subordinate clauses in final position per 100 words (clause operationalisation unclear)
Noyce & Christie 1985
Increase in 5th versus 3rd grade
Adverbial Clauses in Other Positions
# adverbial clauses appearing before word they modify (clause iff finite verb phrase)
Harrell (1957) Overall decreased between 10th & 4th grade, but no differences between 4th, 6th, and 8th grade writing
# adverbial clauses of "time" appearing before word they modify (clause iff finite verb phrase)
Harrell 1957 General decrease in 10th versus 4th grade writing, in 8th and 6th grade versus 4th grade writing, in 10th versus 8th and 6th grade writing, but no differences between 6th & 8th grade
# adverbial clauses of "cause" appearing before word they modify (clause iff finite verb phrase)
Harrell 1957 Increase in 10th versus 8th versus 4th and 6th grade writing
Displacement Structures
Canonical Sentence Structures # sentences opening with a subject
Myhill 2008 No difference in Year 8 versus Year 10 UK writing, but negative association with quality in writing by same students
44
Non-Canonical Sentence Structures (General)
# ≥ 1 major slot out of normal subject-verb-object order as a percentage of t-units
Thompson et al 1967
More frequent in sample of professional writing versus 6th grade writing, and more frequent in both than 3rd grade writing
Non-Canonical Sentence Structures (It-Cleft Structures)
# finite it-cleft verbal complement clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Blount et al 1969 More frequent in 12th versus 8th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
# finite it-cleft verbal complement clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 Descriptively more frequent in 4th versus 12th grade writing, with both more frequent than 8th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
Non-Canonical Sentence Structures (Existential Structures)
# existential t-units as a percentage of all t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptively more frequent in 3rd grade writing versus sample of professional writing, and more frequent in both groups versus 6th grade writing sample
Non-Canonical Sentence Structures (Extraposed Structures)
# extraposed finite verbal complement clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Blount et al 1969 More frequent in 12th versus 8th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
# extraposed finite verbal complement clauses (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 General descriptive increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
Non-Canonical Sentence Structures (Subject-Verb Inversion Structures)
# subject-verb inversions Myhill 2008 Positive association with quality in Year 8 and Year 10 UK writing
# finite adverbial clauses with subject-verb inversion (subject + finite VP operationalisation)
Blount et al 1969 No difference in 8th versus 12th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
# finite adverbial clauses with subject-verb inversion (subject + finite VP operationalisation)
Hunt 1965 No descriptive difference between 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade, but too rare for meaningful analysis
Non-Canonical Sentence # finite adverbial clauses in Blount et al 1969 No difference in 8th versus 12th grade
45
Structures ("The More, The Merrier"-type Adverbial Clauses)
"the more the merrier" format (subject + finite VP operationalisation)
writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
# finite adverbial clauses in "the more the merrier" format (subject + finite VP operationalisation)
Hunt 1965 No descriptive difference between 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade, but too rare for meaningful analysis
Passive Structures Passive Structures # passive verbs Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 1 ("academic orientation"), which positively correlates with age, the quality of expository essays and of persuasive essays across sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# verbs with "-ed"/"-ing" suffix that are also introduced by auxiliary "be" or "have"
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing, but more frequent in high- and medium- versus low-rated writing by the same students
♯ passive auxiliaries Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# passive sentences in 500 word composition
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality in 10th grade writing
Passive Structures per Grammatical Unit
# subject + passive verb sequences as a percentage of t-units
Thompson et al 1967
Descriptively more frequent in sample of professional writing and sample of 6th grade writing than 3rd grade writing, with negligible difference between the professional and 6th grade writing, but too rare for meaningful analysis
46
Table 6a: Generic Indices (T-unit-Based Measures)Measure Notes on Operationalisation Source Findings
Sentence Length (Words) # words per sentence Blount et al 1969 No difference between 8th versus 12th grade writing
