Writing to Learn - Center for Writing in College, Career and Community Blog

Here are writing strategies that are evidence-based. We hope that you integrate some of these writing strategies in your lessons.

Write to Learn Strategies

Daily writing, from freewriting to KWLS to creative forms like Haiku, is a thinking tool for learning in all disciplines. Below is a list of research-based writing strategies that we would like you to try writing to learn activities like the ones below or like the ones you like to use in class. We encourage you to read what students write without correcting spelling or grammar. We encourage you to read for disciplinary content and to see what your students are getting the hang of and what students may need clarification on.

Strategy	Description	Objective / Notes	LOE	Grades	Page
POW	Pick ideas (i.e., decide what to write about) Organize notes (i.e., brainstorm and organize possible writing ideas into a writing plan) Write and say more (i.e., continue to modify the plan while writing)	A prewriting strategy. Supports students in planning what they will write.	Strong	1-6	16*
TREE	As students write: Tell what they believe (i.e., state a topic sentence) Provide three or more Reasons (i.e., Why do I believe this?) End it (i.e., wrap it up right) Examine (i.e., Do I have all my parts?)	Supports student ability to write persuasively and analytically, as well as think critically. Scaffolds thesis writing.	Strong	2-3	26*
TREE	In older grades, expand the strategy as follows: Replace the Examine step with Explain reasons. Students should say more about each reason.	Supports student ability to write persuasively and analytically. This adjustment pushes students to communicate more about what they are thinking.	Strong	4-6	26-27*
K-W-L Chart	Before and after a lesson, students complete a K-W-L chart: What I Know (i.e., brainstorm and reflect: what do I know about the topic?) What I Want to know (i.e., extend brainstorming: what do I want to learn? What information would be helpful to know?) What I Learned (i.e., reflect: what have I learned? Did I list anything during brainstorming that was inaccurate and needs to be crossed off the chart?)	Supports metacognition and reflective report writing.	Strong	2-6, 6-12	26, 8*
Sensory Details	Using your five senses, write about the following: What did you see? How did it look? What sounds did you hear? What did you touch? How did it feel? What could you smell? What did you taste?	Students can reflect on the STEM activities they witness. Supports observation, metacognition and reflective report writing.	Strong	K-3~	26*
Imitation	Select a sentence, paragraph, or text excerpt and imitate the author’s form (see Recommendation 2b, examples 2 and 3). Example text: Charlotte’s Web.	This strategy would pair well with sensory details. For example, students can read an excerpt with strong observational details. With the teacher’s help, students can identify examples of sensory details in the text before attempting the five senses prompt.	Strong	1-6	16*
Peer Revising	Students place a question mark (?) by anything they do not understand in their writing partner’s paper, and a carat (^) anywhere it would be useful for the author to include more information.	Students will benefit from a directed approach to discussing and assessing what they are writing.	Strong	2-6	16*
DARE	Students dare to check their paper to be sure they have: Developed their thesis. Added ideas to support their ideas. Rejected arguments on the other side. Ended with a strong conclusion.	Students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by, for example, learning to support their claims and observations. This strategy will require scaffolding for thesis, supporting ideas, counter-evidence, and conclusions.	Strong	4-6, 6-12	26, 12*
Inform	Students study one purpose of writing, which is to inform, by examining previously learned information or providing new information. Students are exposed to the following genres: Summaries of new or previously learned information Instructions or directions Letters Newspaper articles Science reports	Teachers must expose students to various purposes and contexts for writing. This list of evidence-based genres can be used to develop additional activities.	Strong	N/A	21*
Venn Diagram	Use a Venn diagram as a planning tool when writing a compare/contrast essay. Each circle can represent a different topic or position. The parts that overlap represent similarities, while the parts that do not overlap represent differences.	A strategy to explicitly teach the stages of planning and drafting in the writing process.	Strong	6-12	8**
Do/What	Create a Do/What chart to thoroughly examine a prompt or instructions before beginning an assignment. Circle all verbs in the writing prompt that describe what you are being asked to do. Underline the words that describe what the task is.	This strategy is recommended for any genre of writing to help students synthesize what they are being asked to do.	Strong	6-12	10**
