Original Alphabet Writing Task

For the paper version of the Alphabet Writing task (Berninger & Rutberg, 1992), a user simply writes down the alphabet as fast as they can without making errors.

Original instructions

The pencil you will use does not have an eraser. Whenever you want to make a correction, cross out and write the change above or below what you want to correct. With this pencil write the entire alphabet in order in lower-case, manuscript letters. Make sure you print and do not use cursive handwriting. Work as quickly as you can without making mistakes. Remember to print in lower-case letters, not capital letters. Ready? Go.

Original methods

After 15 seconds of writing, the students were told to stop writing, and their papers were marked with a line or stamp after the last letter written by the student. Once each paper had been marked, the students were instructed to continue writing the lowercase letters of the alphabet from where they had stopped at the 15-second mark. After 45 more seconds (a total of 60 seconds of writing), students were again instructed to stop writing, and each paper was marked after the last letter written. From this point on, there were no more stopping points, and the students continued to write the alphabet until completed, or until they were unable to continue due to lack of letter knowledge

Mindlogger Alphabet Writing Task implementation

Users simply write down the alphabet on the screen as fast as they can without making errors. They have 60 seconds to complete each condition below, after which MindLogger moves the participant to the next task/screen.

Forward alphabet instructions

Write the entire alphabet in order using lower-case (small) letters. Write each letter in one of the boxes below. If you make a mistake, just keep going. Make sure you print and do not use cursive handwriting. Work as quickly as you can without making mistakes. Remember to print in lower-case, not capital letters. Press the ‘Go’ button below when ready. Press the “Done” button as soon as you finish.

Reverse alphabet instructions

Write the entire alphabet using lower-case (small) letters. This time, write the alphabet backwards. Start at the end (Z), and work your way back in order to the beginning (A). Try not to skip letters. Write each letter in one of the boxes below. If you make a mistake, just keep going. Make sure you print and do not use cursive handwriting. Work as quickly as you can without making mistakes. Remember to print in lower-case, not capital letters, and write the alphabet backwards from Z-A. Press the ‘Go’ button below when ready. Press the “Done” button as soon as you finish.

References

• Berninger, V. W., Yates, C., Cartwright, A., Rutberg, J., Remy, E., & Abbott, R. (1992). Lower-level developmental skills in beginning writing. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 4(3), 257–280. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01027151

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