The Magazine Project: Making the Writing Process Real

By Kathie Marshall

First, correct every little mistake in the student's paper. Then have the student re-copy—by hand—the now "perfect" essay. It's hard to believe, but this was the way most teachers approached writing instruction when my career began in the early 1970s. I was a reflective teacher who was always thinking about what worked (or didn't) in my classroom. By the time I had access to professional development on "the writing process" and "workshopping," I'd already figured out that my students didn't need to be corrected. Instead, they needed to learn about the many steps involved in developing a great piece of writing.

I eventually became a middle school literacy coach, supporting my colleagues in action research on how to teach students to revise their own writing. It can be hard to overcome old habits—and not teach as we ourselves were taught. I think back to a staff meeting when a former English department chair said, "Guys, I don't think I know how to teach writing. I think I just assign writing." (That admission jumpstarted some exciting improvements at our school!)

Eventually, in 2008, I returned to a regular classroom role. I struggled with the specter of the California Standards Test (CST), which measures all writing skills with multiple-choice questions. If your own essays are littered with run-ons, does it matter that you can identify a correct compound sentence? Does the ability to choose the right transition word from a list of four selections mean that you can skillfully use transitions? I knew that my students needed to excel on the CST, but it was more important to me that these skills were embedded...

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