Set Goals	Provide students with a list of writing goals that represent qualities of good writing and the criteria on which they will be evaluated. Examples include: Maintaining control of the topic Organization Voice Vocabulary Varied and complex sentences Students should choose one or more goals to work on as they write.	This prewriting strategy is recommended for any genre to support students in the planning and drafting phase of writing..	Strong	6-12	11**
Mini Arguments	Begin by drafting a claim and identifying two to four pieces of evidence to support that claim. This will serve as the first draft for the essay. Write a second draft after using “Rank the Evidence” strategy.	This drafting strategy supports hypothesis writing, critical thinking, and persuasive thinking. It can support students as they establish cause/effect relationships.	Strong	6-12	12**
Rank the Evidence	After students write their Mini-Arguments, instruct them to: Trade drafts with peers Peers rank the evidence from 1 to 4 based on how logical and relevant each piece is. Peers will discuss the ranking prior to writing a second draft.	Students collaborate in identifying cause/effect relationships. This encourages diversity of thought, which will support the writing process.	Strong	6-12	12**
3-2-1	Students write: 3 things they learned 2 things they would like to learn more about 1 question they have on the topic	This drafting strategy is an alternative to the K-W-L chart.	Strong	6-12	12**
Color Coding	Use different colored fonts or highlights in a word processing program to categorize different concepts, thoughts, and writing elements.	This strategy supports students as they make sense of the world and ideas around them.	Strong	6-12	13**
CDO	Compare, Diagnose, & Operate by reading through the paper and asking if any of the following example diagnoses apply: There are too few ideas Part of the paper doesn’t belong with the rest Part of the paper is not in the right order Then, students decide how they will rectify each situation identified.	This strategy is for all writing genres, but it is also listed as particularly beneficial with informative writing.	Strong	6-12	13,16**
PLAN	Please see the diagrams on pages 17-18**: Pay attention to the writing assignment by identifying what you are going to write about. List your main ideas. Add supporting ideas (e.g., details, examples, evidence, elaborations) to each main idea Number the order in which you will present your ideas.	This strategy could be modified to help students process and report their observations.	Strong	6-12	17,18**
Exemplar Texts	Expose students to exemplar informational and technical texts that have the following features: A topic or theme (may be repeated) Present tense Technical vocabulary Descriptive attitudes and characteristic events Definitions or explanations of terms Visual elements such as diagrams, tables, and charts Specialized topics Instructions on how to do something Ask students to highlight text features before asking them to practice emulating these features in their own writing.	Exemplar texts will help model appropriate information and scientific writing for students. Teachers can also use past student writing as examples.	Moderate	Elem/ Mid	36-38**
Graphic Organizers	Teach and use graphic organizers (e.g., venn diagrams, cause-and-effect, properties and examples) to support students’ understanding of patterns and relationships among facts, terms, and concepts. Before asking students to create graphic organizers, model how to “read” a one by walking through a completed one.	This strategy expands on the “Venn Diagram” activity.	Strong	Elem/ Mid	33-36, 44^
Inquiry Box	To teach technical vocabulary terms, identify example items and show them from the IB. Consider pairing an exemplar text with box items, telling students that items represent a concept in the text. (E.g., exemplar text about solids, liquids, and gases. Box items include pencils, erasers, backpacks to exemplify solids.)	This strategy is meant to extend student learning and understanding of new terminology.	Strong	Elem/ Mid	42-43^
Mini- Vocabulary Lessons	In a brief 10- to 15-minute mini-vocabulary lesson: Introduce the term, and ask students to practice saying its individual syllabus. Define the term (e.g., instructions help us understand how to make or do something) with verbal examples (e.g., for ex., a teacher gives instructions to students so they know how to do their assignment) Provide three written example sentences that illustrate the word’s range of use. Ask students to write these sentences in their vocabulary journal and/or write the word on a vocabulary card. Can also be paired with a graphic organizer, pictures, and video clips.	This strategy builds vocabulary and language skills.	Moderate	Elem/ Mid	65, 18^

