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Background: Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) systems to aid writing learning and instruction in primary and secondary education are growing increasingly popular.However, their effectiveness is hardly known. We conducted a systematic review focusing on the effects of these systems providing writing feedback to students in school settings.Objectives: Our goal was to identify and characterize AWE systems tested in the last 20 years for Grades 1-12 and examine their impact on text quality and other writing-related outcomes. Methods: The review followed PRISMA guidelines. We identified eight studies reporting the effects on writing of six AWE systems on 1659 students 11-17 years of age.Results and conclusions: Our review supported the usefulness of AWE systems for writing learning and instruction. Except for one, all studies showed a positive effect of automated feedback in at least one writing-related measure. The integration of AWE systems into more extensive instructional programs, the amount of writing practice provided to students, the type of the control groups, and the role of teachers are factors influencing their impact on students' writing outcomes.Relevance: Our review generally supported the value of AWE systems in the teaching/learning process of writing. A closer look into the conditions in which AWE systems are put to practice suggested that they are particularly effective when embedded into comprehensive instructional programs providing ample writing opportunities. Findings from this review expand knowledge on AWE systems as valuable tools to enhance writing in school settings.

A growing body of scholarship in the field of writing research from a cognitive perspective suggests that girls tend to outperform boys in particular writing tasks. Still, our understanding about gender differences continues to evolve. The present study specifically focused on gender differences in writing between students from Grade 4 to Grade 9. We examined differences in handwriting and self-efficacy, as well as in three measures of written composition across two genres (viz., spelling, text length, and text quality in stories and opinion essays). Moreover, we tested whether there were differences in written composition above and beyond handwriting and self-efficacy. Findings suggest that girls consistently outperformed boys in handwriting, self-efficacy, spelling, text length, and text quality. These effects were moderated by neither students' grade nor text genre. In addition, after accounting for handwriting and self-efficacy, females still performed better than males in the three measures of written composition. Overall, findings confirmed the gender difference typically found in writing and indicated that potential explanatory variables for it may be handwriting and self-efficacy.

There is a growing body of research showing that writers are influenced by motivation-related aspects. This study documents the translation process of the Portuguese version of the Writing Motivation Questionnaire and the construction of two scales to measure self-efficacy for handwriting and story writing. The psychometric properties of these instruments were then explored. Firstly, we examined the factorial structure of these instruments and tested measurement invariance across two independent samples of 202 and 193 third graders. Secondly, we evaluated the reliability of the scales and their convergent/discriminant validity by testing the relationship among them and with external correlates (viz., handwriting fluency and story length and quality). Thirdly, we tested instruments' predictive validity by regressing story length and quality on motives to write, and on self-efficacy for handwriting and story writing. Findings confirmed the multidimensional nature of motivations to write and supported the validity and reliability of the scales developed. Regression analyses showed that competition-and grades-related had, respectively, a negative and positive contribution on story quality. Moreover, self-efficacy for story writing and handwriting contributed, respectively, to story length and quality, above and beyond handwriting fluency. This study provided evidence on the validity and reliability of the instruments under analysis, showing their usefulness to assess motivational dimensions in students as young as 8 years old. Findings join to current research emphasizing the importance of having valid and reliable tools to explore the role of motivation in young children's writing.

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