The impact of handwriting fluency on bursts of written language and text quality in undergraduates

In this study, we investigated the contributions of handwriting and semantic writing fluency to the bursts of written language during opinion composition among Spanish-speaking undergraduate students (N = 59; M_age = 18.9). Using hierarchical regression analysis, we found that burst length and burst fluency were the primary predictors of text quality. A parallel mediation model further revealed that burst length and burst fluency mediated the relationship between handwriting and semantic fluency and text quality. Specifically, burst length fully mediated the relationship between written semantic fluency and text quality, whereas burst fluency mediated the relationship between both handwriting and semantic fluency and text quality. Notably, handwriting and semantic fluency did not directly influence text quality; rather, their effects were fully mediated by burst length and fluency. These findings highlight the significance of burst length and fluency as robust predictors of text quality in young adults, underscoring their role in the interplay between isolated graphomotor and semantic abilities and writing performance.