Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

Alignment with existing 

practice guides

The recommendations in this guide are 

appropriate for secondary teachers in all 

disciplines in grades 6–12. Teachers in ele-

mentary grades should review the Teaching 

Elementary Students to be Effective Writers 

practice guide that focuses on students in 

kindergarten through 5th grade (or 6th-grade 

students in an elementary school setting).

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Although both guides recommend similar 

broad approaches—for example, writing 

strategies are helpful for both elementary 

and secondary students—the specific recom-

mended practices, examples, and potential 

obstacles are targeted for the respective 

student populations. In contrast to the Teach-

ing Elementary Students to be Effective Writers 

practice guide, which in part focuses on basic 

skills and fostering a supportive environment 

for writing, this practice guide recommends 

practices appropriate for secondary school, 

where writing is a common component of 

diverse disciplines. The supporting evidence 

for each guide does not overlap, as the evi-

dence in this guide is based only on studies 

with secondary students.

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