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Writing

Writing mediates activity and helps us get things done through recognizable and recurring forms.

Writing is social and rhetorical; writers benefit from talking and sharing drafts from other writers.

Writing is not natural; rather, it is something we all work to learn. Being a competent writer is something that can be developed across time and with practice.

Writing is informed by prior experience, including experience with writing, reading, and cultural experiences and norms.

Writing is embodied cognition; it is emotional as well as cognitive and social. How writers feel about writing impacts what they are able to accomplish as writers.

Writing enacts values, conventions, and identities, including those of disciplines and professions. 

Writers

All writers have more to learn and can benefit from practice, feedback, and revision.

All writers benefit from monitoring their own learning, progress, and struggles. Thus, receiving formative assessment and then reflecting and self-assessing are important parts of improving as a writer.

All writers and readers are constantly negotiating language differences. Both writers and readers are always writing to construct meaning.

Learning

New and unfamiliar writing tasks can impact a writer's performance in areas where they are usually highly competent. This is a normal part of learning.

Reflection and metacognition are important parts of improving as a writer.

Helping learners improve as writers is a shared responsibility since a great deal of writing is enacted in specialized disciplines and professions. Experts who use writing in specialized ways are best positioned to help enculturate learners into that type of writing.