Better Writers, Better Thinkers

Many chapters in this book provide a good sense of what writing to learn is and how it works. I will explain in this chapter how I use writing-to-learn techniques to help students to think through an idea more clearly. Two aspects of writing to learn are very important: it helps students to understand content better, and it shows them that writing is a process with various stages. When students have a full grasp of material and can use the stages of writing to develop their ideas, they become better thinkers. One of the biggest hurdles for most students is finding meaning in what they read. Lectures do not always help them to understand the piece of literature being studied. The lecture isn't their experience: their personal connection with the material. Louise Rosenblatt has explained the importance of getting students to think on their own about material.