Teaching Writing: The Power of Modelling Effectively

Teaching writing is complex, and teaching it effectively is challenging. To teach writing well, we have to consider every aspect of the writing experience and crucially, model how to write.

The complexity of the writing process is well summarised by Nicholson’s (2019) ‘Not So Simple View of Writing.’

What the National Curriculum outlines as one subject in two parts (transcription and composition), actually has many distinct threads. To teach writing effectively we must teach each one of these threads and model the thinking, talking and writing that is needed to write.

The DfE’s Writing Framework (2025) focuses on modelling as one of its key strategies for teaching writing effectively, starting with the modelling of collaborative talk:

“Collaborative talk can support their writing but, to be successful, it is essential that they are first taught how to engage in dialogue that enhances learning: to think critically, articulate their ideas clearly and engage constructively with others, with clear structures and routines put in place and modelled by teachers.”

Think about your last unit of writing. How much modelling did you do? How much of your modelling was of writing and how much of your modelling was of the thinking behind your writing? Pupils will become confident, skilled writers if we explicitly model the whole writing experience for them; this is more than just the physical act of writing but the thoughts and ideas that we have when we write. It’s crucial at every point of the writing process, not only when drafting. To support our pupils to become writers, we must show them what it means to be a writer from start to finish.

What is modelled writing?

Modelling writing is the act of explicitly teaching writing behaviours by demonstrating the writing process. The DfE Writing Framework explains what it looks like in practice:

“The teacher takes the lead while pupils observe the expert writer. This provides the opportunity for the teacher to show, in small steps, how to apply new knowledge. The teacher should think aloud, focusing pupils’ attention on the choices of language and structure, helping them to understand the steps involved in problem-solving and critical thinking.”

In Writing, it forms the ‘I do’ strand of Pearson & Gallagher’s (1983) Gradual Release of Responsibility model. This is also referenced directly in the DfE Writing Framework itself.

Modelling the whole writing experience is a crucial part of good teaching; it can make a huge difference to children’s confidence and writing output. By showing children how to write, and the thinking that takes place in order to write, we can support them to become independent writers. However, in order to do this, we need to really understand what modelled writing is and how best to utilise it.

Often, modelled writing is conflated with other valuable aspects of teaching writing, such as shared or guided writing. Too often, teacher modelling is replaced with shared writing, with staff sometimes worried about the amount of teacher talk required to model. However, whilst shared writing is important, so too is giving pupils the time to just focus on listening and observing what you do, without the additional cognitive demand of idea generation. Whilst elements of modelled writing occur within shared and guided writing, it is important we know the differences between them so that we can ensure we are actually modelling writing alone too.

When should modelled writing happen?

Think about the modelling you do in English – how much of it is focused on drafting elements of the final piece in a unit? If your answer is ‘most’ then you are not alone. In many settings, much of the modelling of writing happens towards the end of the unit, when children are about to write independently. However, to be truly effective, modelling needs to happen all the way through your teaching sequence, not just at the drafting stage. Opportunities to model the writer’s process can be built into every session, and by doing so we can really support and scaffold children’s knowledge and understanding.

If we take our P.I.C.C. a Text unit inspired by High Rise Mystery by Sharna Jackson as an example, we can find opportunities for modelling thinking, talking and writing throughout.

The amount of modelling children need to experience will depend on their confidence with the text type and features required. You may well need to spend longer modelling drafting, or you may need to devote more time to modelling planning, idea creation or a key grammatical concept. What’s important is that we give enough time to modelling writing throughout the process, so that children have the best chance of becoming fluent writers. My advice is, if in doubt, model.

What does effective modelled writing look like?

When we talk about effective modelling, we are not just talking about WAGOLLs or showing children the physical process of writing. We need to go back to the ‘Not-so-Simple View of Writing’ and consider every aspect of the writing experience, at different stages of writing too. When modelling writing, it is good practice to:

• Talk about the reason, audience and tone of the writing determines its structure, content and features.
• Focus in on specific concepts to demonstrate composition and effect.
• Orally rehearse sentences and other language choices, before modelling how to write them down.
• Re-read your writing, checking for sense.
• Explain your choices.
• Model automatic use and checking of basic skills, e.g. sentence demarcation.
• Make errors and be vulnerable as a writer. Use these as opportunities for teaching.
• Check and address misconceptions.
• Model meta-language – how to talk and think about language.

One aspect of writing that often needs more modelling is the application of grammar and style concepts. Often, we leave modelling how to include these concepts in writing until the end of a unit, but in order to be effective, we need to also model this while teaching the concept. Take our High Rise Mystery unit – one of the grammar and style concepts focused upon is changing register between speaking and writing. Rather than teaching this in isolation and then later modelling this in context, it’s important to consider modelling all the way through. Our GPS teaching sequence provides lots of opportunities for this:

Where modelling really comes into its own though, is when it is built into pupil’s planning and drafting. Think about baking a cake. Imagine you’ve never baked anything before. If you watched someone bake a cake and saw a finished cake, there’s a chance you might be able to bake one yourself, but there would be a lot of guess work happening and you might find it tricky. However, if you watch someone bake a cake while they explain their thinking process and what they’re doing, you’re much more likely to be able to bake a cake successfully. Writing is much the same. If we just give children a WAGOLL or model writing without explicitly modelling our thinking process, we are not really modelling how to write. We need to model our metacognition – we need to think aloud.

