Modeling Writing And Revising¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 3 claims (2 for, 1 mixed) · 5 studies (2 causal, 1 quant-synthesis, 1 review, 1 theoretical), q3 · 1 of 5 report an effect size

Description¶

Modeling writing and revising means the instructor writes — or rewrites — text in front of learners while thinking aloud, verbalizing choices about audience, structure, word selection, and revision. Because writing processes are largely covert, modeling externalizes them so learners can observe how a writer generates, evaluates, and improves text rather than only seeing polished final products.

Design Implications¶

Writing is a problem-solving process that novices cannot infer from reading finished prose; explicit modeling of planning, drafting, and revising significantly improves writing quality Modeling and strategy instruction improve writing quality more than traditional grammar and text-structure drill. [+S]. The power comes from narrating decisions, not just actions — "I'm cutting this sentence because it repeats my point" teaches evaluation criteria that silent demonstration cannot. Modeling must be paired with guided practice in which learners apply the same moves to their own text, since observation alone produces shallow encoding Example-based sequences outperform problem-only practice for novices, and fading support is argued to aid transfer [+S].

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A live or recorded composition/revision episode, not just a finished exemplar (Think-Aloud narration throughout)
• Authentic writing tasks with a real purpose and audience so modeled decisions are meaningful
• Immediate follow-up application: learners revise their own drafts using the modeled moves (Practice)
• Gradual release — from full modeling, to shared writing, to independent drafting (Fading)

Constraints¶

• Modeling polished, error-free writing misleads learners; the model must include genuine struggle, false starts, and revision, or students conclude good writers get it right the first time [-M]
• Whole-class live modeling consumes substantial instructional time; overuse crowds out actual writing practice [-M]
• Less effective for learners who already control the modeled strategies — they benefit more from independent drafting with feedback Worked-example guidance becomes less effective as learner expertise increases. [~M]
• Modeled revision focused on surface mechanics (spelling, punctuation) yields smaller gains than modeling higher-order revisions of content and organization [+S]

Implementation Variability¶

• Live whole-class modeling — teacher composes on the board; allows responsive think-alouds
• Recorded screencast modeling — learners can pause and replay; supports flipped or self-paced settings
• Interactive/shared writing — teacher and students co-compose, distributing decisions
• Revision modeling on student work — anonymized peer drafts make the model maximally relevant to learners' own writing
• Comparison modeling — showing a weak and strong version side by side sharpens evaluation criteria (Non-Examples)

Target Learners¶

• Novice writers who treat writing as transcription rather than problem-solving Modeling and strategy instruction improve writing quality more than traditional grammar and text-structure drill. [+S]
• Struggling writers and students with learning disabilities, who rarely infer revision strategies independently [+S]
• Less beneficial for proficient writers who already self-regulate planning and revision Worked-example guidance becomes less effective as learner expertise increases. [~M]

Target Learning Goals¶

• Procedural knowledge of the writing process: planning, drafting, evaluating, revising
• Metacognitive self-regulation: learning to monitor and judge one's own text as a reader would
• Genre knowledge: internalizing the structural and stylistic conventions of a text type

Instructions¶

1. Choose a short, authentic text and a focused target (e.g., adding elaboration, tightening a thesis).
2. Model composition or revision with a Think-Aloud, verbalizing goals, options considered, and evaluation ("My reader will ask… so I need…").
3. Deliberately include a false start and a revision so learners see evaluation and repair, not just correct output.
4. Move to shared writing: elicit decisions from students while you scribe, fading your control (Fading).
5. Have students apply the same move to their own drafts immediately (Practice), then debrief which decisions they made.
6. Repeat with progressively less modeling as students internalize the strategy.

Related Strategies¶

• Think-Aloud Modeling — the general narration method that makes any modeling effective
• Collaborative Writing — co-construction distributes writing decisions across peers
• Formative Feedback — revision modeling teaches students how to act on feedback

Examples¶

• Graham & Perin's Writing Next — meta-analysis identifying strategy instruction with modeled exemplars among the most effective practices for adolescent writing.
• Writer's Workshop / Units of Study (Lucy Calkins, Teachers College) — mini-lessons routinely open with the teacher drafting and revising a mentor text live before students write.
• The Writing Revolution (Hochman & Wexler) — sentence-level activities in which teachers model revision of a weak sentence before students revise their own.

Key Sources¶

• Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). A meta-analysis of writing instruction for adolescent students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(3), 445–476. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.445
• De La Paz, S., & Graham, S. (2002). Explicitly teaching strategies, skills, and knowledge: Writing instruction in middle school classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(4), 687–698. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.94.4.687
• Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication, 32(4), 365–387. doi:10.2307/356600
• Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Santangelo, T. (2015). Research-based writing practices and the Common Core: Meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. The Elementary School Journal, 115(4), 498–522. doi:10.1086/681964