Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

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The form of writing refers to the type of written product produced. Different forms of writing include 

essays, journal entries, newspaper articles, book reviews, plays, speeches, etc. 

Formative assessment enables teachers to regularly or continuously monitor student progress and 

modify instruction toward learning goals and skills.

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Genre is a form of writing with specific features that provides context and structure for a particular 

purpose and audience. For example, the narrative genre includes personal or made-up stories and 

typically includes elements such as characters and plot, whereas the persuasive genre can include 

letters and essays that incorporate features such as an introduction, thesis statement, supporting 

material, and conclusions. Another example is the informational text genre, commonly used in the 

science discipline. This genre aims to convey information about the natural world; is written by an 

author who is presumed to be knowledgeable about the topic; includes factual content, timeless verb 

constructions, technical vocabulary, and descriptions of attributes; and may take on a compare-contrast, 

problem-solution, cause-effect, or classificatory structure.

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The gradual release of responsibility model is an instructional model in which a teacher teaches 

a strategy explicitly and then gradually decreases the level of support to the student, ultimately releas-

ing the student to use the strategy independently.

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A graphic organizer is a visual tool or diagram used to arrange thoughts, ideas, concepts, and 

knowledge.