Teaching Writing

Purpose A primary responsibility of schools is to teach writing. In this Introduction to a special issue of the Scientific Studies of Reading we introduce five studies, two of which examine how writing is taught and three that test the effectiveness of specific writing interventions.Method To contextualize the five studies, we consider how researchers have studied the teaching of writing in schools, along with a brief history of efforts to test the effectiveness of writing interventions and what is currently known about evidence-based writing practices.Results Writing instruction in most, but not all, classrooms is inadequate, even though there is a considerable amount of scientific evidence about writing practices that are effective.Conclusion The studies included in this special issue make important contributions to furthering our current understanding and teaching of writing, particularly for young developing writers, including students who find learning to write challenging.