Smart Writing

<p>Writing teachers of all grade levels have been called upon to increase their students’ cognitive power. Outcomes across institutions, districts, and states emphasize the need for <i>richness, depth, complexity, rigor</i>, <i>sophistication, </i>or<i> critical thinking</i> in student writing. Yet that quality—no matter how it gets characterized—remains a challenge for both teachers and students. How can teachers most effectively explain, model, and assess such an evasive quality? <i>Smart Writin Demonstrable and Measurable Skills</i> <i>for More Sophisticated Writing</i> offers a path forward. It details a range of powerful strategies that students can apply directly. The specifics offered here are not vague descriptors. They are <i>moves</i> that get worked out in written passages. They can be adopted and shaped according to assignment, topic, and each writer’s comfort level. <br><br>The goal in each chapter is to eradicate the mysteries of sophisticated writing—to offer samples, activities, and prompts that make student projects richer. In this sense, <i>Smart Writing</i> is not a book for those teaching only gifted, advanced, or highly prepared students. It’s for all teachers trying desperately to help students with something that seems now universally valued.<br><br><i>Illustrations by Benjamin Busch</i></p>