What is the research evidence on writing? - Department for Education

achievement has <strong>the</strong> largest influence on outcomes, with reading and writing at Key
Stage 1 having <strong>the</strong> strongest influence (Melhu<strong>is</strong>h et al, 2006).
Key Stage 3
At Key Stage 3, <strong>the</strong> <strong>research</strong>ers found that pre-school effectiveness, as measured by
schools promoting pre-reading skills, had a continuing effect on Engl<strong>is</strong>h, but th<strong>is</strong> was
weaker than at younger ages (Sammons et al, 2012).
4. Teaching of writing
Th<strong>is</strong> section looks at <strong>the</strong> teaching of writing in classrooms, starting with pedagogical
approaches that have been proved effective in improving pupils’ performance in
writing and fin<strong>is</strong>hes with <strong>evidence</strong> about teaching practice in classrooms of primary
schools.
4.1 Approaches for effective, whole-class teaching
The following table l<strong>is</strong>ts approaches that have been found to be effective in <strong>the</strong>
teaching of writing by <strong>research</strong> reviews of international <strong>evidence</strong> (<strong>What</strong> Works
Clearinghouse, 2012; Gillespie and Graham, 2010; Andrews et al, 2009; Santangelo
and Olinghouse, 2009).
Teaching practice Examples of how it can be done
Teach pupils <strong>the</strong> writing
process
Teach pupils to write for a
variety of purposes
o Teach pupils strategies/tools for <strong>the</strong> various
components of <strong>the</strong> writing process such as :
planning; drafting; sharing; evaluating; rev<strong>is</strong>ing
and editing; summar<strong>is</strong>ing; sentence combining
o Gradually shift responsibility from <strong>the</strong> teacher to
<strong>the</strong> pupil so that <strong>the</strong>y become independent
writers
o Guide pupils to choose and use suitable writing
strategies
o Encourage pupils to be flexible when using <strong>the</strong>
different writing components
o Engage <strong>the</strong>m in pre-writing activities where <strong>the</strong>y
can assess what <strong>the</strong>y already know, <strong>research</strong> an
unfamiliar topic, or arrange <strong>the</strong>ir ideas v<strong>is</strong>ually
o Help pupils understand <strong>the</strong> different purposes of
writing e.g. ‘describe’; ‘narrate’; ‘inform’;
‘persuade’/’analyse’
o Develop pupils’ concept of what <strong>is</strong> ‘audience’
o Teach pupils explicitly how to use <strong>the</strong> features of
good writing and provide <strong>the</strong>m with models of
good writing
o Teach pupils techniques for writing effectively for
different purposes: for example, for ‘describe’,
use <strong>the</strong> ‘sensory details’ technique: what did you
see? How did it look? <strong>What</strong> sounds did you hear?
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