Writing on Demand: Best Practices and Strategies for Success

Research and experience show that writers need three things: ownership of the form and subject of their writing; feedback from other writers; and time to draft and revise. Yet the harsh and confusing reality of today's college-entrance and state-mandated examinations-or any test with an essay component-is that students, trained in writing workshops, go on the clock to compose a paper on an assigned topic, in a prescribed form, for which they will receive no feedback.

...And their future depends on it.

• quickly decode writing prompts to uncover the goals and expectations of the assignment
• organize thoughts swiftly and use the allotted time efficiently
• understand how tests are scored
• approach the scorers as an audience

Most importantly, they show you how integrate these strategies into a program of best practices instead of mere test prep.

In addition, a companion website offers more than 50 downloadable prompts, sample student essays, grading rubrics, and minilessons that give you a chance to aid your students in understanding this specialized genre and to use their composing skills in this artificially compressed version of the writing process.

Give your students the opportunity to develop the proficiency and confidence they need to succeed in on-demand writing situations without abandoning the principles behind your writing workshop. Read Writing on Demand and find out how students can not only beat the clock, but write well-even in the most trying conditions for writers.