Similarly, there is a strong body of research on best practices in the teaching and learning of writing that can guide individual and institutional reform efforts. Broadly, this research suggests that writing is best taught as an integrated subject, and that strong writing practice combined with consistent feedback is key to developing student skills and achievement. The practical implication is that writing is best taught using a holistic approach that spans subjects and content areas, utilizes methods that draw upon students\u2019 prior knowledge using content that is applicable to their daily lives, and combines traditional grammatical instruction with a comprehensive focus on clear written expression.[22. The National Commission on Writing for America\u2019s Families, Schools and Colleges. (2006). Writing and school reform.<\/em> New York, NY.],<\/sup>[23. Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools. A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York.<\/em> Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.],<\/sup>[24. Graham, S., MacArthur, C. A., & Fitzgerald, J. (Eds.). (2007). Best practices in writing instruction.<\/em> New York: Guilford Press.]<\/p>\n\n This survey was fielded to add new voices \u2013 those of teens \u2013 to this debate. Their responses show that teens do write \u2013 overwhelmingly.\u00a0 All of them write for school and 93% of them write for themselves.\u00a0 Teens also enjoy writing.\u00a0 While most report that writing for school assignments can be arduous, they feel real satisfaction and accomplishment when such pieces are recognized for communicating ideas effectively and skillfully.\u00a0 Most teens say that they very much enjoy the writing that they do to communicate with their peers via MySpace, Facebook, and text and instant messaging.\u00a0 Many also report finding satisfaction in their creative writing of poems, plays, journals, songs, raps and multimedia pieces.\u00a0 How much teens write is more nuanced.\u00a0 It is highly dependent upon the individual teen as well as the writing expectations placed upon him\/her by school, family, friends and other social sources.<\/p>\n\n The short answer is that their writing is instrumental.\u00a0 They write to make something happen.\u00a0 Whether for school, themselves or for a social audience of friends and family, they write to achieve a desired goal.\u00a0 They are very calculating in how they determine what needs to be done to get the goal they want.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n School writing, for example, helps them get a grade, complete an assignment, or gain access to a specific college, scholarship or much desired extracurricular activity.\u00a0 The creative writing they do for themselves helps them express their emotions, realize a vision, share a talent they are cultivating publicly or win a free iPod.\u00a0 Writing with friends and others in close interest groups via cell phone, social networking site, IM or email offers a chance to keep in touch; learn about the latest trends, crushes, and events; and share insights and written or multimedia content.<\/p>\n\n [I write] . . . whatever they tell me to write about. I\u2019m usually, like, I don\u2019t like to write.\u00a0 I don\u2019t write like journals or like diaries or anything. If I have to do something for school I usually just get on the computer cause that\u2019s like easier for me and it looks nicer. But like at school like no one really passes notes . . . more people have phones now.\u00a0 They take them to school so that in study hall or whatever we like text in study hall. I am almost always grammatically correct [when I text.]\u00a0 And I do writing books and role playing so that is really important to me. Teen 1: <\/strong>Well, if I knew that other people were going to read what I wrote and react to what I was writing then I would make it better and I would want to do the best that I could at it. Just because teens report writing and enjoying it does not mean that their perceptions of their own writing are fully accurate.\u00a0 A teen may feel s\/he is a good writer with a strong grasp of writing conventions, but is not.\u00a0 Thus, even though teens report that they write and are motivated to write, the quality and effectiveness of their writing varies from individual to individual. <\/p>\n\n In contrast to stereotypes of teens as grumbling, disaffected youth with little or no interest in school or its subjects, the teens in our study provided testimony that \u2013 depending upon the circumstances \u2013 they can find writing pleasurable and can be motivated and inspired to write.<\/p>\n\n For example, when we asked the teens in our focus groups to identify a piece of writing that made them very proud, they generated a diverse list of examples: poems, book projects, research papers, college essays, journals, songs\/raps, text messages, computer programs, 4H-projects, plays, etc.\u00a0 Each teen was able to identify and share a success that they had created in writing.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n Research paper on chromium ions and what they are used for.\u00a0 Because it\u2019s the longest paper I have ever written (13 pages) and I still got an A+. I am proud of my current events I did this school year.\u00a0 They were all typed neat with good grammar and I got A’s on all of them. My descriptive writing about a rock in the ground. I am proud of it because the teacher said it was the best out of all the essays. College essays because they were thoughtful, took a long time, and got me into a lot of colleges. National Russian Essay I took last year and was given a medal for it. Text message that got me together with my boyfriend.