Choice, Voice and Process -- Teaching Writing in the 21st Century: Revisiting the Influence of Donald Graves and the Process Approach to Writing

• Published in: English in Australia Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 82 - 91
• Main Author: Wyse, Dominic
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australian Association for the Teaching of English 01-01-2018
• Subjects: Interdisciplinary Approach; Language Arts; Process Approach (Writing); Student Centered Learning; Teaching Methods; Writing (Composition); Writing Instruction; Writing Processes; Writing Research
• ISSN: 0155-2147

The narrow teaching of writing that had been common in schools for hundreds of years was challenged in the 1980s by 'one of the most seductive writers in the history of writing pedagogy'. Donald Graves's process approach to writing, as it came to be known, was popular in Australia, New Zealand, USA and the UK. At the heart of Graves's approach was learner choice, and the development of the writer's voice, enacted in a publication process in the classroom. However, one alleged weakness was the lack of a research base for Graves's approach. Since then, more than 30 years of research gives us the opportunity to re-evaluate Graves's ideas.