Australia’s national education evidence body
Writing proficiency is central to student success during the school years, and it influences personal and vocational outcomes post-school.

Overview

Research in Australia and internationally acknowledges a need to focus specifically on the teaching of writing in order to improve outcomes for students.

This series of evidence-based guides and resources has been designed to provide explicit, practical strategies to support the teaching of writing in classrooms across all stages of schooling.

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers

Writing is related to Focus Area 2.5 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Research

Writing practice has a strong evidence base that meets our highest standards of evidence. For more information about the evidence base, see below:

Writing development: what does a decade of NAPLAN data reveal?

An analysis of Australian students’ persuasive writing assessment results in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 – the largest and most comprehensive study ever undertaken on this subject in Australia.

Writing and writing instruction

A literature review summarising the available evidence on writing and writing instruction.

Implementation tools

Here you will find tools to help you implement effective writing and writing instruction practices in your classroom or setting.

Writing instruction framework for primary schools

This framework is for planning and implementing the teaching and assessment of writing, and to identify opportunities for improvement as a school.

Sentence combining practice guide

This guide provides advice around sentence combining, an instructional technique used to improve sentence quality, complexity and variety.

Simple sentences practice guide

This guide provides a starting point for teachers to approach teaching writing, including definitions and examples to use in the classroom.

Compound sentences practice guide

This guide helps teachers unpack the features of compound sentences, which allow students to add interest to their writing.

Complex sentences practice guide

This guide helps teachers explain complex sentences, enabling students to produce more sophisticated writing.
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