\u00a0 We are both relatively shy but were able to express ourselves over text messages. Poetry journal – full-blown creativity and pure emotional understanding. School work isn\u2019t necessarily a turnoff if it deals with something personally relevant \u2013 and gets a good grade. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n Interestingly, most teens told us they were proud of pieces that were required for school, graded and primarily intended for their teachers or classes. At the same time, some teens also said they were proud of pieces they wrote for peers, themselves or another close person, or for outside competitions.\u00a0 In all cases, teens report being pleased, inspired and motivated by composing a piece of writing that was effective at communicating their thoughts and \u2013 in particular \u2013 was recognized positively.<\/p>\n\n A key theme in what teens said motivated them to write was one of \u201crelevance.\u201d\u00a0 Teens said, in varying ways, that they wanted to be doing things that mattered socially, in their own lives, and had an impact.<\/p>\n\n Teens tend to enjoy the writing they do for personal reasons more than the writing they do for school. Half (49%) of teens enjoy the writing they do for themselves \u201ca great deal,\u201d compared with just 17% who enjoy the writing they do for school with a similar intensity. In total, nearly one third of teens say they enjoy their school writing \u201cnot much\u201d (22%) or \u201cnot at all\u201d (10%).<\/p>\n\n The enjoyment teens find in their non-school writing does not always translate into the same level of enthusiasm for the writing they do for school. Among teens who enjoy their non-school writing \u201ca great deal,\u201d most (54%) get \u201csome\u201d enjoyment from their school writing. Just 26% of these teens who greatly enjoy their non-school writing enjoy their scholastic writing with a similar intensity, and nearly as many (20%) do not<\/i> enjoy the writing that they do for school.<\/p>\n\n The enjoyment teens derive from their school writing appears to fade as teens get older and enter high school. Among teens ages 12-14, 73% enjoy their school writing and 27% do not, while among teens ages 15-17, just 62% enjoy the writing they do for school and 37% do not enjoy it.<\/p>\n\n This decrease in school writing enjoyment over time is driven almost entirely by boys. More than four in ten older boys (44%) do not<\/i> enjoy writing for school (a significantly greater rate than any other age group) and just one in ten (9%) enjoy writing for school \u201ca great deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n These gender and age differences are not nearly as pronounced when it comes to the writing teens do for their own personal reasons. Overall, 90% of teens enjoy the writing they do outside of school, a figure that is consistent between boys and girls as well as older and younger teens. The main difference pertains to teens at the upper end of the enjoyment scale\u201455% of girls say they enjoy writing for themselves \u201ca great deal,\u201d compared with 43% of boys who feel similarly strongly.<\/p>\n\n Regardless of how much they actually enjoy the writing they do at school, most teens have a superficially similar scholastic writing experience. In other words, the assignment of more writing at school does not necessarily affect teens\u2019 level of enthusiasm for writing. Teens generally write for school with the same frequency, write papers of similar lengths, and do the same types of school writing regardless of whether or not they enjoy their school writing. There is only one major difference between teens who enjoy their school writing and teens who do not\u2014teens who enjoy their school writing \u201ca great deal\u201d are more likely to do creative writing at school compared with teens who get \u201cnot much\u201d enjoyment or no enjoyment from their school writing (81% vs. 69%).<\/p>\n\n With respect to writing enjoyment and writing done outside of school, however, an entirely different story emerges. Teens who greatly enjoy their non-school writing engage in a much wider range of writing activities than teens who get less enjoyment out of the writing they do for themselves. Compared with teens who get some, not much or no enjoyment out of their non-school writing, teens who enjoy their non-school writing \u201ca great deal\u201d are more likely to do a wide range of writing activities in their personal time. It is not possible with this survey to determine what causes teens to write more and be enthusiastic about the writing they do for their own personal reasons. Causality probably flows in both directions to some degree: teens who write most often outside of school are happy about doing it, and because they are happy about doing it, they write more. <\/p>\n\n Overall, a majority of teens believe that writing is essential for their future success. More than half (56%) said they think writing is essential, and another three in ten say it is important but not essential for later success. Just 12% of teens said writing was only somewhat important, and 2% said it wasn\u2019t important at all. <\/p>\n\n The more teens enjoy the writing they do (whether in or out of school), the more likely they are to consider writing an essential skill for their future success in life. Among teens who enjoy their non-school writing \u201ca great deal,\u201d 67% consider writing to be essential for success in life. Among teens who get less enjoyment from their non-school writing, just over half (51%) consider writing to be an essential skill.