What is a characteristic of emergent writers?

Emergent writers are in the beginning stages of writing development, and one of their distinguishing characteristics is their understanding that letters can represent sounds. They typically start to grasp the concept that words are built from sounds, acknowledging that words begin with specific sounds that can be represented by letters.

This awareness is crucial as it lays the foundation for more advanced writing skills that will follow. Although they may not yet form complete sentences or understand more complex writing structures, their recognition of the sound-letter correspondence indicates they are beginning to develop phonemic awareness, which is a critical skill for literacy development.

The other characteristics, such as writing structured essays or spelling complex words correctly, are beyond the abilities of emergent writers as they are usually characteristic of more advanced writing stages. The understanding that letters represent sounds and that words begin with specific sounds is essential for their progression towards more proficient writing skills.