# words per sentence Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 3 ("sentence complexity"), which positively correlates with both the age of the student and the quality of their persuasive essays and their expository essays in a sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# words per sentence Golub & Fredrick 1970
Longer in 6th versus 4th grade writing; longer for "low"- and "medium" versus "high"- rated writing by the same students
# words per sentence Harpin 1976 General increase in sample of Year 3 through Year 6 UK writing
# words per sentence Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# words in sampled sentence Massey & Elliott 1996
Negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples elicited in 1993 and 1994, but no clear association for 1980 cohort
# words in sampled sentence Massey et al 2005
Negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples elicited in 1993, 1994, and 2004, but no clear association for 1980 cohort
# words per sentence Myhill 2008 Longer in Year 10 versus Year 8 UK writing; No association with quality for same students
# words per sentence Peltz 1973 Longer in sample of writing by professional authors than sample of 10th grade writing
# words per sentence Percival 1966 Overall predictor of quality in regression model
47
# sentences per 100 word sample Myhill & Hicks 1999
Negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing sample
# words per sentence in 500 word composition Potter 1967 Positive association with quality
# words in shortest sentence Myhill 2008 Longer in Year 10 versus Year 8 UK writing, but no association with quality for same sample
# words in longest sentence Myhill 2008 Longer in Year 10 versus Year 8 UK writing; Increase with quality for same sample
Sentence Length (Morphemes)
# morphemes per sentence Bourke & Adams 2003
Positive association with quality
# morphemes per sentence Bourke & Adams 2011
Positive association with quality
Sentence Length (T-units) # t-units per sentence Blount et al 1969 Decrease in 4th versus 8th grade writing# t-units per sentence Golub & Fredrick
1970No difference in 4th versus 6th grade; higher in low- versus medium- and high-rated writing
# t-units per sentence Hunt 1965 Decrease in 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade writing
# t-units per sentence Peltz 1973 No difference in sample of writing by professional authors versus sample of 10th grade writing
Sentence Length (Clauses) # samples consisting of a simple sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey & Elliott 1996
Overall positive association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples elicited in 1994, but no clear relationship with quality for samples elicited in 1980 and 1993
# samples consisting of a simple sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey et al 2005
Overall positive association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples elicited in 1994 and 2004, but no clear relationship with quality for samples elicited in 1980 and 1993
# simple sentences (clause operationalisation unclear)
Zeman 1969 Fewer in 3rd versus 2nd grade writing
48
# samples consisting of a compound sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey & Elliott 1996
Overall positive association with quality in sample of Year 11 UK writing produced in 1994, but an overall negative association in sample produced in 1993 and no clear association in sample produced in 1980
# samples consisting of a compound sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey et al 2005
Overall positive association with quality in sample of Year 11 UK writing produced in 1994, but an overall negative association in sample produced in 1993 and no clear association in samples produced in 1980 and 2004
# compound sentences (clause operationalisation unclear)
Zeman 1969 No difference in 2nd versus 3rd grade writing
# samples consisting of a complex sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey & Elliott 1996
Overall positive association with quality in sample of Year 11 UK writing produced in 1993, but no clear association for samples produced in 1980 and 1994
# samples consisting of a complex sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey et al 2005
Overall positive association with quality in samples of Year 11 UK writing produced in 1993 and 2004, but no clear association for samples produced in 1980 and 1994
# complex sentences (clause operationalisation unclear)
Zeman 1969 Increase in 3rd versus 2nd grade writing
# samples consisting of a compound-complex sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey & Elliott 1996
Overall negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples produced in 1993 and 1994, but no clear relationship for the sample produced in 1980
# samples consisting of a compound-complex sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey et al 2005
Overall negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples produced in 1993 and 1994, but no clear relationship for the samples produced in 1980 and 2004
