Ore than an estimated 90 million adults in the United States lack the

to be a proficient writer.

  Almost all of the effective writing practices that have been 

identified to date involve explicit instruction. These practices proved effective with 

a range of writers, from beginners to college students, as well as with those who had 

experienced difficulty in learning to write. What should be taught, however, depends 

on the writer’s developmental level, the skills he or she needs to develop for particular 

purposes, and the writing task. Instructors should model writing strategies and teach 

learners how to regulate their use of them—for example, how to monitor, evaluate, and 

adjust strategies as needed for particular tasks and goals. 

Skilled writing requires planning and revising. Whereas children and adolescents spend 

very little time planning and revising, more accomplished writers such as college stu-

dents spend about 50 percent of their writing time planning and revising text.