<\/p>\n\n Similarly, among those who enjoy their school writing \u201ca great deal,\u201d 74% consider writing to be essential; among those who enjoy it \u201csome,\u201d 60% consider writing to be essential. Even more strikingly, among teens who enjoy school writing \u201cnot much\u201d or \u201cnot at all,\u201d just 40% view writing as an essential skill for future success.<\/p>\n\n When asked to recall their grades in the classes where they do the most writing, most teens told us that they were firmly above average. The largest group of teens \u2013 44% \u2013 said they received mostly A\u2019s and B\u2019s in their writing-heavy classes, and the next largest group, 22%, reported receiving all A\u2019s. Just 13% of teens characterized themselves as B-students in writing, and another 15% owned up to mostly B\u2019s and C\u2019s. Less than 5% of teens said they received mostly C\u2019s or below in the classes where they did the most writing.<\/p>\n\n Not surprisingly, teens who enjoy the writing they do for school report they receive higher grades in the classes where they do the most writing. Among teens who enjoy their school writing \u201ca great deal,\u201d 35% receive mostly A\u2019s in their writing classes and just one in five (19%) receive mostly B\u2019s or worse. By contrast, just 12% of teens who enjoy their school writing \u201cnot much\u201d or \u201cnot at all\u201d receive mostly A\u2019s in their writing class, and nearly half (47%) get mostly B\u2019s or lower. Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine from this data whether teens get good grades because they enjoy writing, or whether they enjoy writing because they get good grades. Regardless of the mechanism, however, grades are clearly one of the factors that is most heavily correlated with writing enjoyment.<\/p>\n\n Other factors and experiences influence a teen\u2019s enjoyment of writing. Teens in our focus groups spoke of enjoying the sense of satisfaction from completing a challenging project:<\/p>\n\n I wrote this program for a robot in Legodacta. And I was pretty proud of it because it was something we had bought to life \u2013 I also had built the robot so it brought to life my creation and it felt kind of good. <\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Teens like having the opportunity to select their topics for school writing assignments. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n Teens in our focus groups said strongly that being able to self-select topics and assignments made their mandatory writing more enjoyable and compelling.<\/p>\n\n [I find writing somewhat enjoyable] only if I get to pick out the topic or the subject I am writing about, or, if I have to write specifically about a book, then whatever book I want. If you could be assigned a topic but if you are not interested in it then it\u2019s not going to inspire you to do anything. You will research it and be like ok\u2026but I don\u2019t know\u2026I just had a paper and it was really hard to write because I really didn\u2019t care about it so I researched it a lot but I never got interested in it. They said, in effect, that if they were going to spend time and energy doing schoolwork, they wanted it to be something that related specifically to them and their interests. Teens also found it motivating when their writing could have broader impact through being publicly shared in class, in person, in print, or on the Internet. In fact, many teens commented on the positive push publishing or presenting to a formal audience provided for their writing. <\/p>\n\n [Publishing] was pressure because other people are going to be reading your work so you don\u2019t want to turn in just any piece of writing. It is actually printed and there is 1200 copies of it. I wrote my story or whatever about whatever and someone read it and I got to go speak\u2026about it to a bunch of people. It was a cool experience. I read it aloud . . . . [L]ots of people were interested in what I had to say. Teens\u2019 motivation to write well comes from getting good feedback \u2013 especially from a great teacher.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n It is people, however \u2013 teachers, parents, friends, and reading \u2013 that teens credit with being their single most important motivator. <\/p>\n\n I had an English teacher and he was really exciting and he got everyone else like excited and interested in what we were writing about. Like he gave us a lot of free writing time and he would really comment and try and help us be better writers and more creative when we were writing and he made it more fun. And that\u2019s probably why I free write and [am] creative now\u2026.[W]e talked about different types of writing like romances and then like different essays and then he gave us a topic and we could write anything about that topic. It wasn\u2019t like a strict . . . topic it was a wide topic and he would give us a lot of feedback and he would actually read everything that we wrote and make everyone feel good about what they wrote. My history teacher this year really helped me with my writing because it was a college history class so it was the first time I had to sit down and write a 25 page paper. It was worth a third of my grade. She really helped me because it was really difficult. I read a lot so I read stuff and it kind of gives me ideas. It inspires me and gives me more motivation to write. So it starts out as a model and like I can steal some of the little ideas. Back in the 8th grade I wrote a story for my English teacher and he was the best teacher I ever had and I don\u2019t remember what I had to write about [but] I remember him telling me that he was proud and that I was a very talented writer. I was proud of myself. I guess I used to be really bad at reading and in 2nd grade I had a teacher that really took time with me and I love reading. I guess over the years from reading I developed into loving writing. Students don\u2019t write for school unless they are assigned to do it. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n When we asked teens about what dampens their desire to write, they most often spoke about the writing instruction and assignments they receive in school. Many said that they are either not given writing assignments or are not challenged or inspired by them.<\/p>\n\n Teen 1:<\/strong> I don\u2019t get much homework. I research a lot of things on the Internet and that is good for me at least. At the same time I am bored at school during like biology because I don\u2019t care about biology because it doesn\u2019t relate to me. Even though it really, really does, but I really don\u2019t care to know how a cell works. I am terribly bored in that class. But like in history I can listen to that teacher talk for the whole hour and feel pretty satisfied. Cookie-cutter, boring curricula don\u2019t help and the teacher should at least be modestly interested in writing . . . and in students. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n Not surprisingly, teens also said that their interest in writing is often dependent upon the teacher and the curriculum. Teens say that writing is not compelling when the curriculum seems canned, teacher attention is limited, and work is reviewed and graded by computer. <\/p>\n\n A lot of my teachers are like they don\u2019t like to write. Like most of my notes that we take in class like we use an overhead and like it\u2019s already on there and like all my tests are usually . . . and just gets put on the computer and . . . grades it that way and most of tests are done that way. And my homework assignments, like a lot of the teachers, . . . only to put a paragraph answer, do it on computer and they grade it like through the computer, they like scan it on the computer and like spell check. We don’t write that much for school because we work on computers mostly. We have a thing called APlus. Instead of having text books we have a license on the computer and if we have a pretest, if we know the work, then we should pass the pretest. But if we don\u2019t know it yet we have to go to our study and learn it. Then we have to go to a practice. If we pass the practice then we go to the test. Usually [we only write] 1 or 2 pages because we have something called Cornell notes. I think the only thing that really changes if I am bored at school is a teacher. If the teacher is really good then I will be interested. High expectations really help. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n Not all schools have canned or prescriptive curricula, as described here. Our teens\u2019 comments made it clear that their schools and school experiences are quite distinct. Some teens reported very strong writing expectations in their classes: consistent practice, long research reports, standardized tests, etc. Other teens said they get very little English\/Language Arts guidance or homework. The writing experiences teens shared were reflections of their school and personal environments. <\/p>\n\n We found that technology does not necessarily motivate teens to write for school. Teens said that they primarily use computers for school writing and typically draft their writing pieces by hand. They use technology (i.e., computers) to make their pieces look neat, feature proper spelling and provide good research. When asked whether their writing pieces would be any less successful if they had not used technology, the following statement sums up most responses: <\/p>\n\n [If I didn\u2019t type, my papers would be] . . . less clean, but [the] thoughts expressed would be just as successful. There were some teens, however, whose experiences with technology outside of school did affect their in-school writing practices and general expectations of time. <\/p>\n\n [T]echnology is not fully the reason [teens have short attention spans] but it\u2019s probably part of the reason. I think it\u2019s because like you were saying with the text messaging and all it goes so quickly you send it and then you get a response like two minutes later. Then when you go to school and they sit there and go \u2018oh my gosh, why is this taking so long?\u2019 And it\u2019s just like, \u2018yeah.\u2019 And with the instant messaging, it\u2019s really fast. Like you send it; they send it back. Then, when you have to hand in a paper at school and it\u2019s a few days to return it, it\u2019s like \u2018I gave it to you like yesterday and it\u2019s taking you four days to grade it.\u2019 So with the technology, you expect something back like quickly then you get back to real life and school and it just takes forever. In sum, the teens with whom we spoke related a spectrum of people and things that have encouraged them to learn to write and to write well \u2013 most often teachers, reading, favorite authors, opportunities to create and publish authentic work, and their own interests and desires. Of particular importance, however, is the true attention, respect, and praise of a guiding adult or members of a public forum.<\/p>\n\n Teen responses to what motivates their non-school personal and social writing are also instructive.\u00a0 Teens report that the writing they do for themselves on their own time is internally motivated.\u00a0 It helps them work through their emotions and can even help them prepare for, or enhance, their school obligations. <\/p>\n\n Well, I basically [journal about] things I go through on a day-to-day basis.\u00a0 I just, you know, I have to write them down cause sometimes you don\u2019t feel like telling everybody your business so I just write it down . . . .