49
# compound-complex sentences (clause operationalisation unclear)
Zeman 1969 No difference in 2nd versus 3rd grade writing
General Sentence Complexity
# sentence complexity points (1pt per sentence fragment, 2pts per simple sentence, 3pts per simple sentence introduced by a 'linking word', 4pts per use of a coordinator to link two independent clauses, 5pt per independent clause with subordinate clauses)
Yates et al 1995 No grade-related difference in expository writing in 1st through 6th grade. For narrative writing, general increase between 6th and 1st grade, but most frequent overall at 4th grade
Utterance Length (Words) # words per utterance (t-unit or sub-sentential fragment operationalisation)
Nippold et al 2005
General Increase in sample of adult writing versus writing sample by 11/12 year olds versus writing sample by 5/6 year olds
Utterance Length (Morphemes)
# morphemes per utterance Cameron et al 1995
Positive association with quality
Utterance Length (Clauses) total number of clauses per utterance (clause iff subject + verb phrase)
Nippold et al 2005
No difference in sample of writing by adults versus 5-6 year olds versus 11-12 year olds
50
Table 6b: Generic Indices (Clause-Based Measures)Measure Notes on Operationalisation Source Findings
Clause Size (Words)
# words per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Beers & Nagy 2011 No difference in cohort of 3rd versus 5th grade student samples but longer clauses found in cohort of 7th versus 5th grade. Additional analysis of genre found no difference between the comparison or the persuasive writing at any stage, the descriptive writing to be characterised by longer clauses than the persuasive writing at all grades, but the narrative writing to be characterised by longer clauses than the persuasive writing only in 7th grade samples
# words per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Crowhurst & Piche 1979
Overall sample characterised by greater a greater average clause length at 10th grade versus 6th grade. Further analysis found that the argumentative and descriptive writing was characterised by longer clauses at 10th grade, with no grade-related differences evident in the narrative writing. It also found that at 10th grade, the argumentative and descriptive writing exhibited longer clauses than the narrative writing, whilst no genre-related differences were found for the 6th grade writing
# words per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# words per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Blount et al 1969 Longer in 12th versus 8th grade US writing
# words per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Golub & Fredrick 1970
No difference in 6th versus 4th grade US writing; no association with quality
# words per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Grobe 1981 Clause length positively predictive of quality at 5th, 8th, and 11th grade overall, although relationship varied according to particular grade and regression model. Overall contribution to models never contributed more than 1.1% of variance
51
# words per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Rubin 1982 Longer in 12th versus 8th grade US writing, with sample of adult writing characterised by longer clauses than all three student groups
# words per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Rubin & Piché 1979 Longer in 12th versus 8th grade US writing, with sample of adult writing characterised by longer clauses than all three student groups
# words per clause (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Langer 1984 No association with quality
# words per clause in 1000 word sample (clause iff subject + finite verb phrase)
Peltz 1973 Sample of writing by professional authors exhibited longer clauses than sample of 10th grade writing
# words per clause (clause iff finite verb phrase)
Harrell 1957 General increase with 10th grade writing exhibiting longer clauses than the 8th grade writing, which in turn exhibited longer clauses than the 6th and 4th grade writing
# words per clause (clause iff unified predicate that describes a single activity/state/event)
Berman & Nir-Sagiv 2007
Interaction with genre in sample of 4th grade, 7th grade, 11th grade and adult writing, with the expository writing exhibiting longer clauses than the narrative writing from 7th grade
# words per clause (clause iff unified predicate that describes a single activity/state/event)
Ravid & Berman 2010 Adult and 11th grade writing sample characterised by longer clauses than 4th grade sample, but no differences otherwise between the 4th grade, 7th grade, 11th grade and adult writing samples
# words per clause (clause operationalisation unclear)
Veal 1974 An age-related association was found for the 2nd grade sample, with the higher quality writing characterised by longer clauses than the low quality writing. No association was found with quality for either the 4th or 6th grade samples
