WRITING THEORIES

AND METHODS

History of Writing Instruction

1800s- Penmanship focused
Early 1900s- writing instruction postponed to high school.
In 1984 Applebee conducted a review of writing instruction

in the U.S. and found:

Only 3% of classwork or homework was comprised of students

writing original text.

Most writing instruction that students did included: fill in the blank,
sentence completion, and direct translation.

1990s- NAEP surveys showed that teachers were more

heavily emphasizing writing during instruction.

Lower grades and classes for low achieving students
tended to teacher spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Theory- Behaviorism
Learning is habit formation.
1920s 1950s

Method- Product Approach

Stage 1:
Model texts are read
aloud with key
features highlighted.

Stage 2:
Students practice
controlled features
in isolation.

Stage 3:
Students create
an outline.

Stage 4:
Students
create a final
writing product
that mimics
original model.

Cognitive/Motivational Theory

Sociocultural Theories of Writing

Method- Writing Process Approach

Critical Theories
Marxism, Critical Race Theory, Disability Studies, etc.
Knowledge of language is directly linked to social and

cultural contexts within which students grow up.

Prior research assumes that all individuals are the same
without taking into account race, ethnicity, social class,
disability labels, etc.

Method- Critical Literacy

Writing is a tool to push
back on dominant
narratives.
Student writing can make
marginalized voices and
ways of life present.