\u00a0 Well, it helped me because if I get a certain topic you know, that relates to me, I can, you know, elaborate on it more. There is also \u201cliterary\u201d or persuasive writing that teens do for themselves or others with an eye toward a broader audience.\u00a0 Teens who write plays, fiction, music, poetry and news\/non-fiction articles all talk about the importance of being responsible to their audiences by creating strong and interesting works.\u00a0 As noted earlier, some teens receive formal recognition or awards for their writing.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n Well I write plays for a theater and so it is performed and there is critics there so you want it to be something that you like \u2013 writing and expressing how you feel \u2013 but also it has to be something that\u2019s pleasing to watch. Like, if you write in a poem you\u2019d be talking to the reader in that poem. I like persuasive writing.\u00a0 That is my strongest point.\u00a0 I can persuade you to do anything and that is what I do to get clients. . . . I know that people are going to be reading [my articles] . . . . I have to make sure that I get my thoughts down completely so there is not any misinterpretation . . . . Particularly in columns when I am writing my opinion, I have to be careful not to say something to where it is taken the wrong way. Effective communication, self-exploration and self-presentation, and social connection are among the primary motivations behind the writing teens do in blogs, social network posts, emails and instant and text messages.\u00a0 Teens report sharing, supporting, gossiping, joking, and collaborating using these types of electronic communications.\u00a0 Writing in these environments is enjoyable because teens have more control and less pressure.\u00a0 They choose their own topics, do not need to use any particular writing conventions, can write and get feedback quickly, and are typically not being judged.\u00a0 Many teens say they also enjoy being able to multitask and write to more than one person at a time. <\/p>\n\n [Emailing, texting, and IMing] are kind of like a break from school. MySpace:\u00a0 That\u2019s different.\u00a0 It\u2019s just like a conversation. Text messaging is usually leisure like time and stuff like that. I don\u2019t really think of it like \u2018oh my stuff is getting published on the computer and it ends up on the Internet.\u2019\u00a0 I am just writing to my friends or commenting on a picture or whatever. During finals week I got done early and the teachers let me out.\u00a0 So I text messaged all my friends while they were still in class trying to get them in trouble. Teens who do a lot of texting and IMing talk about how they like the immediacy of the conversation. They also take great pride in being able to type fast and to apply their dexterity to typing for school.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n Well, I\u2019m on the computer so much [that I] type.\u00a0 And to me typing faster helps me get my work done quicker so I can have more time for me to do what I want. Those who use social networking sites not only report taking pleasure in communicating with peers, but also in animating and narrating who they are with songs, pictures, wallpaper and graphics, and links to sites of interest, etc.<\/p>\n\n It sounds stupid and everything but like once you like get into it it\u2019s really like addicting just like everything like you have your song and like you write like all this stuff about yourself and like all my friends basically have it.\u00a0 So like we always like read each other\u2019s pages and like call each other and like kind of, and like you put like 300 pictures up so . . . people\u2019s pictures and stuff and comments. Girls, in particular, are motivated to engage in these more \u201cconversational\u201d writing activities. Many describe themselves as \u201caddicted\u201d to text messaging and MySpace and can spend hours without clear recollection about what they are doing.\u00a0 But it is the ability to both socialize and explore new technical landscapes that compels girls and their male peers in these electronic communication spaces. Teens report enjoying discovering new technical features (e.g., picture commenting on MySpace, using T9Word for texting, using emoticons for email, etc). They also like developing new skills (e.g., typing or text messaging quickly) and distinguishing themselves with them. <\/p>\n\n There are all sorts of things in texting that you can put [in].\u00a0 Like you can put an exclamation mark in the beginning and the end, or a question mark, or a smiley face, or all caps to show you are yelling. I can spend like hours on My Space like her.\u00a0 I\u2019m like I don\u2019t know how because you know, there\u2019s not that much but you get so many friends and then you have to like change your layout and . . . Having access to a particular technology and the skills to utilize it does not necessarily motivate all teens to engage in that medium.\u00a0 Most teens are driven to particular platforms, communities or technologies by the underlying personal relationships that exist in that space and the content these relationships generate. In fact, teens who experience a lack of social connection or acceptance when doing social writing often choose to limit their activity.<\/p>\n\n At first when I got on MySpace I was all excited for like a month then I just stopped because it wasn\u2019t that exciting.\u00a0 Because when you don\u2019t get messages and stuff, you get kind of frustrated so I just get off, get on, and get off and check my . . . By itself, technology is not necessarily a long term motivator for teens\u2019 personal or social writing: more often, it serves as a \u201chook\u201d that compels them to explore a particular tool, application, or writing practice.