Spelling Errors in Expository Texts Written in Hebrew at the Elementary School Level

Spelling is a significant parameter in establishing text quality. This study aims to describe the developmental path of spelling errors in expository texts, argumentative and descriptive—written by Hebrew speaking children from second through fifth grades. Bearing in mind different genre requirements, we aimed to determine whether genre type elicits differences in terms of spelling errors. To this end, spelling errors were identified and classified in both genres. Results showed that with few exceptions, the proportion of clauses with spelling errors decreases with grade in both genres. Regarding genre differences, children made more spelling errors in argumentative texts compared with descriptive texts. Nevertheless, some internal spelling consistency was found, as revealed in the total types of spelling errors that were strongly correlated in both texts. An educational implication is that the ability to spell should be considered differentially and as part of the processing cost involved in text production.