A study investigated differences in writing processes among second year (age 10) and fourth year (age 12) English school children using a modified protocol procedure thought to be less distracting to the writing process. Four children from each grade level wrote a descriptive paper, and their spontaneous comments during the writing period were tape recorded. Each utterance was then placed into one or more of 22 categories, and each paper was rated on a 5-point scale for content, organization, and surface elements. Results indicated that students from the two age levels wrote passages of roughly equal length and averaged the same number of comments (23). The most frequent comment category was "reviewing own experience," followed by "immediate planning." The children did not often engage in major revision of their writing; however, changes in the children's thinking process from age 10 to age 12 may play an "enabling" role in revision. Specifically, comments appeared in the 12-year-old student's protocols suggesting an awareness of paper characteristics or qualities, including effect on audience. The results suggest that protocol procedures are an effective tool for investigating children's writing, and that detailed scoring categories may make the technique effective for testing hypotheses as well as generating them. (HTH)