Read the following text and fill each of the numbered spaces with ONE suitable word. Write your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.

Children who grip their pens too close to the writing point are likely to be at a disadvantage in examinations,

(1) _____ to the first serious investigation into the way in which writing technique can dramatically affect educational achievement. The survey of 643 children and adults, aged from pre-school to 40-plus, also suggests

(2) _____ pen-holding techniques have deteriorated sharply over one generation, with teachers now paying far

(3) ______ attention to correct pen grip and handwriting style. Stephanie Thomas, a learning support teacher

(4) ______ findings have been published, was inspired to investigate this area

(5) _______ she noticed that those pupils who had the most trouble with spelling

(6) ______ had a poor pen grip. While Ms. Thomas could not establish a significant statistical link

(7) ______ pen-holding style and accuracy in spelling, she

(8) ______ find huge differences in technique between the young children and the mature adults, and a definite

(9) ________ between near-point gripping and slow, illegible writing. People who

(10) ______ their pens at the writing point also show other characteristics

(11) ______ inhibit learning,

(12) _______ as poor posture, leaning too

(13) ______ to the desk, using four fingers to grip the pen

(14) ______ than three, and clumsy positioning of the thumb (which can obscure

(15) ______ is being written. Ms. Thomas believes that the

(16) ______ between older and younger writers is

(17) ________ too dramatic to be accounted for simply by the possibility that people get better at writing as they grow

(18) ________. She attributes it to a failure to teach the most effective methods, pointing out that the differences between

(19) _______ groups coincides with the abandonment of formal handwriting instruction in classrooms in the sixties. "The 30-year-olds showed a huge range of grips,

(20) ________ the over 40s group all had a uniform ’tripod’ grip."