This book starts with the simple but enormously important insight that writing is hard - one of the most cognitively challenging tasks we teach children. From that basic premise flow so many implications which are explored brilliantly in this book. Progress depends on secure sentence structures, fluent transcription, and sustained practice. The authors make a compelling case for building writing capacity gradually, focussing on the fundamentals so that pupils are not overwhelmed, and so that self-expression can emerge from growing competence. -- Daisy Christodoulou Writing is much harder than reading, but teachers rarely get effective training in how to teach it-and far fewer books have focused on writing instruction than on reading instruction. This volume goes a long way toward rectifying that situation, providing a thorough but accessible overview of the scientific research on writing and key takeaways. From the connections between both oral language and reading to writing, to the importance of explicitly teaching students how to construct sentences and plan paragraphs and essays, every page is brimming with valuable information and insights, delivered by two educators who aren't afraid to share their own past missteps. If you're one of the many teachers and school leaders who desperately want to help their students write clearly and coherently but aren't sure how to go about it, How I Wish I'd Taught Writing is for you. -- Natalie Wexler Somehow, Clare and Tim have written a deep dive into writing research which is also a very practical how-toand an exploration of some of the history of writing instruction (and its lack), peppered additionally with entertaining - often rueful - anecdotes. I will be recommending this to every English lead and Head Teacher - everyone interested in the writing process - that I know, for its engaging, easy-reading deluge of useful information. I'm loathe to use the term 'common sense' but I don't know how else to describe the balanced approach best summed-up by the authors themselves thus:"Teaching the technical without it feeding into the creative is pointless. Teaching the creative without building technical competence is futile." -- Lindsay Pickton
