Article 5

I. Title: Hard Trying and These Recipes
II. Author: Nancie Atwell
III. Author’s Purpose: Atwell wants teachers of writing to look for and think about
writing lessons that will make the intangible tangible for students. She wants to make it
real for her students.
IV. What are the points made in the review of the literature? Do they support the
need for the study? Writers will thrive and create when they are motivated to work
hard, have regular opportunities to practice and reflect, and benefit from the knowledge
and experiences of a teacher who writes and knows writing, a teacher who models for
them.
V. Author’s Inquiry Question: Can writing ability be learned, or do good writers have a
natural ability?
VI. Author’s Methodology: Observation, discussion, and analysis of writing were the
methods employed.
A. Who is being studied? Students in Atwell’s class over the last 10 years.
B. Over what length of time? 10 years
C. What data is being collected? Atwell is collecting pieces of student writing to
see which lessons had an impact on students and their growth as writers.
D. How is it being analyzed? Atwell looks at the quality and creativity of her
students' pieces.
E. Any other interesting or pertinent data? Atwell used much of this
information in her book Lessons That Change Writers.
VII. How the author collected information: Atwell used observation and questioning
of students, analysis of students’ writing, and their verbal and written response
VIII. What the Author Discovered or Conclusions/Implications: Students can
develop their writing skills if given the opportunity to do so. This can be accomplished if
they had the following:
A. Lessons about topics: ways to develop ideas for pieces of writing that matter to kids
and to their readers.
B. Lessons about principals: ways to approach drafting and revising deliberately, in
order to craft meaningful, literary prose and poetry.
C. Lesson about genres: ways kids and teacher collaborate to observe and name the
qualities of good poetry, short fiction, memoirs, essays, book reviews, and other
genres.
D. Lessons about conventions: what a reader’s eyes and mind will expect from a piece of
writing, and how marks and forms give writers voice make reading predictable and
easy.
It is important that students have a predictable structure, a regular schedule, and student’s discretion on topics. Atwell presented all of this in her article and again in her book.