Teaching Writing through Genres and Language

Abstract

The teaching of writing is a complex skill that teachers must master in order to be effective educators. However, research shows that not all teachers feel prepared to teach writing (Gilbert \& Graham, 2010), that writing is taught in many different ways by individual teachers (Cutler \& Graham, 2008), and that there is a need to improve the teaching of writing (Cutler \& Graham, 2008; Gilbert \& Graham, 2010; National Commission on Writing, 2003, 2005, 2006). It is important to note that not all teacher education programs include courses that prepare teachers to teach writing (Gilbert \& Graham, 2010). This is especially true with respect to teaching English language learners ({ELLs}) (Gebhard, 2010; Hyland, 2007; Larsen, 2013; Schleppegrell, 2004).