A substantial body of educational research over the years has been focused on determining how to improve students’ knowledge of, and skills in, the discipline of writing. We know that writing is essential for success at school and life beyond school. Equipping students with the wide range of writing capabilities necessary to succeed in the world of school and beyond, depends in large part on the instructional and theoretical choices of their teachers. Central components which are known to contribute to an effective writing approach in secondary classrooms across all subject areas include the following: time, choice, the provision of real purposes and audiences, craft knowledge and skill, and a community of practice. Each of these components makes a significant difference to student engagement and writing development. And each of these components can be supported by parents and carers in the home.

This week I would like to focus on the first of these components, time. Carefully designed teaching programs – whether they be for English, History, Science or Maths – include regular, visible time for writing. Regular time for writing normalises writing and enables students to build writing repertoires, confidence and enjoyment. Regular time for writing not only validates writing as an important and empowering human activity, but shows students that writing is an essential aspect of learning that is worthy of attention and investment. To become accomplished and confident writers capable of conveying ideas and emotions with power and precision, students need time to think and to plan, to draft and to discuss, to read aloud, write again, revise, and write some more.

In our busy and distracted contemporary world, there are undoubtedly challenges in engaging young people in purposeful writing, in generating enthusiasm for writing, and in developing writing skills. The social and private worlds inhabited by our students are increasingly negotiated through language that is often instantaneous, fragmented and conveyed spontaneously as casual conversation communicated via a digital platform. Yet the academic context of school writing rewards written, literate and standard English as distinct from the more informal, spoken English dialect used in everyday communication. Studies have repeatedly shown that there is a very strong relationship between student writing confidence and writing performance. Findings have also indicated that students’ motivation is related to their self-perceptions and beliefs about themselves as writers and their writing ability. The opportunities teachers offer and the instructional approaches they implement in their classrooms need to be counter-cultural, considered and engaging if students are to write confidently and competently in imaginative, analytical, critical and powerful ways.

Clare Murphy

English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach