ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the overview of writing pedagogy, particularly in school settings, and offers a map of the various approaches one might find in classrooms, usually in combination. It focuses on content knowledge, specifically knowledge about writing itself. The chapter discusses the pedagogical content knowledge, specifically how to teach writing. It examines what researchers suggest as effective practices in the teaching of writing. In Writing Graham and Perin produced a report to the Carnegie Foundation outlining the results of a large-scale statistical review of research in to the effects of specific types of writing instruction on adolescents writing proficiency using meta-analytical methods. This chapter describes the difference between school-wide practices and classroom-situated practices, while acknowledging that the former is likely to impact on the latter and vice versa. Unsurprisingly, most research into effective writing practice focuses on classroom practice. The writing research suggests that providing students with specific, attainable goals related to the writing task is an effective teaching strategy.
