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In this paper we explore the influences of normal ageing and verb transitivity on sentence production. The underlying aim is to provide a foundation for further research on sentence production in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We used a computer-based written sentence production task, designed to elicit intransitive, monotransitive and ditransitive sentences. Data was collected using keystroke logging, a technique to capture the entire typing process. Data of ninety healthy elderly was analysed focusing on the following writing process variables: time on task, production time and pause times. Results show that age influences time on task, pause time before sentences and within words. Verb transitivity influences time on task, production time and pause time between words. For pause time before sentences and between words, an interaction effect between age and verb transitivity was found as well. These results indicate that a follow-up study with AD patients should not attribute a slowdown in one of these variables to the disease in its entirety but should instead be compared with the slowdown in age-matched healthy peers.

Source-based writing is a crucial skill for communication professionals. This study investigates how master students in professional communication incorporate sources in synthesis writing tasks in their L1 (Dutch), L2 (English) and FL (Spanish and French). To show the complexity that characterizes the use of sources, we will first present a case study of two students in Spanish as a foreign language. We will then link it to the results of a factor analysis that points out which variables are descriptive indicators of the way in which master’s students (N = 209) deal with sources during the writing process. There are three components that can determine source use (75% of the total variance in the data): a) initial reading time, b) interaction with sources, and c) degree of variation in source use. In L1 there seems to be a correlation between the initial reading time and interaction with sources, on the one hand, and the quality of the writing, on the other; also, the time spent consulting sources compared to writing time is considerably longer in FL than in L1 and L2. These findings allow us to reflect upon how to develop effective teaching strategies to promote writing skills from sources in a foreign language. More specifically, we will focus on developing process feedback, based on the recording data, that promotes reflection and self-regulation.

Researchers often decide on the number of trials included in an experiment without adhering to an empirical method or framework. This might compromise generalizability and unnecessarily increase participant burden. In this article we want to put forward generalizability theory as a guide for task reduction. We will use a sentence production task to demonstrate how a generalizability and a decision study can help researchers to estimate the minimum number of trials and of items per trial that are necessary to generalize over trials. We obtained writing process data for 116 participants. Each of them completed a sentence production task that had 40 trials. Pause times between and within all words, target nouns and target verbs were logged with the keystroke logging tool ScriptLog. Results demonstrate that generalizability theory can serve as an empirical framework to ensure generalizable measurements on the one hand, and reduce participant burden to a minimum on the other. This finding is particularly valuable for studies with vulnerable target groups, such as participants suffering from aphasia, dyslexia or Alzheimer's disease.

This article examines how master’s students consult and process sources in source-based writing tasks in L1 and L2. Two hundred eighty master’s students wrote a text in their L1 (Dutch) and L2 (English) at the beginning and end of the academic year. They wrote these texts based on three sources: a report, a web text, and a newspaper article. Their writing processes were registered using the Inputlog keylogging program. This allowed us to determine how much time the students spent reading the sources, when they did so, which sources they consulted most frequently, and how often they switched between the various (types of) sources. The quality of the texts was assessed holistically using pairwise comparisons (D-pac). Confirmative factor analysis showed three components to be relevant to describe source use in L1 and L2 writing: (a) initial reading time, (b) interaction with sources, and (c) the degree of variance in source use throughout the writing process. Individual text quality remained stable in L1 and L2 throughout the academic year. Structural equation modeling showed that the approach in source use, especially source interaction, is correlated with text quality, but in L1 only.

In keyboard writing, typing skills are considered an important prerequisite of proficient text production. We describe the design, implementation, and application of a standardized copy-typing task in order to measure and assess individual typing fluency. A test-retest analysis indicates the instrument's reliability. While the task has been developed across eleven different languages and the related keyboard layouts, we here refer to a corpus of Dutch copy tasks (n = 1682). Analyses show that copying speed non-linearly varies with age. Bayesian analyses reveal differences in the typing performance and the underlying distributions of inter-key intervals between the different task components (e.g., lexical vs. non-lexical materials; high-frequent vs. low-frequent bigrams). Based on these findings it is strongly recommended to include copy-task measures in the analysis of keystroke logging data in writing studies. This supports a better comparability and interpretability of keystroke data from more complex or communicatively-embedded writing tasks across individuals. Further potential applications of the copy task for writing research are explained and discussed.

