Providing Greater CHOICE for Student Writers
As a writer I never wake up and think, ‘Today I’ll write a persuasive essay!’ I know instinctively what kind of writing I am creating by engaging in the very act of composing words. If I’m writing an article for a magazine, the words ‘expository writing’ never enter my mind at the time of writing. Writers don’t think of their writing in such terms. Would you go to your local library and ask the librarian to guide you to the ‘procedural texts?’ It seems we only talk about writing this way in ‘school world’ Curriculum documents and assessment guides abound with words like persuasive, procedural, and narrative. They are used to define writing instruction and such terms are rarely challenged. But, don't we want writing to be as individual as the creators of those words? Don't we want the product to be as unique as the person producing it? For this reason young writers should be encouraged to write about topics they genuinely care about in ways that are of their choosing