We assessed writing abilities in a cohort of 31 patients with a diagnosis of DAT (in two subgroups, with minimal [MMSE 24-28] and mild [MMSE 16-23] levels of dementia), and 10 matched controls. Central aspects of writing were assessed by both written and oral spelling to dictation of 72 single words varying in frequency (high or low) and predictability of sound-to-spelling correspondences (predictable, unpredictable and irregular). All subjects achieved better scores on high, as compared to low, frequency words. The performance of both patient groups was significantly affected by degree of predictability, and was equivalent in the written and oral spelling conditions. Phonologically acceptable alternative spellings (e.g. 'wade'-->WAID) constituted the majority of errors. More peripheral processes in writing were assessed by copying and cross-case transcription of single letters. Subjects were more successful at copying within case than transcribing across case. Performance was also better--substantially so for the mild DAT group--when the target response in either task was an upper- rather than a lower-case letter. There was considerable heterogeneity in performance on the spelling and the letter tasks. Some patients (even in the more affected DAT group) were unimpaired on both tasks, suggesting that dysgraphia is not a constant feature in early DAT. When writing deficits do become apparent, in the earliest stages of the disease the pattern is most likely to be one of mild surface dysgraphia, a form of central dysgraphia; impairments in more peripheral aspects of writing tend to emerge once the disease has progressed beyond the minimal stage.