Keystroke loggers facilitate researchers to collect fine-grained process data and offer support in analyzing these data. Keystroke logging has become popular in writing research, and study by study we are now paving the path to a better understanding of writing process data. However, few researchers have concentrated on how to bring keystroke logging to the classroom. Not because they are not convinced that writing development could benefit from a more process-oriented pedagogy, but because 'translating' complex and large data sets to an educational context is challenging. Therefore, we have developed a new function in Inputlog, specifically aiming to facilitate writing tutors in providing process feedback to their students. Based on an XML- logfile, the so-called 'report' function automatically generates a pdf-file addressing different perspectives of the writing process: pausing, revision, source use, and fluency. These perspectives are reported either quantitatively or visually. Brief introductory texts explain the information presented. Inputlog provides a default feedback report, but users can also customize the report. This paper describes the process report and demonstrates the use of it in an intervention. We also present some additional pedagogical scenarios to actively use this type of feedback in writing classes.

A reading-to-write task is a complex cognitive activity. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the difficulties that advanced learners of Spanish as a foreign language for professional communication purposes experience when they have to perform a reading-to-write task. This insight will help to improve writing instruction and training for this particular type of students. In this study, 19 students of a one-year master’s programme in multilingual professional communication (level B2–C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, Council of Europe, 2001) were asked to carry out a reading-to-write task in Dutch, their mother tongue, and in Spanish at the beginning of the academic year. This task was repeated at the end of the academic year. On both occasions, the task was writing an informative synthesis of approximately 200–250 words using three digital source texts in Dutch and in Spanish pertaining to different text genres (i.e., a report from the European Union, a website, a newspaper article). The three source texts varied in lexical and syntactical complexity, content, style and discursive characteristics. All written products were evaluated by two independent raters. We found no general improvement in the reading-to-write task between the two moments, neither in the L1 nor in the L2. We did not find an improvement at sentence, text, or discourse level either. We will explore several explanations for this lack of improvement, based on theoretical models of foreign language acquisition and recent empirical writing research.

This study aims to explore the process of reading during writing. More specifically, it investigates whether a combination of keystroke logging data and eye tracking data yields a better understanding of cognitive processes underlying fluent and nonfluent text production. First, a technical procedure describes how writing process data from the keystroke logging program Inputlog are merged with reading process data from the Tobii TX300 eye tracker. Next, a theoretical schema on reading during writing is presented, which served as a basis for the observation context we created for our experiment. This schema was tested by observing 24 university students in professional communication (skilled writers) who typed short sentences that were manipulated to elicit fluent or nonfluent writing. The experimental sentences were organized into four different conditions, aiming at (a) fluent writing, (b) reflection about correct spelling of homophone verbs, (c) local revision, and (d) global revision. Results showed that it is possible to manipulate degrees of nonfluent writing in terms of time on task and percentage of nonfluent key transitions. However, reading behavior was affected only for the conditions that explicitly required revision. This suggests that nonfluent writing does not always affect the reading behavior, supporting the parallel and cascading processing hypothesis.

This paper reports on an exploratory study into the effects of targeted writing instruction on the translation products and decision-making processes of professional translators. A pretest– posttest experimental design was used, in which five professional translators were trained in writing instructive texts in their L1 (Dutch). In the pretest and posttest, the translators were asked to translate into Dutch a Spanish user manual of a household appliance. The transfer of the writing-instruction information to the translation task was examined by means of product and process analyses. The analyses suggest that overall the professionals took into account many elements from the writing instruction in the translation process. However, the types and number of writing instruction elements that they used in their translation products differed considerably among the professionals, as did the quality of their translation products. The writing instruction nonetheless seems to improve the professionals’ genre knowledge and their target-audience awareness. Moreover, it seems to lead to fewer style- and genre-related translation errors and appears to deepen reflection. Targeted writing instruction could therefore be interesting to include in in-service training for professional translators or for other language specialists, especially to familiarize them with new text genres.

