Scientists' writing includes organized data, calculations, sketches and models, inventories and lists, timelines, detailed descriptions, locations, conditions, actions, schedules, information about variables, goals, hypotheses, research, notes, summaries of experiments, and reports to others (Fulton and Campbell 2014). By using scaffolded science…

This paper investigates the relationship between Habermas's theory of communicative action (TCA) and writing. It begins with a review of the features of Habermas's TCA: validity claims, their corresponding criteria, and the ideal speech situation. Then TCA is applied in analyzing a first grader's written notes. Finally, the implications for the…