Writing Next: Effective strategies to improve the writing of adolescents in middle and high schools

Writing well is not just an option for young people — it is a necessity. Along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic requirement for participation in civic life and in the global economy. Yet every year in the United States, large numbers of adolescents graduate from high school unable to write at the basic levels required by colleges and employers. This report discusses 11 specific teaching techniques that research suggests will help improve the writing abilities of the country’s 4th- to 12th-grade students.