This baseline study aimed to create a coherent set of images that can be used to describe language decline found in healthy elderly and to compare this to the language change found in the early stages of Alzheimers disease. To this extend, a typed picture naming task was created, in which visual complexity, age-of-acquisition, frequency and name agreement were controlled for. 76 healthy elderly participated in the test; their data will be used in follow-up studies to compare with cognitively impaired patients. The entire typing process was logged with keystroke logging tools Inputlog and Scriptlog; the obtained results were analysed in light of the typing product (name agreement and object recognition) and the writing process (naming latencies and interkey latencies). Results showed that the latencies increased with age and that the older participants had longer latencies for images with a lower frequency and higher age-of-acquisition. Hence, our results indicate the need to take both the latencies and the typing product into consideration.

Keyboarding is an essential mode of text production. In the context of typing courses, instruments have been developed to gauge typing skills but to our knowledge there is no computerized typing test measuring both motor skills and the influence of different levels of lexicality on typing fluency. That is why, we developed a strictly controlled copy task guiding participants through seven modules in which different prompts are presented, each dealing with complementary levels of lexicality. Fine-grained keystroke logging allows for a range of analyses with Inputlog [16]. The copy task can be used in writing process studies: research shows that typing fluency has an impact in the quality of text production [1, 24]. In previous writing research studies copy tasks have been used to study the relation between writing fluency and text composition (Wallot and Grabowski, 2013). The Inputlog copy task allows researchers to investigate different levels of lexicality in more detail. At the moment the copy task has been developed in ten different languages. The software is open-access and allows researchers to adapt the tasks to their specific needs. Funding statement: We thank the department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) for their financial contribution to this project. We also received support of ELN (European Literacy Network – COST Action IS1401).

sVolume 35 no. 2 2013 Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing - 35 (2013), nr. 2, 203-204 Peter Jan Schellens. Tone of Voice in Political Debates: A Stylistic and Ar-gumentative Analysis [This paper is a revised version of the fare-well lecture of Peter Jan Schellens as a Pro-fessor of Language and Communication at the Faculty of Arts of Radboud University Nijmegen on January 11, 2013.] The high tone of voice in Dutch public and parlia-mentary debates is frequently criticised. However, what do we mean with a high ‘tone of voice’? This contribution uses a case study on wildlife starvation from 2010 to answer this question from a stylistic and an argumentative perspective. The case re-solved around the question whether game-keepers should provide additional food to rescue starving wildlife in the Dutch nature reserve “The Oostvaardersplassen” or not. This issue was hotly debated in newspapers, on digital platforms, and in two parliamen-tary debates. The analysis of this debate re-veals that two pragmatic features contribute to a rising tone of voice. Firstly, debaters of-ten forcefully delivered their arguments by using a variety of language intensifiers, such as strong adverbs, adjectives and metaphors. Secondly, they frequently interlaced their argumentation with interactional fallacies, such as arguments

Moment to moment, a writer faces a host of potential problems. How does the writer’s mind coordinate this problem solving? In the original Hayes and Flower model, the authors posited a distinct process to manage this coordinating—that is, the “monitor.” The monitor became responsible for executive function in writing. In two experiments, the current authors investigated monitor function by examining the coordination of two common writing tasks—editing (i.e., correcting an error) and sentence composing—in the presence or absence of an error and with a low or high memory load for the writer. In the first experiment, participants could approach the editing and composing task in either order. On most trials (88%), they finished the sentence first, and less frequently (12%), they corrected the error first. The error-first approach occurred significantly more often under the low-load condition than the high-load condition. For the second experiment, participants were asked to adopt the less-used, error-first approach. Success in completing the assigned task order was affected by both memory load and error type. These results suggest that the monitor depends on the relative availability of working memory resources and coordinates subtasks to mitigate direct competition over those resources.

Error analysis involves detecting and correcting discrepancies between the text produced so far (TPSF) and the writers mental representation of what the text should be. While many factors determine the choice of strategy, cognitive effort is a major contributor to this choice. This research shows how cognitive effort during error analysis affects strategy choice and success as measured by a series of online text production measures. We hypothesize that error correction with speech recognition software differs from error correction with keyboard for two reasons. Speech produces auditory commands and, consequently, different error types. The study reported on here measured the effects of (1) mode of presentation (auditory or visualtactile), (2) error span, whether the error spans more or less than two characters, and (3) lexicality, whether the text error comprises an existing word. A multilevel analysis was conducted to take into account the hierarchical nature of these data. For each variable (interference reaction time, preparation time, production time, immediacy of error correction, and accuracy of error correction), multilevel regression models are presented. As such, we take into account possible disturbing person characteristics while testing the effect of the different conditions and error types at the sentence level. The results show that writers delay error correction more often when the TPSF is read out aloud first. The auditory property of speech seems to free resources for the primary task of writing, i.e. text production. Moreover, the results show that large errors in the TPSF require more cognitive effort, and are solved with a higher accuracy than small errors. The latter also holds for the correction of small errors that result in non-existing words.

