Effective WritingStrategies and Resources

Training

Dr. Vaughn G. Rhudy, Coordinator

West Virginia Department of Education

Office of Assessment and Accountability

“Writing today is not a frill for the few, but an

essential skill for the many.”

National Commission on Writing

Writing -- Vital Component of Literacy

Helps students organizeExtends and deepens information,

ideas and insight gained from readingVehicle for informing, persuading, and

inspiring others

Writing -- Vital Component of Employment

Survey of 120 Major Corporations80%+ assess writing during hiringWriting – ‘threshold skill”Can make or break chances for

employment and promotion

Writing -- Vital Component of Employment

Writing RemediationEmployers spend billions of dollars

each year on remedial writing trainingWriting remediation wide spread on

college campusesHalf of high school graduates are not

prepared for college-level writing

Effective Writing Instruction

1. Writing strategies – Teach students how to plan, revise, and edit their work

2. Summarization – Provide explicit and systematic instruction in how to summarize texts

3. Collaborative writing – Develop ways for students to work together to plan, draft, revise and edit their compositions

Effective Writing Instruction

4. Specific product goals – Give students writing goals that include a clear purpose for the assignment and specific characteristics of the finished piece

5. Word processing – Use computers and word processors as instructional supports for writing assignments

Effective Writing Instruction

6. Sentence combining – Teach students to craft more complex, sophisticated sentences by linking basic sentences

7. Prewriting – Provide activities that help students plan, gather information, and organize ideas

Effective Writing Instruction

8. Inquiry activities – engage students in analyzing immediate, concrete data to help them develop ideas and content for a particular writing assignment

9. Process writing approach – Interweave a number of writing instruction activities in a workshop environment

Effective Writing Instruction10. Study of models – Give students

opportunities to read, analyze and emulate models of good writing

11. Writing for content learning – Use writing as a tool for learning content material

Taken from Writing Next, a 2007 by Graham and Perin

Ineffective Writing Strategy

“Traditional grammar instruction did not help improve students’ writing. In fact, it produced a small, but statistically significant, negative effect.”

Graham & Perin, 2007

Writing Roadmap 2.0

Provided by WVDE at no cost to counties

Available to all students Grades 3 – 12

Available to all counties, schools, teachers

Unlimited practice Sept. – June

Writing Roadmap 2.0

RationaleImprove student writingEmphasize writing on all grade levels

Writing Assessment -- grades 4, 7 and 10

Prepare for 2009 WESTEST 2 Grades 3 – 11RLA Standard 2 : Writing (30 pts.)

Participation Rate and AYP

Practice for national assessments2011 NAEP

Product Features Shelf prompts

calibrated prompts practice prompts

Instructor-created promptsUnlimited

Customize interfaceIterative writing mode Single or multiple sectionsEnable or disable instructional hints

Access to Writing Roadmap 2.0

Website address: www.writingroadmap2.com

Site codeUsernamePassword

2009WESTEST 2

ONLINE WRITING

WV Writing Rubric

ORGANIZATIONDEVELOPMENTSENTENCE STRUCTUREWORD CHOICE/GRAMMAR USAGEMECHANICS

GENRES

NARRATIVEDESCRIPTIVEINFORMATIVEPERSUASIVE

Support/Contact Information

West Virginia Department of Education

Office of Assessment and Accountability

Vaughn Rhudy, Coordinator

vrhudy@access.k12.wv.us

304-558-2546

Support/Contact Information

CTB/McGraw-Hill

Technical Support: 866-282-2250

KEY WEB ADDRESSESKEY WEB ADDRESSES

http://wvde.state.wv.us/West Virginia Department of Education

http://osa.k12.wv.us Office of Assessment and Accountability

http://www.ctb.com CTB/McGraw-Hill

http://www.writingroadmap2.com Writing Roadmap 2.0

THANKS!