While trying to collect enough hours for my first column advancement last week, I watched an edWeb webinar with Alyson A. Collins, and Stephen Ciullo on teaching writing in K–12 classrooms.Their 2024 meta-analysis “Evidence-Based Recommendations for Teaching Writing,” synthesizes years of data (nearly 1,000 studies!) into 11 concrete and actionable strategies.
According to the authors, many teachers feel they’re “not quite prepared” to teach writing as effectively as they’d like. That gap can prevent students from fully realizing writing’s potential. As they put it, “students who do not learn to write well cannot draw fully on its power to promote and extend learning.” Writing is not just an isolated academic exercise, it’s a gateway skill. When learners write, they clarify their own thinking and communicate more powerfully with the world.
Eleven Evidence-Based Recommendations
1. Write, But Writing Alone Isn’t Enough
- Just upping the quantity of writing doesn’t automatically turn students into essay virtuosos. Research showed that more writing time alone produced positive but very small improvements.
- Students need to practice, but pair that practice with explicit teaching and supports (like the strategies below). Otherwise, it’s a bit like tossing them into the deep end of the pool with no swimming lessons.
2. Support Students as They Write
- The “process approach,” or Writers’ Workshop, and specific tactics such as pre-writing activities, goal-setting, inquiry tasks, peer assistance, and teacher feedback all produced notable boosts in writing quality.
- In the Classroom:
- Pre-Writing: Have students brainstorm on sticky notes, create quick graphic organizers, or discuss ideas in small groups before putting pen to paper.
- Goal-Setting: “Today, let’s all make sure our revision adds at least three details to support our main idea.”
- Feedback: Beyond just red pen marks, try brief (but focused) conferencing, using rubrics that are kid-friendly.
3. Teach Foundational Writing Skills
- Handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure matter. If these foundational skills are shaky, students’ higher-level thinking gets bogged down. The authors note that teaching spelling and handwriting can yield small to moderate improvements in overall writing.
- In Action:
- Handwriting: Short, targeted practice for letter formation in the early grades frees up mental bandwidth for ideas.
- Grammar in Context: Instead of endless worksheets on the difference between “they’re,” “their,” and “there,” invite students to revise a short draft, spotting and correcting usage errors in real writing.
4. Teach Writing Strategies
- Strategies are step-by-step guidelines, such as brainstorming ideas or structuring a paragraph logically. A standout framework is Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), which adds self-talk, goal-setting, and self-monitoring to writing tasks.
- Try This: Model how to set a goal for each section, walk them through thinking aloud about their steps, and teach them self-reinforcement (“Yes, I included all my main points!”).
5. Teach Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Imagery
- For older students, direct instruction in creative thinking or critical analysis helps them break out of formulaic writing and dig deeper into ideas. For younger students, using imagery (like visualizing scenes) can spark more vivid text.
- Classroom Tip:
- Creativity: If you’re teaching similes or metaphors, have students create unusual, silly comparisons first to flex that creative muscle (e.g., “My backpack is like a black hole devouring everything in sight”).
- Critical Thinking: Offer prompts like “What if the opposite were true?” to encourage a deeper logical stance in persuasive essays.
6. Teach Summary Writing
- When students learn to condense reading or lessons into concise summaries, it tightens their overall writing and comprehension. Research showed especially solid gains for middle and high schoolers.
- Try It: Assign each student or pair a short article or chapter and have them write a one-paragraph summary focusing on key points no fluff, no filler. “Eliminate redundant information, synthesize related information,” as Graham, Collins, and Ciullo advise.
7. Enhance Students’ Writing Knowledge
- Sometimes we forget that students need explicit knowledge about genres, text structure, and so forth. Provide models of good writing, talk through genre features, and let them see how different texts are put together.
- Practical Approach:
- Model Analysis: Show them an example of a strong paragraph, dissect it together, and then have them emulate it in their own writing.
- Reading-Writing Connection: Give them an authentic piece (e.g., a newspaper editorial) and let them pick out key elements: introduction, argument, supporting evidence, conclusion.
8. Apply Twenty-First Century Writing Tools
- Many students draft essays in a swirl of scrawled handwriting, but the authors highlight how word processing and “word processing plus” programs can help, especially for older students. There’s also computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to teach writing fundamentals.
- Realistic Application:
- Let them type, revise, or check spelling digitally.
- CAI programs like Writable that supply interactive lessons on grammar or provide revision feedback can be efficient.
9. Write Across the Curriculum
- Asking students to write in social studies, science, and math actually improves their learning in those subjects. This includes writing summaries, creating arguments, and reflecting on what they read or hear in those classes.
- Practical Tip:
- Science: After a hands-on experiment, have students write a brief procedure summary or explanation of results.
- Math: Ask them to articulate (in words!) how they solved a complex problem. Or get them to explain the concept to a hypothetical classmate who’s absent.
- By the way, this kind of writing also deepens critical thinking. Win-win.
10. Connect Writing and Reading Instruction
- Reading and writing are like peanut butter and jelly. Teaching one can enhance the other. For instance, reading good example texts can boost writing quality, while writing about texts boosts reading comprehension.
- Concrete Strategies:
- Reading to Write: Have students note how authors structure arguments or create suspense. Then they try it.
- Writing to Read: After reading a passage, they can write a short reflection or argument, which cements understanding.
11. Create a Motivating Writing Environment
- In a meta-synthesis of effective literacy teachers, the authors found that these teachers established a positive, collaborative, and purposeful writing community. They wrote with passion, shared student work, encouraged risk-taking, and made high expectations clear.
- The most reluctant writers light up when the class celebrate each other’s drafts. Posting their stories, poems, or even outlines can do wonders for building a sense of pride. As Graham, Collins, and Ciullo sum it up, “making writing visible” and sharing it publicly can build both skill and confidence.
Collectively, these 11 recommendations show us that (1) writing is complex, so students need multiple avenues of support; (2) simply having them “write more” isn’t magic. Explicit teaching and scaffolding matter; and (3) reading–writing connections and writing across content areas enhance both literacy skills and subject learning.
The Challenge: Your Next Step
Pick one of these 11 recommendations you’re not already doing, and integrate it into your next writing unit. Try a simple version first, maybe a goal-setting exercise, a quick self-regulated strategy, or a lively peer-feedback routine. See how students respond, track their progress, and then tweak as needed.
Graham, S., Collins, A. A., & Ciullo, S. (2024). Evidence-based recommendations for teaching writing.Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 52(7), 979–992. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2024.2357893
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