Writing Now

Although NCTE's recent publication of policy research (2008) is a great starting point for English Educators to seriously begin to think about the teaching of writing in the field, I wish to address a few of the more important points they make in their recent publication.

They begin with, "We write differently - often digitally - and we write more than in the past" immediately on page one. Although no one can claim how the internet is changing the way we do things, there is no doubt that it truly is changing the way we do things. As NCTE notes, "...the way we write often predicts academic and/or job success, creates opportunities for civic participation, maintains relationships, and enhances critical thinking" (1). The emphasis is that instructional practices in writing, the genres assigned to write, and the assessments used to score writing needs to be "authentic, varied and holistic"(2).

Educators should be writing across the curriculum with their students, but also writing in the disciplines. From both, vocabulary should be emphasized, but so should modeling of what good writing looks like in the subject areas. Formative writing assessments are more important because they are process oriented: writing on drafts, workshopping, conferencing, etc. The grade is a final project.

"New-media writing" refers to digital writing online (2).

The report dispels the following myths:

Writing assignments should be designed primarily to measure the mastery of content material and writing skills
Instructors across the disciplines agree on a definition for good academic writing.
Grammar drills are the most effective way to improve student writing.
Genre refers only to formal features of writing.
One-time high stakes assessments of writing are the best way to determine students' preparation for college.
New Media writing simply transfers traditional writing practices into a digital-environment.

Finally, the report gives research-based recommendations for effective writing instruction and assessment which includes building a technological infrastructure, makes new-media writing a part of the composing process, and requires funding to support new-media writing.

Kudos to NCTE for offering this much necessary report.

National Council for the Teachers of English (2008), Writing Now, James R. Squire Office of Policy Research, University of Michigan, retrieved from the web at http://www.ncte.org on 21. September, 2008