ABSTRACT
When it comes to public perceptions of student achievement, people consider the ability to write clearly, coherently, and correctly a high priority. In 2003 the National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges issued a report titled, “The Neglected R: The Need for a Writing Revolution”. This report, commissioned by the College Board (the entity responsible for the SAT exams), posits that writing should be a central element in every classroom and challenges American schools to make it so:
American education will never realize its potential as an engine of opportunity and economic growth until a writing revolution puts writing and communication in their proper place in the classroom. Writing is how students connect the dots in their knowledge. Although many models of effective ways to teach exist, both the teaching and practice of writing are increasingly shortchanged throughout the school and college years. (p. 6)
