Teaching Writing Effectively Research & Practice Timothy Shanahan University of Illinois at Chicago

Writing: The Neglected “R” Of the “3 Rs,” writing has been accorded the least attention Notion has been that reading is a widely needed skill, but that writing is an elite skill The National Reading Panel did not consider writing research (though it was on the list of topics that it considered)

According to the National Commission on Writing… More than 90% of mid-career professionals indicate that writing is important in their work Writing is essential for success in higher education, and yet more than 50% of college freshmen have serious writing problems Fewer than 30% of elementary and high school students meet NAEP’s writing proficiency standards

National Assessment Grade Below Basic ProficientAdvanced 416%60%23%1% 816%56%27%1% 1222%55%22%1%

According to NAEP… Students can write, but they cannot produce writing at high levels of skill, maturity, and sophistication Few students can produce precise, engaging, and coherent prose Fewer than a quarter can write convincing, elaborated responses with compelling language

Two Basic Issues What does research say about writing instruction? What is the connection between writing and reading?

The P 3 A Writing Curriculum PurposeWriters need to write for a variety of purposes ProcessWriters need to engage successfully in the writing process ProductWriters need to produce effective pieces of writing AudienceWriters need to meet the needs of a variety of audiences

Research Review Best review of writing instruction in the past 20 years: Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). A meta- analysis of writing instruction for adolescent students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 445–476.

Graham & Perin Review Examined 123 experimental and quasi- experimental studies of writing instruction grades 4-12 Studies covered 11 different approaches to the teaching of writing Quality of writing was the outcome measure

Process Writing Approach Extended writing opportunities Writing for real audiences Engaging in the writing process High levels of student interaction and ownership Personalized individual feedback and (perhaps) some systematic instruction

Explicit Instruction Grammar Explicit systematic instruction of parts of speech and sentences Sentence combining Creating more sophisticated sentences through combination of sentences Strategy instruction Teaching strategies for planning, revising, editing Summarization Explicit systematic instruction in how to summarize text Text structure Explicit systematic instruction in text organization

Scaffolding Prewriting Engaging students in prewriting practice Inquiry Helping students plan by analyzing data Procedural facilitation External prompts: guides, heuristics Peer assistance Having students work together Models Examinations of specific types of text Product goals Assigning writing goals Feedback Information is provided on the adequacy of the writing

Alternative Models Word Processing Provides technological support for students to use computers for writing and revising Extra writing Increased opportunities to write or to engage in a particular type of writing

Graham & Perin Results dn Strategy instruction.8220 Summarization.824 Peer assistance.757 Product goals.705 Word processing.5518 Sentence combining.505 Prewriting.325 Process approach.3221 Inquiry.325 Models.256 Grammar-.4311

Graham & Perin Results (cont.) Process writing had a moderate effect on student writing in grades 4-6 when the teachers received professional development and no effects in grades Grammar was the control in all but one study (it was not effective in any study) Strategy instruction was effective across all grade levels, but bigger effects on struggling students

Graham & Perin Results (cont.) Impossible to draw meaningful conclusions on text structure instruction (too few students, results too varied, etc.) Inquiry studies were all done at grades 7-12 and had small-to-moderate effects All of the peer assistance studies were significant (grades 4-12) Lots of unexplained variability in size of effect for word processing

Conclusions It is evident that there are many writing instruction procedures that have reasonably large and reliable impacts on students’ writing quality (strategy teaching most effective, but many other things work, too)

Conclusions Lots we don’t know: 1. Need to regroup these studies by content of teaching (separate from instructional process and facilitation of writing) 2. Need more “complete” studies (combining successful routines that fit together)

Reading-Writing Relations Shared knowledge and process Author-audience relationships Collaborative uses

Reading-Writing Relations Tierney, R. J., & Shanahan, T., (1992). Research on the reading-writing relationship. Handbook of Reading Research (vol. 2). Shanahan, T. (2006). Relations among oral language, reading, and writing development. Handbook of Writing Research.

Shared knowledge-process There are sizeable correlations among various measures of reading and writing Children’s decoding skills and spelling skills are related Children’s vocabulary and text structure ability are related to comprehension High amounts of shared variance in multivariate studies

Shared knowledge-process (cont.) Instruction in reading can improve writing achievement and instruction in writing can improve reading achievement Invented spelling improved decoding skills (NRP, 2000) Summarization, modeling, sentence combining and writing in response to literature and expository text have all been found to improve writing and reading

Author-audience relationships Awareness of author is an essential dimension of critical reading Awareness of readers is an essential dimension of writing quality Engaging in reflective reading and writing activities is useful for developing these insights

Collaborative Uses Reading and writing can be used in combination to improve the accomplishment of various tasks (such as learning) Writing about what one reads can improve understanding and recall The reading within revision is essential to writing quality

Conclusions Research clearly demonstrates that reading and writing are closely allied—depending upon similar knowledge and skills, providing essential insights across the modes of language, and increasing the ability of students to learn effectively

Teaching Writing Given the research that has been conducted, what would an effective writing program look like?

Principle 1 Writing instruction and practice would take place daily and would be of sufficient duration to develop quality writers.

Principle 1 (cont.) minutes per day Time for both instruction and use Don’t hesitate to encourage writing practice in all subjects and tasks

Principle 2 Writing fluency would be an early goal and instruction would foster fluency in a variety of ways.

Principle 2 (cont.) Young children obviously suffer from difficulty in writing sufficient amounts Teach spelling and handwriting Peter Elbow’s work on turning off your editor (limit the amount of early editing) Writing marathons

Principle 3 Writing instruction would be closely connected to reading instruction.

Principle 3 (cont.) Writing using what you have learned in reading Writing about what you read (summaries and critiques) Writing to help you think about what you read (write before you speak) Writing to a model (pattern writing)

Principle 4 Writing instruction would include explicit strategy instruction in how to write effectively in grades 4 and up

Principle 4 (cont.) Modeling Explicit instruction in the what, when, how, and why of strategy Guided practice Opportunity to use it collaboratively with peers Opportunity to use it independently

Principle 5 Writing instruction would focus on communication and include opportunities for social collaboration

Principle 5 (cont.) Write for real audiences Write for a variety of audiences (reflection, conversation, correspondence, publication) Cooperative work

Principle 6 Writing would be taught and practiced within the subject areas

Principle 6 (cont.) Each discipline has its own kinds of writing and levels of precision Opportunity to write extended essays

Useful Resources Culham, R. 6+1 Traits of writing. New York: Scholastic. Fisher, D., & Frey, N. Scaffolded writing instruction. New York: Scholastic. Graham, S., et al. Best practices in writing instruction. New York: Guilford. Temple, C., et al. The beginnings of writing. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Timothy Shanahan University of Illinois at Chicago