Understanding the Stages of Writing Development

The Four Stages of Writing Development

Stage 1: Pre-Literate 

Writers at this stage do not understand the symbolic meaning of writing. They may scribble, draw or makes marks on the page.

Stage 2: Emergent

Writers begin to understand that print makes meaning. They may begin to connect random letters and even mix letters with drawing. They may even begin to invent spelling of sounds.

Stage 3: Transitional

Writers begin to show control of their conventions. Spelling becomes meaningful, sentence structure develops and improves, students begin forming paragraphs. Students write for purpose but still need support to revise and edit.

Stage 4: Fluent

Writers create text with automaticity. They show voice, structure and proper conventions. They write for specific audience and purpose. Writing shows critical thinking. 

(Stages of Writing, n.d.)

Transitional Stage Skills (Common in Grades 7–9)

Skill 1: Organizing content into structured paragraphs

Many middle grade students can come up with ideas; however, they struggle with a logical progression or structure. For example, Topic sentence, supporting details, evidence, commentary, and transitions. 

Activity 1: Paragraph Puzzle

Select an exemplar paragraph and cut it up into parts. In pairs have students manipulate the strips and reorganize the paragraph. They will then justify the structure to the class. This can be followed up with composing an original paragraph with guided practice and color coding (Green: Topic Sentence, Blue: Evidence, Yellow: Commentary, Pink: transitions) 

(Alber, 2016)

Skill 2: Revising and Editing for Clarity

Transitional writers often view revising as fixing errors instead of making changes to content to enhance the writing. This will take modeling from the teacher.

Activity 2: Before and After Gallery Walk

Display around the room paragraphs before and after revising. Students will circulate and analyze what changed and why. then students will select a paragraph a paragraph from their writing and highlight an area for revision. They will decide what needs to be revised: Clarity, language, better evidence or explanation. They will revise and then share with their partner for peer feedback. 

(National Writing Project, n.d.)

The Writing Process in Grades 7–12

Prewriting: Generating ideas, brainstorming, freewriting, graphic organizers, research and discussion. 

Drafting: Translating ideas into text. The purpose is to get all ideas down.

Revising: Rethinking content, structure, and clarity. This is where big changes occur: reorganizing, strengthening arguments, adding evidence, refining voice. 

Editing: Polishing grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting. Editing is small surface changes, not big idea changes. 

Publishing: Presenting to an audience: class, school, or community.

Implementing The Writing Process in Grades 7–12

Modeling: Write alongside students, share drafts, struggles, and revisions. 

Build in Structured Time: Rushing timelines make revising and publishing afterthoughts. Be intention to build in time to go through each step/process.

Use peer response strategically: Teach students to give impactful and meaningful feedback. For example: TAG - Tell Something you liked, Ask a question, Give a suggestion.

Differentiate Support: Some students will need different organizers, sentence stems. Fluent writers will need more challenging topics and exemplars.

Emphasize Revision as thinking: Reframe revision as improvement, not a punishment for bad writing.

(Gallagher, K, n.d.)

Fluent Stage Skills (Common in Grades 9–12)

Skill 1: Using different voice and style for different purposes

Fluent writers know how to control voice for different purposes by using rhetoric and narrative techniques. 

Activity 1: One Topic - 3 Voices

Writers select a topic (school start times, school uniforms, cell phone use in schools, etc.) and write three separate pieces for different voices//purpose. For example: Explanatory, Persuasive, Argumentative, etc. The class will then discuss how word choice and tone shift and for what purpose. 

Skill 2: Self Directed Revision

Skilled writers revise multiple times to consider structure, enhancing arguments, and sharpening language without prompting from outside sources.

Activity 2: Revision Portfolio

For a final writing project, students will submit multiple drafts along with logs of their explanation of revisions: What did I change? Why? what still needs clarity? the portfolio includes at least two drafts, their logs, and a cover letter with an explanation of their growth as a writer. 

(Graham & Perin, 2007)

The Role of the Reading/Literacy Specialist

Reading Coaches and Literacy Specialist serve as a collaborative partner, coaches, and a resource for implementing writing instruction. 

Coaching and Co-Teaching:

Co-Planning and Co-teaching writing lessons and modeling instruction. 

Professional Development: 

Facilitate writing workshops on the writing process. Provide mentor texts, rubrics and lesson templates. Lead book studies and Professional Learning Communities focused on writing pedagogy.

Assessment and Intervention:

Help teachers analyze writing samples to identify patterns and instructional priorities. 
(Atwell, N, n.d.)

Resources

 

  • National Writing Project: nwp.org
  • "Writing Next" (Graham & Perin, 2007) — evidence-based recommendations for adolescent writing 
  • Gallagher, K. Write Like This — mentor-text approach for secondary writers
  • Atwell, N. In the Middle — workshop model for middle grades
  • Stages of Writing: readingrockets.org
  • Alber, R. Inspire Your Students to Write - low pressure writing strategies

 

Contact

briannaNjackson@yahoo.com