To determine if children who have been taught to read using the i.t.a. would write stories with a vocabulary more nearly approaching the variety and extent of their oral vocabulary than would children who had been taught traditional orthography (T.O.), comparisons were made between 82 experimental (i.t.a.) and 80 control (T.O.) subjects matched on sex, age, reading readiness, socioeconomic level, and equivalence of beginning language development. In September, oral language samples were recorded of children's reactions to a series of pictures from which transcriptions were made to obtain word and unit counts. After 8 months of instruction, oral and written language samples were again collected by recording the children's reactions to two different pictures. Oral-written ratios and each group's mean length of communication unit were established. Significant differences on the Welch-Aspin and F tests were obtained favoring the i.t.a. group on number of running words, polysyllabic words, different words and communication units. Comparison of mean length of written communication units favored the i.t.a. on the Welch-Aspin, but not on the F test. The conclusion was that i.t.a. instruction enabled children to use a written vocabulary more nearly approaching their oral vocabulary than did T.O. (Author/JMC)