We present 11 evidence-based practices for teaching writing to students. These include recommendations for teaching writing to younger students (aged 5-11) and older students (aged 6-18). The recommendations are based on findings from close to 1000 investigations. The proposed recommendations are (1) students need to write, but writing is not…

We present 11 evidence-based practices for teaching writing to students. These include recommendations for teaching writing to younger students (aged 5-11) and older students (aged 6-18). The recommendations are based on findings from close to 1000 investigations. The proposed recommendations are: (1) students need to write, but writing is not…

This descriptive study examined differences in children's text production as a function of the advanced planning strategies they used. A sample of 117 third-grade children engaged in independent advanced planning and then composed a compare-and-contrast essay both before and after receiving a six-week text production fluency intervention. Analyses…

Individuals with disabilities continue to struggle with writing. Most students with disabilities do not measure at even the most basic level in writing assessments. Technology offers tools to support writing instruction, but many teachers acknowledge a lack of confidence in designing instruction using these tools in writing. Using the 6 Traits of…

This research was aimed at fostering students' idea generating abilities via the implementation of pre-writing strategies. The study adopted an action research design. The first phase involved problem identification and causes of the problems through focus group discussion and classroom observation. After identifying the challenges, systematically…

This study examined the relationship between metacognitive revision and writing achievement in one instructor's developmental writing courses. Since American students often have had little strategic writing instruction in high school, they frequently come to college as non-proficient writers. By focusing on self-improvement rather than agonizing…

Since high school students are failing to master writing proficiency, developmental writing programs at the college level have become increasingly necessary. This article explains the lack of readiness with which students are entering college and the workplace, examines the reasons students are having trouble writing, and describes elements of…

This design research project developed and evaluated curriculum for developmental writing classes in community colleges. The core of the curriculum was self-regulated strategy instruction, which has been shown to be effective with adolescents who are struggling as writers. In the curriculum, students learned strategies for planning, drafting, and…

In the past few years, the number of students placing into developmental or remedial college courses has grown considerably. Research is needed to explore the learning dynamics of underprepared students and to offer insights for practice. However research in the developmental field so far has lacked a scholarly, rigorous approach, and research in…

Offers a method to help writing students generate ideas and collect their thoughts: (1) giving students 10 minutes to freewrite about being stranded on a desert island; (2) writing one page on a thesis statement; and (3) having students "talk through" their papers in small groups. (PA)

Suggests a nine-step summary writing strategy for use with secondary and college developmental readers and writers. (MG)

Describes the effects of two prewriting strategies for the generation and storage of ideas (external storage and heuristic) on freshman English students' compositions in honors and basic writing classes. Both honors and remedial students produced the best essays when writing under conditions closely approximating their usual prewriting behavior.…

Course designs for Basic English Writing classes vary from one course to another. The objective of this study was to investigate the semantic misinterpretation of English words found in the English compositions written by native-Chinese-speaking undergraduate students and to overcome if such a barrier occurred in the process of writing. First,…

It has long been established that self-assessment and goal-setting are regular features of the writing process of experienced writers. It has also been demonstrated that students develop more power and control over their writing when they are encouraged to become their own evaluators. Therefore, to help beginning writers think and act more like…

Reviews an instructional strategy for remedial writers which consists of four steps: identifying a strategy worth teaching; introducing the strategy by modeling it; helping students to try it out with workshop-style teaching guidance; and then, helping students to work toward independent mastery. (TB)