English Language Development

(Elliott) #1

of companies found in the service, insurance, and real estate sectors, the corporations with greatest
growth potential, assess writing during hiring” (3). The conversation here is no longer about work
preparedness but about career readiness, more specifically college and career readiness. The unified
construct of college and career readiness—a goal of this ELA/ELD Framework—shares a common set
of knowledge and skills that enables students to be successful in postsecondary education and career
pathways (Conley 2010). Writing well is essential preparation for both college and careers.


The Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing outlines two critical components: (1) the
habits of mind, or ways of approaching learning, that support students’ success; and (2) experiences
with writing, reading, and critical analysis that contribute to habits of mind and that are crucial to
success in college. See figure 7.8.


Figure 7.8. Components of the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing


Habits of Mind

Experiences with Writing, Reading,
and Critical Analysis


  • Curiosity – the desire to know more about
    the world

  • Openness – the willingness to consider new
    ways of being and thinking in the world

  • Engagement – a sense of investment and
    involvement in learning

  • Creativity – the ability to use novel
    approaches for generating, investigating, and
    representing ideas

  • Persistence – the ability to sustain interest
    in and attention to short- and long-term
    projects

  • Responsibility – the ability to take ownership
    of one’s actions and understand the
    consequences of those actions for oneself
    and others

  • Flexibility – the ability to adapt to situations,
    expectations, or demands

  • Metacognition – the ability to reflect on one’s
    own thinking as well as on the individual
    and cultural processes used to structure
    knowledge

    • Rhetorical knowledge – the ability to analyze
      and act on understandings of audiences,
      purposes, and contexts in creating and
      comprehending texts

    • Critical thinking – the ability to analyze
      a situation or text and make thoughtful
      decisions based on that analysis, through
      writing, reading, and research

    • Writing processes – multiple strategies to
      approach and undertake writing and research

    • Knowledge of conventions – the formal
      and informal guidelines that define what is
      considered to be correct and appropriate,
      or incorrect and inappropriate, in a piece of
      writing

    • Ability to compose in multiple environments

      • from traditional pen and paper to electronic
        technologies






Source
Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, and National Writing Project. 2011.
Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing.

Throughout high school students should engage in writing in every course and receive writing
instruction that strengthens their ability to generate ideas for writing based on their reading,
observations, and personal experiences. Cross-curricular writing tasks require students to analyze,
synthesize, and conduct research to build and present knowledge. Furthermore, students learn
how to critically view their own writing, to strengthen the focus or controlling idea, to improve
support and organization, and to edit or proofread text for correctness for logical progression and
connection of ideas, syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Writing is modeled and taught but

688 | Chapter 7 Grades 9 to 12
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