Examining the transcription-writing link: Effects of handwriting fluency and spelling accuracy on writing performance via planning and translating in middle grades

•Studied relationships among handwriting, spelling, planning, translating, and writing•SEM showed that the model explained 46% of the variance in writing performance.•Handwriting contributed indirectly to writing performance via planning.•Spelling contributed indirectly to writing performance via translating.

This study examined the relationships between transcription, high-level writing processes, and writing performance in Grades 7-8 (N = 196). Structural equation modeling was used to test the direct effects of handwriting fluency and spelling accuracy on planning and translating, and of these latter on writing performance, as well as the indirect effects of handwriting fluency and spelling accuracy on writing performance, via planning and translating. Results showed that the proposed model fitted the data extremely well, explaining 46% of the variability in writing performance. We found that higher handwriting fluency was associated with better planning skills, higher spelling accuracy was associated with better translating skills, and better planning and translating skills were associated with greater writing performance. We found indirect effects of handwriting fluency and spelling accuracy on writing performance, respectively, via planning and translating. These results suggest that transcription continues to impact on writing during teenage school years, by constraining high-level writing processes.