Like reading, writing is another key literacy element. Writing is critical because it helps us think and make sense of experience. When we write, we write our way into meaning, discovering ideas and generating understandings. We write to clarify, to solve problems, to get in touch with our thoughts and feelings, and to communicate to others in the public and social spheres of our lives. Learning to write is critical because ultimately, we write to learn.

As teachers, we aspire for our young people to become competent, motivated and confident writers. Yet, the challenges we face in engaging students in purposeful writing, in generating their enthusiasm for writing, and in developing their writing skills, are substantial. The social and private worlds of many of our young people are increasingly framed through written language that is instantaneous, often fragmented and conveyed in the moment as direct speech communicated via a digital platform. Text messaging, Instagram, Twitter, and other forms of social media have become the usual channels for constructing identities, forming relationships and interacting in a range of contexts. Immersed as they are in digital technology, many of our young people are confident and capable when it comes to participating in everyday online communication. However, when it comes to the more complex and formal writing demands of the school curriculum, the situation is quite different. The academic context of school writing rewards written, literate and standard English as distinct from the more informal, spoken English dialect used in casual communication. Equipping young people with the wide range of writing capabilities which will allow them to succeed at school and in the workplace, is a responsibility which educators take very seriously.

Writing has been described as one of the greatest of all human inventions as it promotes self-expression, creativity, confidence, reflection, critical thinking, communication, and comprehension. Surprisingly, a presenter at a writing workshop I attended some years ago likened writing to dog training. She urged writers to ‘sit and stay’. Her second piece of advice was to ‘fake it until you make it.’ I’ve never forgotten these two suggestions. They highlight the commitment and the perseverance required to develop this most critical of human endeavours.

Mrs Clare Murphy

English Coordinator & Literacy Instructional Coach