THE CONTRIBUTION OF EXECUTIVE CONTROL TO THE REVISING BY STUDENTS WITH WRITING AND LEARNING-DIFFICULTIES

This study examined the role of executive control in the revising prob lems of 8th graders with writing and learning difficulties. The contri bution of executive control was examined by providing students with ex ecutive support in carrying out the revising process. Students learned to use a routine that ensured that the individual elements involved i n revising were coordinated and occurred in a regular way. Compared wi th revising under normal conditions, executive support made the proces s of revising easier for students and improved their revising behavior . They revised more often, produced more meaning-preserving revisions that improved text, and revised larger segments of text more frequentl y when using the executive routine. Executive support also had a great er impact on the overall quality of students' text than did normal rev ising. Students' difficulties with revising were not due solely to pro blems with executive control because they also experienced difficultie s with the separate elements involved in revising.