\u00a0 Most of the written communication that teens engage in is driven by social and emotional factors, such as developing their identities, finding and exploring their relationships, and learning how to express themselves and respond to others.\u00a0 The technology can facilitate that.<\/p>\n\n Teens know that writing is important.\u00a0 Most know that the informal writing they do now will not sustain them as they grow to be adults.\u00a0 However, they take great pleasure in developing personal informal writing styles as a way to express and distinguish who they are now \u2013 teens who do not yet need to be adults.<\/p>\n\n A number of the teens we spoke with fully understood that learning to write formally for school and work is a growth process.\u00a0 Some are eager to make this transition and can learn and apply the skills they are taught easily.\u00a0 Others have more trouble or are less willing to toe this developmental line.\u00a0 In more than one session, teens likened learning formal writing to mundane chores or tasteless but healthful eating.\u00a0 Learning to write is \u201cgood for you,\u201d they told us, but is not necessarily fun or glamorous.<\/p>\n\n Teen 1:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0. . . , it\u2019s not bad it\u2019s just not fun.\u00a0 You are going to be forced in life to do things like meaningless tasks and they have to be done.\u00a0 In that sense, washing the dish is about the same as writing the research paper about that table.\u00a0 It needs to be done. Nearly all teens are aware that writing is something that will impact their future \u2013 even if they can\u2019t necessarily see what that future will be.\u00a0 They are motivated by this notion, even if it is rather indeterminate in their minds. <\/p>\n\n Well I guess it\u2019s kind of like a practice makes perfect sort of thing with writing where you just get better the more you do it.\u00a0 And so then that will I guess reflect on your later life like with jobs and . . .\u00a0stuff. Teens have very individual writing and technology experiences.\u00a0 If we were to systematically profile the practices and preferences of each of the teens we spoke with, no two profiles would be alike.\u00a0 Teens report communicating with adults and peers using all types of media\u2013\u2013but there is no clear pattern in how they communicate or which methods they prefer under which circumstances.\u00a0 It all depends upon the situation.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n That is what poses the central challenge to those who hope to encourage and teach writing to teens. Young adults are immersed in an environment of electronic communication that is vitally important to them, but that may not necessarily lend itself to lengthy, logically structured writing. In teens\u2019 own views, those who can figure out how to tap into their distinctive, situational communications behaviors and connect them to the process of learning how to write will have taught them an invaluable lesson that will improve their lives. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Introduction Prevailing wisdom holds that the US is facing an educational crisis marked by low levels of writing skill. One primary concern is that teens are not learning the writing content and process skills needed to succeed in continuing education and the workplace.\u00a0 Research suggests a number of areas for improvement. Recent studies have found […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[526],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-96251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","formats-report","research-teams-internet"],"label":false,"post_parent":96196,"word_count":5912,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/what-teens-tell-us-encourages-them-to-write\/","art_direction":false,"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":96196,"title":"Writing, Technology and Teens","slug":"writing-technology-and-teens","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/writing-technology-and-teens\/","is_active":false},{"id":96206,"title":"Acknowledgments and Methodology","slug":"acknowledgments-and-methodology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/acknowledgments-and-methodology\/","is_active":false},{"id":96231,"title":"Introduction","slug":"introduction-9","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/introduction-9\/","is_active":false},{"id":96235,"title":"The Lives of Teens and Their Technology","slug":"the-lives-of-teens-and-their-technology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/the-lives-of-teens-and-their-technology\/","is_active":false},{"id":96237,"title":"Teens and Their Writing Habits","slug":"teens-and-their-writing-habits","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/teens-and-their-writing-habits\/","is_active":false},{"id":96240,"title":"Electronic Communication","slug":"electronic-communication","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/electronic-communication\/","is_active":false},{"id":96243,"title":"The Relationship between Writing, Communication and Technology Ownership","slug":"the-relationship-between-writing-communication-and-technology-ownership","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/the-relationship-between-writing-communication-and-technology-ownership\/","is_active":false},{"id":96246,"title":"Parental Attitudes toward Writing and Technology","slug":"parental-attitudes-toward-writing-and-technology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/parental-attitudes-toward-writing-and-technology\/","is_active":false},{"id":96249,"title":"The