School of Communication Science and Disorders PhD student Denisha Campbell recently got a paper published in the Journal of Communication Disorders.

Campbell’s paper, An Examination of 3rd and 5th Grade Students’ Use of Dialect Specific Forms During a Written Editing Task, was based on her master’s thesis and further examined the patterns of dialect in both 3rd and 5th grade students in their writing as well as during their oral production.

“My study found that despite there not being any major difference in the amount of dialect 3rd and 5th graders use, 5th grade students are significantly better at identifying dialect in written works and then editing those works so that they’re in the general American English dialect,” said Campbell. “This is important as we consider assessment protocols for linguistically diverse kiddos as they should include a written component.”

Dr. Carla Wood and Dr. Shannon Hall-Mills served as co-authors for this paper and helped Campbell with the writing of the manuscript as well as the analyses of the quantitative data. 

When CCI asked what this publication means to her, Campbell said, “Having this paper published is like seeing a seed you planted finally blossom. It took a lot of love, patience and revisions to get the original paper to its refined form but I’m so grateful we were able to get it done. It’s particularly special for me since my first publication is a first-authored work so I’m extremely proud!”