~Could be appropriate for K-8. Missouri State ENG 110 instructors regularly assign a sensory association essay with similar prompts to first-year students. Across ages and experiences, this assignment helps students make sense of their observations.

Addressing Stereotype Threats in Curriculum^^

Female students need intentional support and intervention during STEM/CS instruction to improve their chances of pursuing a career in these fields. Beginning in elementary and middle school instruction of math and science, girls and women begin to:

Underestimate their abilities (6)
Have less confidence (6)
Show less interest in these subjects (6)

Perform worse on standardized tests (especially when told they are being evaluated or when male students outnumber female students) (19, 20)
Choose unchallenging problems to solve (19)
Lower their performance expectations (19)
Devalue a career choice in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (19)
Avoid asking for help with assignments (16)

This is because female students face stereotype threats in the fields of STEM/CS, which are assumptions that they will perform negatively; and, these negative assumptions directly affect a student’s performance. Evidence from one small, cross-sectional observational study suggests that elementary school aged girls are aware of the stereotype that men are considered to be better at math than women; however, they still view girls and boys to be equally good at math (20). By the time girls reach middle school, stereotype threats can fully become a problem (20).

These stereotypes are operative (or default) unless measures are taken to counter them (20). Thus, teachers must be made aware of these barriers to learning so they can address them directly and proactively. The WWC offers the following recommendations to proactively address stereotype threats (6-7^^):

Rec. #	Recommendation	Level of Ev.
1	Teach students that academic abilities are expendable and improvable.	Moderate
2	Provide prescriptive, informational feedback.	Moderate
3	Expose girls to female role models who have succeeded in math and science.	Low
4	Create a classroom environment that sparks initial curiosity and fosters long-term interest in math and science.	Moderate
5	Provide spacial skills training.	Low

WWC: Recommended Strategies and Practices

The following teaching strategies come from What Works Clearinghouse, which are collections of evidence-based practices published by the U.S. Department of Education. WWC reviews existing research on various programs, products, practices, and policies in education so that educators are equipped to make evidence-based decisions in the classroom (IES, 2020).

The WWC presents the following recommendations after examining studies showing positive effects on writing quality across diverse populations and settings (WWC p. 13). These recommendations focus on self-regulated strategy development (SRSD), an approach in which teachers instruct using specific techniques and gradually release the responsibility for the writing process to students (WWC, p. 13). Studies of SRSD show they provide uniformly positive effects on writing outcomes, including the overall quality of students’ writing (WWC, p. 13).

The WWC rates recommendations according to the following levels:

Level of Evidence	Description
Strong	Positive findings are demonstrated in multiple well-designed, well-executed studies, leaving little or no doubt that the positive effects are caused by the recommended practice.
Moderate	Well-designed studies show positive impacts, but there are questions about whether the findings can be generalized beyond the study samples or whether the studies show definitive evidence that the practice is effective.
Minimal	There is not definitive evidence that the recommended practice is effective in improving the outcome of interest, although there may be data to suggest a correlation between the practice and the outcome of interest.

The following table of teaching strategies have been assigned strong and moderate levels of evidence. Additionally, these strategies have been listed because of their anticipated compatibility with teaching STEM/CS concepts.

References

*	Graham, S., Bollinger, A., Olson, C. B., D’Aoust, C., MacArthur, C., McCutchen, C., & Olinghouse, N. (2018). Teaching elementary school students to be effective writers [PDF file]. United States Department of Education, 1-112, https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs /PracticeGuide/WWC_Elem_Writing_PG_Dec182018.pdf.
**	Graham, S., Fitzgerald, J., Friedrich, L. D., Greene, K., Kim, J. S., & Olson, C. B. (2016). Teaching secondary students to write effectively [PDF file]. United States Department of Education, 1-90, https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/PracticeGuide/WWC_Elem_Writing _PG_Dec182018.pdf.
^	Baker, S. B., Geva, E., Kieffer, M. J., Lesaux, N., Linan-Thomson, S., Morris, J., Proctor, C. P., Russell, R. (2014). Teaching academic content and literacy to English learners in elementary and middle school. United States Department of Education, 1-115, https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/19.
^^	Halpern, D. F., Aronson, J., Reimer, N., Simpkins, S., Star, J. R., Wentzel, K. (2007). Encouraging girls in math and science. United States Department of Education, 1-55, https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/5.

The Evidence

On January 18, 2017, the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) delivered a webinar on evidence-based practices for improving secondary students’ writing skills. The webinar focused on the three recommendations in the recently released practice guide, Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively.To support educators’ efforts to develop effective writing skills for students in grades 6–12, the WWC conducted a review of existing research and worked with an expert panel of practitioners and researchers to identify recommended practices that educators can implement in their classrooms. Presenters discussed the guide’s three recommendations and gave teachers in all disciplines actionable guidance on how to implement them in the classroom. They also discussed potential challenges educators may face when implementing the recommended practices, as well as advice from the experts on how to overcome those challenges. Administrators, professional development providers, program developers, and researchers may also find this information useful.

Click to access wwc_secwrit_summary_053117.pdf