Way Teens See Their Writing and What Would Improve It","slug":"the-way-teens-see-their-writing-and-what-would-improve-it","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/the-way-teens-see-their-writing-and-what-would-improve-it\/","is_active":false},{"id":96251,"title":"What Teens Tell Us Encourages Them to Write","slug":"what-teens-tell-us-encourages-them-to-write","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/what-teens-tell-us-encourages-them-to-write\/","is_active":true}],"report_materials":"","report_pagination":{"current_post":{"id":96251,"title":"What Teens Tell Us Encourages Them to Write","slug":"what-teens-tell-us-encourages-them-to-write","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/what-teens-tell-us-encourages-them-to-write\/","is_active":true,"page_num":10},"next_post":null,"previous_post":{"id":96249,"title":"The Way Teens See Their Writing and What Would Improve It","slug":"the-way-teens-see-their-writing-and-what-would-improve-it","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/the-way-teens-see-their-writing-and-what-would-improve-it\/","is_active":false,"page_num":9},"pagination_items":[{"id":96196,"title":"Writing, Technology and Teens","slug":"writing-technology-and-teens","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/writing-technology-and-teens\/","is_active":false,"page_num":1},{"id":96206,"title":"Acknowledgments and Methodology","slug":"acknowledgments-and-methodology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/acknowledgments-and-methodology\/","is_active":false,"page_num":2},{"id":96231,"title":"Introduction","slug":"introduction-9","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/introduction-9\/","is_active":false,"page_num":3},{"id":96235,"title":"The Lives of Teens and Their Technology","slug":"the-lives-of-teens-and-their-technology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/the-lives-of-teens-and-their-technology\/","is_active":false,"page_num":4},{"id":96237,"title":"Teens and Their Writing Habits","slug":"teens-and-their-writing-habits","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/teens-and-their-writing-habits\/","is_active":false,"page_num":5},{"id":96240,"title":"Electronic Communication","slug":"electronic-communication","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/electronic-communication\/","is_active":false,"page_num":6},{"id":96243,"title":"The Relationship between Writing, Communication and Technology Ownership","slug":"the-relationship-between-writing-communication-and-technology-ownership","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/the-relationship-between-writing-communication-and-technology-ownership\/","is_active":false,"page_num":7},{"id":96246,"title":"Parental Attitudes toward Writing and Technology","slug":"parental-attitudes-toward-writing-and-technology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/parental-attitudes-toward-writing-and-technology\/","is_active":false,"page_num":8},{"id":96249,"title":"The Way Teens See Their Writing and What Would Improve It","slug":"the-way-teens-see-their-writing-and-what-would-improve-it","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/the-way-teens-see-their-writing-and-what-would-improve-it\/","is_active":false,"page_num":9},{"id":96251,"title":"What Teens Tell Us Encourages Them to Write","slug":"what-teens-tell-us-encourages-them-to-write","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2008\/04\/24\/what-teens-tell-us-encourages-them-to-write\/","is_active":true,"page_num":10}]},"parent_info":{"parent_title":"Writing, Technology and Teens","parent_id":96196},"materialsOrdered":[],"chaptersOrdered":[],"partsOrdered":[],"partsEnabled":false,"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"What Teens Tell Us Encourages Them to Write","description":"Introduction Prevailing wisdom holds that the US is facing an educational crisis marked by low levels of writing skill. One primary concern is that teens are not learning the writing…","og_title":"What Teens Tell Us Encourages Them to Write","og_description":"","schema_type":"Article","noindex":false,"canonical_url":"","primary_terms":[],"custom_schema":[],"og_image":0,"indexnow_submitted_at":null,"gsc_index_status":null},"prepublish_checks":{"prc-image-alt-text":{"status":"complete","message":"No image blocks in content.","data":null},"prc-about-this-research":{"status":"incomplete","message":"Add an \"About this research\" details block.","data":null},"prc-paragraph-count":{"status":"complete","message":"Found 52 paragraphs.","data":{"count":52}},"prc-internal-link":{"status":"incomplete","message":"Add at least one internal link.","data":{"count":0}}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"relatedPostsOrdered":[],"bylinesOrdered":[],"acknowledgementsOrdered":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133486,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96251\/revisions\/133486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"bylines","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bylines?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"datasets","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/datasets?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"level_of_effort","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/level_of_effort?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"primary_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary_audience?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"information_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/information_type?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"_post_visibility","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_post_visibility?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"formats","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/formats?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"_fund_pool","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_fund_pool?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"regions-countries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions-countries?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"research-teams","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-teams?post=96251"},{"taxonomy":"workflow-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workflow-status?post=96251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What prompts teens to write?<\/h3>\n\n