# words per clause (clause operationalisation unclear)
Harpin 1976 General descriptive increase between 3rd and 5th Year UK writing, although 5th grade clauses also descriptively longer than average than the Year 6 writing sample
52
Table 6c: Generic Indices (Sentence- & Utterance-Based Measures)Measure Notes on Operationalisation Source Findings
Sentence Length (Words) # words per sentence Blount et al 1969 No difference between 8th versus 12th grade writing
# words per sentence Deane & Quinlan 2010
Positively loads on dimension 3 ("sentence complexity"), which positively correlates with both the age of the student and the quality of their persuasive essays and their expository essays in a sample of 4th through 12th grade writing
# words per sentence Golub & Fredrick 1970
Longer in 6th versus 4th grade writing; longer for "low"- and "medium" versus "high"- rated writing by the same students
# words per sentence Harpin 1976 General increase in sample of Year 3 through Year 6 UK writing
# words per sentence Hunt 1965 General increase in 12th versus 8th versus 4th grade writing
# words in sampled sentence Massey & Elliott 1996
Negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples elicited in 1993 and 1994, but no clear association for 1980 cohort
# words in sampled sentence Massey et al 2005
Negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples elicited in 1993, 1994, and 2004, but no clear association for 1980 cohort
# words per sentence Myhill 2008 Longer in Year 10 versus Year 8 UK writing; No association with quality for same students
# words per sentence Peltz 1973 Longer in sample of writing by professional authors than sample of 10th grade writing
# words per sentence Percival 1966 Overall predictor of quality in regression model
53
# sentences per 100 word sample Myhill & Hicks 1999
Negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing sample
# words per sentence in 500 word composition
Potter 1967 Positive association with quality
# words in shortest sentence Myhill 2008 Longer in Year 10 versus Year 8 UK writing, but no association with quality for same sample
# words in longest sentence Myhill 2008 Longer in Year 10 versus Year 8 UK writing; Increase with quality for same sample
Sentence Length (Morphemes)
# morphemes per sentence Bourke & Adams 2003
Positive association with quality
# morphemes per sentence Bourke & Adams 2011
Positive association with quality
Sentence Length (T-units) # t-units per sentence Blount et al 1969 Decrease in 4th versus 8th grade writing# t-units per sentence Golub & Fredrick
1970No difference in 4th versus 6th grade; higher in low- versus medium- and high-rated writing
# t-units per sentence Hunt 1965 Decrease in 4th versus 8th versus 12th grade writing
# t-units per sentence Peltz 1973 No difference in sample of writing by professional authors versus sample of 10th grade writing
Sentence Length (Clauses) # samples consisting of a simple sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey & Elliott 1996
Overall positive association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples elicited in 1994, but no clear relationship with quality for samples elicited in 1980 and 1993
# samples consisting of a simple sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey et al 2005
Overall positive association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples elicited in 1994 and 2004, but no clear relationship with quality for samples elicited in 1980 and 1993
# simple sentences (clause operationalisation unclear)
Zeman 1969 Fewer in 3rd versus 2nd grade writing
54
# samples consisting of a compound sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey & Elliott 1996
Overall positive association with quality in sample of Year 11 UK writing produced in 1994, but an overall negative association in sample produced in 1993 and no clear association in sample produced in 1980
# samples consisting of a compound sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey et al 2005
Overall positive association with quality in sample of Year 11 UK writing produced in 1994, but an overall negative association in sample produced in 1993 and no clear association in samples produced in 1980 and 2004
# compound sentences (clause operationalisation unclear)
Zeman 1969 No difference in 2nd versus 3rd grade writing
# samples consisting of a complex sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey & Elliott 1996
Overall positive association with quality in sample of Year 11 UK writing produced in 1993, but no clear association for samples produced in 1980 and 1994
# samples consisting of a complex sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey et al 2005
Overall positive association with quality in samples of Year 11 UK writing produced in 1993 and 2004, but no clear association for samples produced in 1980 and 1994
# complex sentences (clause operationalisation unclear)
Zeman 1969 Increase in 3rd versus 2nd grade writing
