This study explored the influences of prewriting activities on the writing quality of male and female students with varying academic achievement across four grade levels. Participants were public school students in grades 4, 6, 9, and 11. At each grade level, students were assigned to one of two groups: writing with prewriting activities or writing without prewriting activities. Teams of appropriate grade level teachers developed a pool of writing tasks, with one for each grade. The study was embedded into the 1996 Delaware large-scale writing assessment field test. Students in the prewriting group had a prewriting session in which they were encouraged to select a subject, collect information, list their ideas using a graphic organizer, prepare a first draft, and consult with peers for input. Researchers rated each student's writing piece holistically and on five quality aspects of writing. Results indicated that on average, students who wrote with prewriting activities performed better than students who wrote without prewriting activities in grades 4, 6, and 11. In grade 9, students who wrote without prewriting activities received higher scores. Students' gender and academic achievement level had strong influences on the effectiveness of prewriting, with females consistently scoring higher than males. (Contains 22 references.) (SM)