Writing tasks in secondary schools can be as intellectually
demanding as playing chess, according to new guidance
published today by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).
The report, which reviews the best available evidence to offer
schools seven recommendations for improving literacy in secondary
schools, states that writing essays or other extended answers
places a heavy cognitive burden on students, as they must use a
wide range of knowledge and skills.
First, they must be able to write or type fluently at the same
time as generating ideas and translating these into words,
sentences, and structured texts. Students must also use more
complex and challenging thinking skills to plan and structure
their writing, as well as motivate themselves, and then review
and re-draft texts. This writing process can result in students’
working memories – the parts of the brain where information is
processed and combined – becoming overloaded.
The report suggests that teachers can help students cope with the
challenges of writing by supporting them to break down complex
writing tasks. Practical tips include providing sentence starters
in history class which encourage students to analyse sources more
deeply (eg, ‘While initially it might appear that…, on closer
inspection…’). Teachers might also help students to monitor and
review their writing by providing a checklist of the features
expected in top mark answers.
The guidance on supporting complex writing tasks is one of seven
recommendations in today’s report, which aims to
improve literacy skills in secondary school pupils. Young
people who leave formal education without such skills find
it much harder to achieve their goals in the world of work or
further study, with those from disadvantaged backgrounds
significantly more likely to be in this group. Recent
estimates suggest low levels of literacy cost the UK economy over
£20 billion a year.
The report challenges the idea that improving literacy in
secondary school should just be the job of English teachers.
Instead, it argues for improving literacy across the curriculum,
emphasising the value of supporting teachers in every subject to
teach students how to read, write and communicate effectively in
their subjects. Previous research by the EEF, for instance, has
found that the strongest factor affecting pupils’ science
attainment is how well they understand written texts.
The other six recommendations in the report focus on:
-
Prioritising subject-specific literacy skills across the
curriculum.
- Teaching
vocabulary to support pupils’ development of academic
language.
- Developing
students’ ability to read and access sophisticated texts.
- Breaking
down complex writing tasks, likes essays and evaluations.
- Providing
opportunities for structured talk, like preparing debates or
presentations.
- Providing
high-quality literacy interventions for struggling
students.
Sir , Chief Executive of the
Education Endowment Foundation, said:
“Young people who leave school without good literacy skills are
held back at every stage of life. Their outcomes are poorer on
almost every measure, from health and wellbeing, to employment
and finance.
“Yet despite our best efforts, disadvantaged students in England
are still significantly more likely than their classmates to
leave formal education without being able to read, write and
communicate effectively.
“Reading, writing, speaking and listening, are at the heart of
every subject in secondary school. Focusing time and
resources on improving reading and writing skills will have
positive knock-on effects elsewhere, whether that’s being able to
break down scientific vocabulary or structure a history essay.
“Writing tasks in secondary schools, such as essays, can be as
intellectually demanding as playing chess. It should be no
surprise that some students can struggle to get to grips with the
complex skills expected of them. The practical tips in our report
on how teachers can break down these tasks aim to help all
students to become more confident writers.”
