Teaching Writing.

Recent years have seen several centralising initiatives in the English education system, including statutory curriculum content and assessment arrangements and regular school inspections. The chapter briefly sets this centralisation in its historical context. The latest initiative, the National Literacy Strategy, has encouraged greater use of teaching objectives, dedicated literacy teaching time and increased use of shared and guided teaching approaches. However, a recent increase in reading standards has not been matched by a similar rise in writing attainment. A recent report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate has highlighted some recurring weaknesses in the teaching of writing in English primary schools: an over-reliance on duplicated worksheets and stimuli for writing; an inappropriate balance between reading and writing; and insufficient transfer of skills learned in literacy lessons to work in other subjects. Research studies are identified that will inform practice and help to address these weaknesses. These studies include research into composing processes; meta-analyses of effective teaching approaches; and genre theory, particularly in relation to non-fiction texts. The chapter ends with a discussion of the possible role of grammatical reference in the teaching of writing and the need for more classroom-based studies of children's writing development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]