# samples consisting of a compound-complex sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey & Elliott 1996
Overall negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples produced in 1993 and 1994, but no clear relationship for the sample produced in 1980
# samples consisting of a compound-complex sentence (clause operationalisation unclear)
Massey et al 2005
Overall negative association with quality in Year 11 UK writing for samples produced in 1993 and 1994, but no clear relationship for the samples produced in 1980 and 2004
55
# compound-complex sentences (clause operationalisation unclear)
Zeman 1969 No difference in 2nd versus 3rd grade writing
General Sentence Complexity
# sentence complexity points (1pt per sentence fragment, 2pts per simple sentence, 3pts per simple sentence introduced by a 'linking word', 4pts per use of a coordinator to link two independent clauses, 5pt per independent clause with subordinate clauses)
Yates et al 1995 No grade-related difference in expository writing in 1st through 6th grade. For narrative writing, general increase between 6th and 1st grade, but most frequent overall at 4th grade
Utterance Length (Words) # words per utterance (t-unit or sub-sentential fragment operationalisation)
Nippold et al 2005
General Increase in sample of adult writing versus writing sample by 11/12 year olds versus writing sample by 5/6 year olds
Utterance Length (Morphemes)
# morphemes per utterance Cameron et al 1995
Positive association with quality
Utterance Length (Clauses)
total number of clauses per utterance (clause if subject + verb phrase)
Nippold et al 2005
No difference in sample of writing by adults versus 5-6 year olds versus 11-12 year olds
56
Table 6d: Generic Indices (Other Indices)Measure Notes on Operationalisation Source Findings
Clause-to-T-unit Ratios ratio of words per clause to clauses per t-unit (subject + finite VP operationalisation)
Beers & Nagy 2011
Low to moderate negative association generally found for both the 3rd + 5th grade cohort (Cohort 1) and the 5th + 7th grade cohort (Cohort 2) for all four genres. The only exceptions were the 5th grade narratives of Cohort 2, the 3rd & 5th grade compare/contrast texts of Cohort 1, and the 5th grade compare/contrast texts of Cohort 2: for all these analyses, no significant relationships were identified
# words in dependent clauses as percentage of # words in communication units
Loban 1976 General increase between 12th & 4th grade. Interaction between grade and quality, with a positive association indicated at 4th through 9th grade and also at 12th grade, a negative association indicated at 10th and 11th grade
General Size of Grammatical Constructions
# single-base generative transforms Golub & Fredrick 1970
no difference in 4th versus 6th grade writing; higher in high-versus medium- versus low-rated writing by same students
# generative grammar type transformations Loban 1976 Overall increase with student grade; More frequent in higher versus lower ability students
# words per grammatical construction Sampson 2003
Descriptive increase in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
# immediate constituents per grammatical construction
Sampson 2003
Descriptive decrease in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
57
# clausal nodes dominating a word Sampson 2003
Descriptive decrease in sample of adult writing versus UK student writing aged 9 to 12
Syntactic Diversity # basic syntactic structures (basic structure iff (D)-N-V-(Adj)-(Adv)-(PP) or N-V-(Adv)(N)(N)(PP), where a bracketed element refers to an optional element, where the "Adv" can occur at any point in the sequence and where the "PP" can occur at any point in the sequence except immediately after the obligatory "N")
Fagan 1981 Increase in samples of writing by teachers and 11th graders versus sample by 5th graders, but no difference between teacher and 11th grade samples
# alternate syntactic structures (alternate structure iff not a basic syntactic structure as defined above)
Fagan 1981 Decrease in sample of teacher writing versus 11th grade, but least frequent in 5th grade
# alternate syntactic structures per utterance (alternate structure iff not a basic syntactic structure as defined above)
Fagan 1981 Increase in sample of teacher writing and 11th graders versus sample by 5th graders, but no difference between teacher and 11th grade samples
Readability Formulas Powers-Sumner-Kearl Readability Formula Grobe 1981 Positively predictive of quality at 5th grade, at 8th grade, and at 11th grade overall, although relationship varied according to particular grade and regression model. Measure contributed most variance at 8th grade, and least variance at 5th and 11th grade
Flesch Reading Ease score Grobe 1981 Positively predictive of quality at 5th grade, at 8th grade, and at 11th grade overall, although relationship varied according to particular grade and regression model. Measure contributed most variance at 11th grade and least at 8th grade
Lorge Readability Formula Lorge & Kruglov 1951
Positive association with quality in 8th & 9th grade writing
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