Handwriting Load vs Composition Load: Where Is It Breaking Down?

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-02

Two sides of writing

To us, composing is finding what to say and putting it into sentences. Forming the letters and spelling the words get it onto the page.

To us, writing their own sentence asks a child for four things at once. They form the letters. They spell the words. They find the sentence. They keep the plan in mind.

To us, the first two get the words onto the page. The last two are composing.

Letters and spelling that are not yet automatic compete with the ideas for attention. This is one real reason a child writes less than they know. It is not the only one.

In our view, the useful question is which parts are hard for your child. A child can have trouble with more than one.

What memory experiments found

In one set of experiments, children recalled fewer words when writing them than when saying them. Adults did not (Bourdin and Fayol, 1994). The authors say the slowness of writing did not explain it. That was a word list, not a story. We could read only its summary.

In memory tests, German children remembered less when writing than when speaking (Grabowski, 2010). Adults who wrote in an unpracticed way recalled less too. That was memory for words, not a story. We could read only its summary.

Does teaching handwriting help children write more?

One trial taught handwriting to first graders at risk of handwriting trouble (Berninger and colleagues, 1997). Of its five ways of teaching, one worked best for handwriting. It also worked best for how much children wrote in a set time. The authors say this teaching "transfers to improved text generation in beginning writers". Here that meant how much they wrote in a set time. The summary does not say how each way compared with lessons on sounds. We could read only its summary.

One trial taught handwriting to first graders who found handwriting and writing hard (Graham, Harris and Fink, 2000). They gained more in handwriting than children given lessons on sounds. They also wrote more, and the gains were still there six months later. That was how much they wrote, not how well. We could read only its summary.

None of these studies chose children because they had a dysgraphia diagnosis.

Handwriting practice makes handwriting better, but its effect on composing is not settled. Santangelo and Graham (2016) found gains in composing. A US federal panel, the What Works Clearinghouse, found few studies that measured writing quality. Those few found no evidence of a gain from handwriting and spelling practice. The panel still thinks it helps. So teach composing as well.

Spelling, spoken language and holding things in mind

One study looked at 193 first graders at one point in time (Kim and Schatschneider, 2017). Writing was judged on how well the ideas were developed. In its model, handwriting was one of several skills tied to writing. Spoken language, spelling and holding things in mind were others. These were links, not causes.

One study looked at children with dyslexia and their parents (Berninger and colleagues, 2008). In them, the link to composing ran from spelling. Planning the pen movements added nothing of its own. The authors write that writing "is not just a motor skill". That was a model of links, in a sample chosen for dyslexia. We could read only its summary.

Handwriting improves most consistently with handwriting practice; motor work alone has not been shown to improve it.

To us, these studies describe groups of children. They do not tell you which parts are hard for your child.

Teaching both sides

Handwriting, spelling and getting ideas down each get better when taught.

Santangelo and Graham (2016) pooled studies of teaching handwriting. Handwriting lessons made handwriting clearer and faster than other lessons or none.

Work on handwriting, spelling and composing side by side.

In our view, it can help to take one job away for a while. Write the hard words on a card, so spelling is out of the way.

The point is to let a child try the parts one at a time. It is not to take the work away for good.

Our page on written expression has a quick check you can try.

Our page on writing difficulties has more.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Writing well below your child's other schoolwork.
• A teacher who raises a concern about writing.
• Extreme upset about writing.
• Complete avoidance of writing.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.