Deborah Dean

What Works in Writing Instruction offers the best of what is currently known about effective writing instruction to help teachers help middle and high school students develop as writers.

"What works?"

As teachers, it’s a question we often ask ourselves about teaching writing, and it often summarizes other, more specific questions we have:

 • What contributes to an effective climate for writing?
 • What practices and structures best support effective writing instruction?
 • What classroom content helps writers develop?
 • What tasks are most beneficial for writers learning to write?
 • What choices should I make as a teacher to best help my students?

Using teacher-friendly language and classroom examples, Deborah Dean helps answer these questions. She looks closely at instructional practices supported by a broad range of research and weaves them together into accessible recommendations that can inspire teachers to find what works for their own classrooms and students. 

Initially based on the Carnegie Institute’s influential Writing Next report, this second edition of What Works in Writing Instruction looks at more types of research that have been conducted in the decade since the publication of that first research report. The new research rounds out its list of recommended practices and is designed to help teachers apply the findings to their unique classroom environments. We all must find the right mix of practices and tasks for our own students, and this book offers the best of what is currently known about effective writing instruction to help teachers help students develop as writers.

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

What Works in Writing Instruction: Research and Practice, 2nd ed.

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