One of the challenges in writing research in general is to explain the structural variation in writing processes within and between subjects. More or less recursivity has been attributed to writing experience, proficiency, task characteristics and the writing mode or medium. This study focuses on professional writers (n = 10) who use a modern writing instrument speech recognition as their primary tool for text production and revision. More specifically we are interested in the way this new technology affects the cognitive processes that underlie text production. In our study we have focused on error correction. We provide a description of the errors that professional speech recognition users need to deal with, how they deal with them and why they opt for various error correction strategies. Different converging research methods were used: (1) product, (2) process, and (3) protocol analysis. The results are described on two levels: the overall level and the subgroup level (three writer groups). The results show that the contrast between immediate and delayed error correction is quite decisive for the way in which writers structure their writing process. Next to this, the distinction between technical problems and revisions also plays an important role. Most writers prefer solving technical problems immediately. The same does not necessarily hold for other revisions. However, the revision behavior is not random: overall results show three distinct patterns or profiles of error correction. First, there are writers who prefer writing a first time final draft and solve technical problems immediately as well as revising the text produced so far immediately (handle profile). Second, writers who solve more than half of the deficiencies in the text produced so far immediately, but who also delay or postpone various technical problems and revisions (postpone revisions profile). Finally, writers who prefer delaying error correction and who delay technical problems to a second draft (postpone technical problems profile).

Error analysis involves detecting, diagnosing, and correcting discrepancies between the text produced so far (TPSF) and the writers mental representation of what the text should be. The use of different writing modes, like keyboard-based word processing and speech recognition, causes different type of errors during text production. While many factors determine the choice of error-correction strategy, cognitive effort is a major contributor to this choice. This research shows how cognitive effort during error analysis affects strategy choice and success as measured by a series of online text production measures. Text production is shown to be influenced most by error span, that is, whether the error spans more or less than two characters. Next, it is influenced by input mode, that is, whether the error has been generated by speech recognition or keyboard, and finally by lexicality, that is, whether the error comprises an existing word. Correction of larger error spans is more successful than that of smaller errors. Writers impose a wise speed accuracy trade-off during large error spans since correction is better, but preparation times (time to first action) and production times take longer, and interference reaction times are slower. During large error spans, there is a tendency to opt for error correction first, especially when errors occurred in the condition in which the TPSF is not preceded by an auditory prompt. In general, the addition of speech frees the cognitive demands of writing. Writers also opt more often to continue text production when the TPSF is presented auditorially first.

This paper describes the adaptation and writing process of writers who have started using speech recognition systems for writing business texts. The writers differ in their previous writing experience. They either have previous classical dictating experience or they are used to writing their texts with a word processor. To gather the process data for this study we chose complementary research methods. First the participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire and given instruction about the speech recognition system. Then they were observed five times using the speech recognition system during their day-to-day work. Finally, they also filled in a logging questionnaire after each task. The quantitative analysis of the use of the writing mode shows that those participants who had no previous dictating experience, tend to use the voice input more extensively, both for formulating and reviewing. This result is confirmed in the more detailed case analysis. The other analyses in the case study-i.e. repair, revision, and pause analysis-refine the differences in the organization of the writing process between the writers, and show that the speech recognition mode seems to create a writing environment that is open for different writing profiles.

Keystroke logging has become instrumental in identifying writing strategies and understanding cognitive processes. Recent technological advances have refined logging efficiency and analytical outputs. While keystroke logging allows for ecological data collection, it is often difficult to connect the fine grain of logging data to the underlying cognitive processes. Multiple methodologies are useful to offset these difficulties. In this article we explore the complementarity of the keystroke logging program Inputlog with other observational techniques: thinking aloud protocols and eyetracking data. In addition, we illustrate new graphic and statistical data analysis techniques, mainly adapted from network analysis and data mining. Data extracts are drawn from a study of writing from multiple sources. In conclusion, we consider future developments for keystroke logging, in particular letter- to word-level aggregation and logging standardization.

