Writing
Writing is a skill not a talent, and this difference is important because a skill can be improved by practice.
Robert Stacy McCain
Writing is a fundamental component of literacy. Writing is a means of critical inquiry; it promotes problem-solving and mastering new concepts. It is the act of creating composed knowledge. Composition takes place across a range of contexts and for a variety of purposes.
Intent
At Magdalen Court School we believe that writing is an essential life skill, and we are committed to enabling our learners to become confident lifelong writers.
Writing is a core skill which impacts on learning in all subject areas. Learners explain and extend their thinking through writing. It requires them to review their knowledge and understanding of subject content to select key ideas and information and recreate this in their own words. Writing is a tool for thinking and learning and a vehicle for assessing learners’ progress. As such it can have a significant impact on achievement and attainment in all areas. Extended writing can offer challenging opportunities for learners to apply their learning and develop higher-order thinking skills such as analysing, evaluating and creating.
At the heart of our strategy is for learners to understand the social functions of writing in order to use different genres of writing by considering its purpose and matching it to its audience. We focus on learners becoming competent in transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing: planning, revising and evaluating writing.)
Our writing is underpinned by the standards of reading in our school, which supports vocabulary and the understanding of conventions and structures of a range of text genres. Vocabulary rich texts are chosen to both challenge and stimulate and challenge the learners, supporting high-quality writing outcomes.
Implementation
At Magdalen Court School our writing lessons are built around our reading curriculum. We cover a range of genres throughout the year. There is a focus on the skills required for each genre which then lead to an extended piece of writing. Once we have written a piece of writing, we then look at revising, editing and publishing.
We see writing as a process made up of five components:
- planning;
- drafting;
- revising;
- editing; and
- publishing.
During a writing sequence, there is a focus on critical thinking, which focuses on generating ideas, gathering information. Learners are taught to develop the structure and organisation of writing, technical accuracy, the choice and use of language, as well as layout and presentation. A key feature of writing lessons is the criteria for success, which reflect the building on prior learning. There is also a clear purpose, context and audience. The thinking or planning stage of the writing stage is explicitly taught, including ‘Tell it in 5’. Another essential element of teaching is modelling throughout the teaching of the writing process. Modelling involves the thought process of a writer clear and explicit. As part of modelling, learners have the opportunity to engage in exemplar texts, discussing features such as language and structure.
Teachers from across all subject areas focus on developing writing skills as well as knowledge and understanding of subject content. In order to develop these skills successfully, learners have frequent opportunities to write in a variety of contexts and for a variety of purposes. Learning and teaching focuses on the process of writing and offers learners the opportunity to reflect on their progress in key skills so that they are aware of what they need to do to improve. All teachers have high, but appropriate, expectations of the ability of learners to improve their writing skills.
Impact
As we believe that writing is a key component to learners being literate, the impact of our writing curriculum provides many opportunities to write for a variety of contexts and genres. They have had opportunities to develop their writing across the whole curriculum.
Learners leave Magdalen Court School with an accreditation that is appropriate to a learner’s learning journey. This can take the form of English Language GCSE, Step Up English, Entry-Level or Functional Skills qualification. The school is committed to ensuring all learners become confident writers.
Careers in Writing
Confident writers are valued by many employers across many job sectors, including:
- Reporter/ Journalist
- Executive Assistant
- Social Media manager
- Advertising Manager
- Technical writer
- Editor
- Author
- Content writer
- Copywriter