\n
\u2013 10-12th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9-10th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11-12th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
Teen 2: <\/strong>I write differently when, if I have to say a speech or something in front of my class I write differently than I would than if I was writing it for my teacher . . . [because of] pressure from your peers . . . you wouldn\u2019t write the same thing.
\u2013 Exchange in 9-10th<\/sup> Grade Girls Group, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nTeen ideas for making school writing successful \u2013 what works and what doesn\u2019t.<\/h3>\n\n
\n
\u2013 9\/11th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Northwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 7\/8th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Northeastern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/11th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nTeens get greater enjoyment from the writing they do outside of school than the writing they do in school, and enjoyment of personal writing does not always translate into enjoyment of school writing.<\/h3>\n\n
![\"Enjoyment](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/55AE7E70D11B48398BE6CF7D454EF9E6.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\nEnjoyment of school writing is lowest among older boys.<\/h3>\n\n
![\"School](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/7871CF5CE78241DEB3C783E50AB31F14.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\nSchool writing enjoyment is not correlated with the length or frequency of school writing, and is only loosely related to the types of writing assignments teens do at school.<\/h3>\n\n
![\"Non-School](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/FC125C6B4E454559BC2486AD4EFEF477.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\nTeens who enjoy writing are likely to view writing skills as essential to their future success and receive higher marks in their writing classes.<\/h3>\n\n
![\"Grades](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/94F4B2FC849947CE83CC3B2BDDF50655.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Northeastern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Northwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 10\/12th <\/sup>Grade Girl, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 10\/12th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 7\/8th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/11th <\/sup>Grade Girl, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Pacific Northwest City. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
Teen 2:<\/strong> Me either.
Teen 3:<\/strong> I used to write a whole bunch in U.S. History but we got a new teacher. He just lets us slack.
Teen 4:<\/strong> In my old English class we wrote journals but then I switched schools and we don\u2019t even do English in English. [We] listen to music. We really don\u2019t do anything. I\u2019m not even kidding.
\u2013 Exchange in 9\/11th<\/sup> Grade Girls Group, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Midwestern City. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 7\/8th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Pacific Northwest City. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 7\/8th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Northeastern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nWhat inspires teens\u2019 personal and social writing?<\/h3>\n\n
\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 10\/12th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 7\/8th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Northeastern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 10\/12th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 7\/8th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Northeastern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/11th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Northeastern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 10\/12th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 11\/12th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Midwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th <\/sup>Grade Girl, Midwestern City. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nLearning Writing is a Growth Process.<\/h3>\n\n
\n
Teen 2:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s good for you but you don\u2019t want to do it.
Teen 1:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s like eating vegetables.
\u2013 Exchange in 9\/11th<\/sup> Grade Mixed Group, Southwestern City.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/10th<\/sup> Grade Boy, Pacific Northwest City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013 9\/11th<\/sup> Grade Girl, Southwestern City.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n