Logging programs enable researchers to accurately register and reconstruct the writing processes of writers who compose texts on the computer. The basic concept of the different logging tools that have been developed is more or less comparable. First, the keystroke logging tools register all keystrokes and mouse movements. This chapter presents the most important characteristics of Inputlog 4.0, and shortly illustrates the program's functionality. Inputlog allows researchers to record writing process data, generate various data files, integrate various types of data from other programs and playback the recorded session. The most distinguishing characteristics of Inputlog to date are its integration with Microsoft Word, the possibilities to identify and log in other Windows environments, the parsing technology, the standard XML structure of the output and the integration of speech recognition. The chapter elaborates briefly on the program's main functions. Keywords: Inputlog 4.0; keystroke logging tools; Microsoft Word; Windows environments; XML structure

Awareness of the reader and ability to adapt the text to the reader are assumed to be important aspects of successful writing. Models of writing development include the aspect of reader awareness, as a rhetorical goal, that writers develop gradually and that eventually distinguishes expert writers from novice writers. However, developing writers can present an awareness of writing aspects without being able to apply them successfully on task. The role of maturation on the one hand and instruction and training on the other have been put forward as crucial aspects of writing development. Against this background, six writers, representing different levels of expertise in writing, undertook the same writing tasks. Eighteen texts, interviews and stimulated recall protocols are analysed, compared and contrasted with a particular focus on writers’ awareness of and adaptation to the intended reader. Keystroke logs provide a solid and complementary base for detailed analysis of the writing processes, in which revisions relating to a reader perspective are of particular importance. Findings provide support for the theoretical framework, but they also raise questions about the role of knowledge about genre and writing strategies in relation to maturation for successful writing development. Keywords: writing development; reader awareness; reader adaptation; keystroke logging; knowledge crafting; cognitive processes; revision; stimulated recall

This chapter describes the repair strategies of writers who have started using speech recognition systems for writing business texts. It brings together the oral and the written representation of the text. This characteristic of the new writing context created by voice recognition is the central starting point of the chapter. The chapter describes a case study in which writing strategies related to repairs are explored, and the relation between the use of writing modes and the repair behaviour is described. It describes the repair strategies of two writers with different dictating experience. The chapter confirms the potential hybrid character of speech recognition as a writing mode, since it combines characteristics of both classical dictating and keyboard based word processing. It better describes the interaction with the 'text produced so far', and evaluates the cognitive load caused by imperfect representations. Keywords: business texts; dictating experience; keyboard based word processing; repair strategies of writers; speech recognition systems; writing modes

It is important that upper-secondary students develop their synthesis writing proficiency as synthesis writing is a common activity in higher education. Independently of the field of study, all students will write multiple synthesis texts during their academic career. Writing synthesis texts -texts which integrate information from different sources- is challenging, given the cognitively demanding nature of this task. The process of source-based writing involves a complex interplay of reading and writing sub‑processes. This dissertation is structured around three research lines: (1) a national baseline study, (2) process‑product relations, and (3) process-oriented feedback. It outlines the path from baseline, over writing process-product relations, to process‑oriented feedback. The focus strongly lies on synthesis writing processes, using keystroke logging tool Inputlog. The first research line aims to provide a state‑of‑the‑art on synthesis writing in Dutch upper-secondary education and a baseline for future research. It consists of a national survey on synthesis writing on three dimensions: writing performance, writing processes and writing perspectives. The second research line aims at exploring the relation between the writing process and the quality of the text. This research line consists of two sub-goals. First, we focused on source use during the process and identified effective patterns of source use for both argumentative and informative synthesis texts. Secondly, we formed writing process profiles as we examined configurations of synthesis writing activities across different phases of the writing process and their relation to text quality. The third and final research line focuses on process‑oriented feedback. We aimed at creating an Inputlog process report that would facilitate the use of keystroke logging in the classroom. Moreover, we aimed to develop process-oriented feedback, including a keystroke logging process report and benchmark processes, to improve upper-secondary students’ synthesis writing. The feedback was embedded into a flow that stimulates reflection and self-regulated learning. In an intervention study we tested the effect of the feedback on the students' writing performance and their writing process. The study showed the potential of the process-oriented feedback. &nbsp