ABSTRACT
A student who critically reads Hamlet develops a lens useful for critically reading a politician, a commercial, or a ballot proposition. In an increasingly demanding world of literacy, the importance of our students leaving our schools as effective writers has magnified. In a national study conducted in 2002 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the writing skills of adolescents were assessed to see if their skills were "advanced," "proficient," "basic," or "below basic." Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including subject matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter. Many of the skills required to write well on demand differ from those needed to write a worthwhile multidraft process paper. Fostering student buy-in for writing comes from balancing teacher-mandated topics with giving students choices of interesting writing assignments.
