Personalizing the Writing Experience

Personalizing the Writing Experience

The act of writing requires a wide range of mental and motor skills including executive functioning skills like planning, organizing, focusing and monitoring progress. While the writing process involves the universal steps of pre-writing, drafting, revising and editing, each person's approach to writing is unique. This also means that each individual may face unique barriers that may complicate the writing process. This resource discusses how to provide writing support for all learners. This resource includes two sections: Prewriting and Drafting; and Revising, Editing, and Publishing.

This resource also includes a Personalizing the Writing Experience Webinar video recording, providing another access point to the resource. The video has English closed captioning and users can find a link to the PowerPoint slides featured in the webinar, plus a 4-page handout providing an overview of the webinar. The video runs for 1:01:12 minutes in length.

Prewriting and Drafting

This section provides an overview of tools, software, and applications that can support learners through the prewriting process. This section discusses the first stage of writing, pre-writing, which is the work that happens before starting to actually write, and often includes brainstorming, research, and talking through ideas with others. These include built-in and third-party note-taking apps, voice memo software, concept and mind mapping platforms, as well as apps to manage information resources. The second portion of this page provides an overview of tools to help learners during the drafting stage, which involves the mechanics of writing by "taking what is in the learners mind and getting it into a more tangible form." During this stage, learners may face barriers due to physical and cognitive challenges, which may be ameliorated through the use of tools like word prediction and dictation. Readers can find a list of suggested apps and software to help with word prediction, dictation, and revision history.

Revising, Editing, and Publishing

This section provides an overview of tips and services that can support learners through the revising, editing, and publishing stages of writing. This includes topics like cloud-based solutions for collaboration and revising, the Wise Critique method for providing feedback, plus editing tools like spelling and grammar check. Also provided are citation style guidelines, and tools to store, manage and retrieve citations. Finally, this section discusses how to use blog, website, and EBook platforms to publish student writing so that "every learner can gain the confidence and skills to contribute to the discourse on a number of important topics impacting their communities."