Informative Paragraph Writing in Students With Language-Based Learning Disabilities: Comparing Measures Across Two Different Prompts.

This article focuses on an exploratory study comparing written language measures from two different informative paragraph prompts in U.S. fourth- and fifth-grade students with language-based learning disabilities (LLD). Using a scaffolded elicitation task, students composed paragraphs about either an animal in the wild or a favorite game, sport, or hobby, with no significant differences found in writing productivity, complexity, accuracy, or quality between prompts at two time points (fall and spring). However, correlations between oral language ability, measured by the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fifth Edition (CELF-5) Core Language Score, and writing measures were significant only for the favorite game, sport, or hobby prompt. The study suggests that either prompt can be effectively used by clinicians to elicit representative informative writing samples from students with LLD, and that scaffolded writing tasks may support these students’ written language production.