To determine how writing, as compared to other learning activities, affects both good and poor writers' ability to remember factual information and transfer learning, a study (1) investigated the effectiveness of a writing activity requiring students to develop compositions by synthesizing information read, and (2) explored the correspondences between selected characteristics of writing performance and measures of learning. Subjects, 120 sixth grade students identified as average readers and either good or poor writers, were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions: writing activity, multiple-choice question activity, directed rereading activity, or unrelated activity (control condition). Subjects were asked to read an informative passage pertaining to the topic to be learned and to perform a specific follow-up activity. At the end of the learning period, students were given a test designed to measure transfer of learning and a test designed to measure memory of factual information. Results indicated that the writing activity enhanced both types of learning measured and was beneficial for both good and poor writers. Findings also indicated that characteristics of students' writing performance played an important role in both types of learning. However, analyses revealed that the correspondences between these characteristics and learning performances varied in strength, apparently affected by the interdependence of the nature of the writing tasks, the characteristics under consideration, and the type of learning tested. (Author/JD)