Perhaps the two most significant skill areas required for MSPAP success are students' ability to read critically and analytically and to express their conclusions in writing. Writing activities should be integrated into all content areas, with particular emphasis given to writing to inform. Students should be encouraged to generate topic sentences as controlling ideas within both formal and informal written responses; support claims and assertions with evidence from texts and personal experiences; organize writing coherently, with appropriate transitional devices; and revise and polish their writing using scoring tools and input from peer response groups.

Effective Writing Strategies

Pre-Writing Brainstorming Graphic Organizers Analyze Text Structure Advanced Organizers Outlining Note Taking Unlocking Key Elements of Assigned Writing Tasks Considering Audience Needs	Drafting Use of Transitions: Ensuring Coherent Organization with a Clear Beginning, Middle, and End Teacher and Student Modeling to Reinforce the Writing Process and Skills Development Use of Framed Paragraphs/Organizational Patterns
Revising Use of Concrete, Specific Words Making Ideas Clear and Accessible to the Reader Sentence Combining Peer Response Groups Modeling of Techniques Adding, Deleting, Moving and Changing Ideas to Ensure Clarity, Coherence, and Completeness	Proofreading Use checklists for: Capitalization Punctuation Spelling Usage Use of Complete Sentences Publishing Use a variety of strategies to share final products
Teacher Resources Atwell, Nancy. In the Middle, 1987. Calkins, Lucy. Art of Teaching Writing, 1994. Fletcher, Ralph. What a Writer Needs, 1993. Cooper, J. David. Literacy, 1997.

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