This qualitative study investigated the writing processes of young, developing bilinguals from majority- and minority-language backgrounds. The research was situated in two grade 1 classrooms in a dual language program in the Northeastern United States. The following research questions guided the study: How do first-grade English-dominant and Spanish-dominant students develop as writers in a dual language program that employs a process writing approach?

(a) What are the trends and patterns of bilingual writing processes and skills for English-dominant vs. Spanish-dominant children?
(b) What is the nature of the transfer of writing skills and processes from one language to the other?

Theoretical Framework
The current study is guided by a wholistic view of the bilingual as "an integrated whole which cannot be easily decomposed into two separate parts" (Grosjean, 1989, p. 6). Further, the proposed preliminary model of bilingual writing development builds upon Cummins' (1991) Common Underlying Proficiency model of bilingualism, which postulates that "the development of literacy-related skills in L2 [is] partly a function of prior development of literacy-related skills in L1" (p. 77).

Methods
Eight focal children (ages 6;3 to 7;1) were observed and audiotaped as they composed stories in Spanish and English Writing Workshops (WW). Artifacts from all stages of the writing process were collected and interviews were conducted with focal children at the end of WW sessions. Triangulation of multiple data sources provided a comprehensive view of emergent bilingual writing behaviors, verified themes and patterns, and cross-validated regularities in the data. Cross-case analyses of students' individual profiles of bilingual writing processes revealed similarities and differences in their cross-linguistic skills, as well as patterns of transfer of writing processes and skills. Emerging patterns of bilingual writing related to codeswitching and literacy transfer (both positive and negative) led to the development of a preliminary model of bilingual writing development for English-dominant and Spanish-dominant students. This model presents phenomena unique to bilingual writers, relates these to bilingualism and biliteracy, and proposes anticipated expression of the phenomena for Spanish- and English-dominant developing bilinguals.

Significance of the Study
The current findings and proposed preliminary model of bilingual writing development expand our understanding of:
(1) biliteracy development in student populations of Spanish and English language backgrounds; and
(2) the notion of transfer and which particular processes and skills developing bilingual writers apply to L1, L2, or both. Lastly, the study hopes to influence future researchers to apply a bilingual lens when looking at related areas of biliteracy development in populations of all ages. In the broadest sense, the benefits of this study are not limited to bilingual education classrooms. The findings can be useful to teachers in any type of classroom where bilingualism plays a role. As the number of students who speak minority languages continues to increase in the United States, as does the popularity of second-language education for native English-speaking students, most teachers will need to understand the bi/literacy processes of students of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in order to effectively design instruction and assessment that meets their needs.