A writing intervention to teach simple sentences and descriptive paragraphs to adolescents with writing difficulties

The present study used a multiple-baseline, single-case experimental design to investigate the effects of a multicomponent intervention on construction of simple sentences and word sequences. The intervention entailed sequential delivery of sentence instruction and frequency building to a performance criterion and paragraph instruction. Participants included four adolescents (i.e., three females and one male enrolled in grades 8 to 10) with difficulty constructing simple sentences. All participants exhibited improved performance in constructing complete, simple sentences per 1 min. Three of four participants showed improvements in their correct word sequences per 1 min. Following intervention, the majority of participants demonstrated performance comparable to or slightly higher than levels at the end of intervention. The practiced application of simple sentences and word sequences to descriptive paragraphs fluctuated across participants.