Thinking aloud is just that, it is the process of verbally articulating the choices we make as writers and the many things we consider when writing. As adults we write automatically, so it takes a lot of effort to slow down and think explicitly about our writing process, however it is worth it. Here’s an example, linked to our High Rise Mystery unit:

Remember where we left off – Nik is in the block, listening, curious and a little on edge. He’s looking around, noticing details so I want to show this in my starting sentence. I could start off with a sense – I know that smell can really transport the reader so what about this…

The hallway smelled damp and musty.

That’s a good start but I don’t think it’s quite keeping the tone. What about if I extend it?

The hallway smelled damp and musty, as if no-one and nothing had been down there for a long while.

That’s adding more atmosphere I think. Now I want to show how my narrator reacts to being there. I’m going to use a small action or thought rather than spending lots of time on this.

I pulled my hoodie tighter and kept my steps light, just in case someone was listening.

Now I want to move the action on, I know this is a mystery story, so I could have my narrator find an object.

Halfway up the stairs, I spotted a crumpled note wedged under the railing.

I need to re-read my writing to check it’s working. The hallway smelled damp and musty, as if no-one and nothing had been down there for a long while. I pulled my hoodie tighter and kept my steps light, just in case someone was listening. Halfway up the stairs, I spotted a crumpled note wedged under the railing.

Hang on a minute, I’ve halfway up the stairs but my reader doesn’t know how I got there. I think I’m going to revise this so it makes sense to them.

The hallway smelled damp and musty, as if no-one and nothing had been down there for a long while. I pulled my hoodie tighter and kept my steps light as I climbed the stairs, just in case someone was listening. Halfway up, I spotted a crumpled note wedged under the railing.

We wouldn’t necessarily model like that with every sentence, but it gives you an idea of what high quality thinking aloud can look like in context. Consider how much thinking aloud you really do when modelling writing – how well so you articulate your thought process?

After drafting, another key aspect of the writing process that needs explicit modelling is editing. Too often, we ask children to check their work without really understanding how challenging such a blanket statement is. This is where modelling can help. By making deliberate errors in your mentor text, you create the opportunity to model the editing process, and crucially the thinking behind it.

We need to refer back to those features of effective modelling I shared earlier. After drafting in our High Rise Mystery unit, I may have noticed that pupils are still struggling with punctuating direct speech, and that their use of a range of conjunctions still needs work. I could share my mentor text, complete with errors that pick up on these challenges, also sharing that feedback with children. Then I could model my thinking when editing my writing, focusing on one concept at a time. Let’s focus in on conjunctions for cohesion. My modelling might look like this:

Let’s read this together. Listen to how the sentences feel – short and separate. We want them to link together better. I bent down and carefully lifted the note. The paper was thin and crinkled. The edges were torn. Maybe it had been ripped from a notebook in a hurry. Squinting, I tried to make out the words in the dim light. Something about the handwriting seemed familiar. I’d seen it before somewhere in the building. My heart thumped a little faster. A sudden creak from above made me freeze.

I think some sentences could be linked together. Let’s look at the sentences about the paper. They seem a bit disjointed. I’m going to try to join them together with a conjunction.

The paper was thin and crinkled with torn edges. Maybe it had been ripped from a notebook in a hurry.

Let’s re-read it, do the sentences flow better with the added conjunction? The paper was thin and crinkled with torn edges. Maybe it had been ripped from a notebook in a hurry. I think that’s clear and flows better now.

What about our final sentences? My heart thumped a little faster. A sudden creak from above made me freeze. These seem linked but we don’t have a conjunction. Perhaps we could use ‘as’ to link the two ideas.

My heart thumped a little faster as a sudden creak from above made me freeze.

Let’s re-read it. My heart thumped a little faster as a sudden creak from above made me freeze. That’s better – it’s more cohesive now.

Depending on the concept and how much scaffolding children need, modelling may look different, but what’s important is that we’re building in opportunities for it during the whole process. By continuing to model throughout the whole writing experience, we’re giving children the best chance of becoming effective writers.

What about independence?

When modelling, it is always important to consider independence. When we put in place any type of scaffolding, we must have a plan for how to reduce and remove it. Towards the beginning of an academic year, or the first time you encounter a text type or concept, you might model it in more detail, so that children gain confidence. However, if you are using a piece of writing as evidence for assessment, you must be sure that it paints an accurate picture of a child’s strengths, and for this, the writing must be independent. However, that does not mean that modelling has to stop. In fact, your modelling of the writer’s process is even more important when children will be forming their final pieces independently. What’s important is that your model is not too close to that which you’re asking the children to produce.

Modelling writing is a crucial element in the teaching of writing. By sharing our process during the whole writing experience, we cannot just show children how to write but support children to become really effective writers. To find out more about our approach to teaching writing, including modelling, visit our Literacy team page or contact our Literacy Team Leader, Laura Buczko at Laura.Buczko@oneeducation.co.uk