Writing Strategies, Skills, and Knowledge

De La Paz, S., & Graham, S. (2002). Explicitly Teaching Strategies, Skills, and Knowledge: Writing Instruction in Middle School Classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(4), 687-698. doi: 10.1037//0022-0663.94.4.687

Background

The author acknowledged that the average American student was not a proficient writer as the percentage of students who performed at or above the proficient level remained approximately 25%. He also believed skilled writing required the acquisition and coordination of strategies.

Aims

This study examined how students fared in writing when directly taught strategies for executing the processes, skills and knowledge involved in planning, drafting and revising text.

Sample

The participants were 1044 students from two middle schools with similar demographic characteristics.

Method

The control group was directed by teachers in the generation and organisation of writing ideas taught a variety of discrete writing skills before they wrote their essays. These essays were then graded. The experimental group was explicitly taught the knowledge and skills to independently use a nine-step strategy, ‘PLAN and WRITE’, along with self-regulatory procedures to facilitate its use. The students were instructed on how to use a revising checklist and offer feedback. They were also given a quiz to test their knowledge of the steps in the strategy. At pre- and post-testing, both groups were given a single 35-minute session to plan and compose an essay.

Findings

The writing programme had a positive effect on the performance of the experimental group whose essays were longer and qualitatively better than the essays by the control group. These effects were maintained on an essay written one month after instruction ended. A key element of the programme was a planning strategy (PLAN) that helped students analyse the demands of the writing assignment and generate and organise possible writing content. Following instruction, written plans were much more common for both groups of students. However, the plans generated by the experimental group tended to be more complete, elaborate and hierarchical than those by the control group.

Implications

This study provides support for directly teaching writing strategies, along with the skills and knowledge needed to apply them. One reason explicit instruction is not used more is because teachers believe that explicit instruction is not necessary, as strategies, skills, and knowledge are best learned in context. Some educators also believe that direct teaching is counterproductive and may even be harmful because it attempts to circumvent the recursive nature of writing and keeps writers from exploiting ideas that might arise while writing. However, this study shows that with explicit instruction, students’ knowledge of writing increases and the quality of their writing improves.

Original article retrieved from EBSCOHost.