Writing Approaches in Years 3 to 13: Evidence Review

The report is available from:https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Writing_Approaches_in_Years_3_to_13_Evidence_Review.pdf

The EEF Guidance Report Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools is available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/improving-secondary-literacy 

This paper reviews research on outcomes of writing programmes for students in Years 3 to 13 in England, or grades 2 to 12 in the US. Studies had to meet rigorous standards of research including use of randomisedor well-matched control groups, measures independent of the programme developers, researchers, and teachers, and adequate sample size and duration. Fourteen studies of 12 programmes met the standards. Twelve (86%) were randomised, two matched. Programmes were divided into three categories. Student achievement effects on writing were positive on average in all categories (Effect Size=+0.18), with similar outcomes for writing programmes focused on the writing process (ES=+0.17), those using cooperative learning (ES=+0.16) and those focusing on interactions between reading and writing (ES=+0.19). 

The ability to express ideas in writing is one of the most important of all skills. Good writing is a mark of an educated person, and perhaps for that reason it is one of the most important skills sought by employers and higher education institutions (Conley, 2003; Schmoker, 2018). Effective writing is essential in civic engagement, enabling people to state their views effectively in politics, social life, and business. 

The rapid growth in use of technological communication devices is increasing the need for everyone to be able to compose effectively for many purposes (Graham, Harris, & Santangelo, 2015).Yet among the “3 R’s” (reading, writing, and arithmetic), there is far less research on writing than on the other basics. This is especially true in the US, where teaching of writing has greatly diminished as accountability systems emphasising only reading and mathematics have pushed writing out of the curriculum in many places, decreasing interest in research on the topic. Despite evidence that the teaching of writing can improve outcomes in reading (Graham & Hebert, 2011), there is little focus on writing for its own sake.

In England, a 2012 Department for Education research report found that “although there has been an improvement in pupils’ achievement in writing, it is the area where pupils perform less well compared to reading, mathematics and science”. The report also pointed to gaps in the research evidence: “There is no evidence on why pupils perform less well in writing in comparison to reading and the other core subjects. There is little evidence on specific interventions to help pupils with writing, and very little evidence on interventions for secondary school pupils. There is limited evidence on the predictors of pupils’ achievement in writing. There is very little evidence on effective strategies for teaching spelling. There is little evidence on pupils’ performance in writing in studies of international comparisons.” (Department for Education, 2012) 

Although reading and writing can be seen as two sides of the same coin, and do have many similarities, writing is also very distinct. A good writer must have something to say, must have a plan for how to put ideas into written form, and must be able to reflect and self-edit to be sure that a writtenproduct communicates with its desired audience. Necessary writing skills are very different for different purposes and genres. For example, the ability to write a comparison–contrast composition is very different from writing a personal narrative or humour, and writing a business letter requires very different skills from writing poetry. There are language mechanics skills, such as grammar, punctuation, usage, and spelling, that are important in all areas of writing, and one might argue that there are elements of persuasion and informational writing that underlie many more specific genres. But a proficient writer needs a broad range of experience and skill to take on any particular task to appeal to any particular audience.

A remarkable proportion of all research and reviews of research has been carried out by Steven Graham and Karen Harris and their colleagues. Based on their reviews of their own and others’ research, especially focused on students who are struggling writers, they have proposed a set of consensus conclusions about what is known about effective writing strategies in primary and secondary schools. Their key conclusions are as follows (from Graham, Harris, & Santangelo, 2015):

1.Establish writing routines that create a pleasant and motivating writing environment (Graham & Perin, 2007).To write well, students need to be excited about the opportunity to express themselves, not fearful about making mistakes. Effective writing teachers model their own enjoyment and excitement about writing, celebrate good writing by displaying it or putting it into class anthologies, attribute success in writing to effort rather than ability, encourage sharing of writing drafts among peers, and assign writing tasks appropriate to students’ interests and needs.

2.Implement a process approach to writing (Hillocks, 1986; Sandmel & Graham, 2011).Writing process models give students extended opportunities to write. They usually include writing teams in which students help each other plan, draft, revise, edit, and “publish” compositions. Two examples are Self-Regulated Strategy Development (Graham et al., 2012) and Writing Wings (Madden et al., 2011), described in some detail in the “Findings” section, below.

3.Create routines that ensure that students write frequently.Not surprisingly, students who write more write better (Graham & Perin, 2007; Gallagher & Kittle, 2018). Practice in writing is especially important in giving students opportunities to write in many genres and for many purposes and audiences. Adding 15 minutes of writing each day can make a substantial difference in writing outcomes, and contributes to reading outcomes as well (Graham et al., 2015).

4.Design instructional routines in which students compose together.Process writing programmes usually involve students working together on compositions. In England, the Paired Writing Programme (Yarrow & Topping, 2001) taught students to work with each other at each stage of the writing process. Students had “help sheets” for each stage of the process, asking questions such as, “is the writing 8suitable for its purpose and for the reader?” and later on, “does each sentence begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop?” For example, partners may help each other plan what each will write, give feedback on a rough draft or “sloppy copy”, respond to a revision, and suggest edits for spelling and punctuation, before each student produces a final product. In each case, the peer is able to provide helpful and supportive feedback, before the teacher does the same review of students’ work. As a practical matter, this frees teachers to spend more time on drafts that are already better, but there is much anecdotal evidence to the effect that students learn a great deal from responding to others’ drafts, gaining insightinto ways to improve their own writing.

5.Establish goals for students’ writing (Rogers & Graham, 2008).Setting high but realistic expectations for what students are to achieve is important in motivating them to do their best. Graham et al. (2015) provide two examples of high but attainable expectations: “add three new ideas to your paper in revising it,” and “address both sides of an argument, providing three or more reasons to support your point of view and countering at least two reasons supporting the opposing view.”Other basic principles advocated by Graham et al. (2015) include providing frequent feedback, ensuring students acquire writing skills, knowledge, and strategies, and teach handwriting, spelling, and typing. They support teaching sentence construction and sentence combining.