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Recently, I've been receiving questions about The Writing Rope framework for writing instruction that I developed in 2019, which is also part of the title of a new book that will be published in the summer of 2022. (Click here to read a related blog post). Some of those questions go something like this: "Is there also a Simple View of Writing?" in reference to Gough and Tunmer's 1986 reading model The Simple View of Reading. So I decided to focus this post on a model that started out as The Simple View of Writing (Berninger et al., 2002) but was then expanded to The Not So Simple View of Writing (Berninger & Winn, 2006).

As Kim and Schatschneider explain (2017), the original Simple View of Writing is a theoretical framework focused on writing as the product of two necessary sets of skills: lower-level transcription skills (spelling and handwriting/keyboarding) and text generation (also called ideation, including word, sentence, and text level writing). The Not So Simple View of Writing expanded the framework by adding and emphasizing executive function and self-regulatory processes (e.g., attention, goal setting, reviewing), and working memory (needed during the planning stage of the writing process), and short term memory (needed during the review stage). (Also see Ahmed et al., 2021 explanation).
Visual Representation of The Not So Simple View

This graphic is a visual representation of The Not So Simple View attributed to Berninger. Note the prominent place that working memory holds in relationship to text generation, transcription, and executive functions. Without working memory, writers cannot hold on to what they want to say long enough to be able to decide which words and sentences to write!
Writing is Complex
Proficient writers must integrate multiple skills, strategies and techniques in order to produce a quality piece of writing that reflects what they want to say. The Writing Rope framework organizes these elements into five strands that are woven together to enable skilled writing, listed below. The first four strands are related to the text generation component of The Not So Simple View, with the fifth strand aligning to the transcription component.

Critical Thinking: Generate ideas, gather information, apply the writing process

Syntax: Write sophisticated, elaborated sentences

Text Structure: Apply knowledge of paragraph and longer text structure, incorporate patterns of organization and related transitions

Writing Craft: Consider the task, audience, and purpose; incorporate writer's moves

Transcription: Spell and handwrite or keyboard at an automatic level

But in order to integrate all of these strands, students must have sufficient executive function abilities including attention, the ability to set goals and organize, self-monitoring and regulation, and cognitive flexibility to be able to constantly adjust the application of multiple writing skills (Graham & Harris, 2000; Meltzer, 2010; Cartwright, 2015). Harris, Schmidt, and Graham explain the role of executive functions this way:

"While negotiating the rules and mechanics for writing, the writer must maintain focus on factors such as organization, form and features, purposes and goals, audience needs and perspectives, and evaluation of the communication between author and reader. Self-regulation of the writing process is critical; the writer must be goal oriented, resourceful, and reflective... For skilled authors, writing is a flexible, goal-directed activity, scaffolded by a rich source of cognitive processes and strategies for planning, text production, and revision." (p. 1)
Simple View or Not So Simple View?
Writing instruction does not receive the same high level of attention in terms of research and discussion about best practices that reading instruction does. The result is that at the present time, it is difficult to find much information about whether educators should refer to Berninger's model as The Simple View or The Not So Simple View. Some refer to the core elements of Berninger's theoretical model (transcription, text generation, executive functions, working memory) as just The Simple View, while others are aware of Berninger's addition of Not So to the title. My guess is that in keeping with the well-known title The Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986), some will find it easier to apply the same title to writing. I prefer to use the longer title that represents Berninger (and colleagues) expanded emphasis on executive function and working memory. Regardless, the important take-away for teachers is to remember that writing is a VERY COMPLEX process, and that we should not forget the important role that executive functions and memory play. It is especially important to keep this in mind when working with students who have difficulty with writing, including those with a specific learning disability.

Click here to learn more about Keys to Content Writing instructional practices for grades 3-12, and click here for Keys to Early Writing. The Keys to Literacy free resources collection also has a number of videos, archived webinars, and templates/printables that support writing instruction.
References:

Ahmed, Y, Kent, S, Cirino, P.T., & Keller-Margulis, M. (2021). The Not-So-Simple View of Writing in Struggling Readers/Writers. Reading & Writing Quarterly. Link.

Berninger, V. W., Abbot, R.D., Abbot, S. P., Graham, S., RIchards, T. (2002). Writing and reading: Connections between language by hand and language by eye. Journal of Learning Disabilities 35(1), pp 38-56.

Berninger, V. W., & Winn, W. D. (2006). Implications of Advancements in Brain Research and Technology for Writing Development, Writing Instruction, and Educational Evolution. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (p. 96-114). The Guilford Press.

Cartwright, K. B. (2015). Executive skills and reading comprehension. New York: The Guilford Press.

Gough, P.B., & Tunmer, W.E. (1986). Decoding, reading, and reading disability. Remedial and Special Education, 7, 6-10.

Graham, S. & Harris, R. (2000). The role of self-regulation and transcription skills in writing and writing development. Educational Psychologist, 35(1).

Kim, Y.S. & Schatschneider, C. (2017). Expanding the developmental models of writing: A direct and indirect effects model of developmental writing. Educational Pyschology, 109 (1). pp 35-50. Link.

Meltzer, L. (2010). Executive function in the classroom. New York: The Guilford Press.

Joan Sedita

Joan Sedita is the founder of Keys to Literacy and author of the Keys to Literacy professional development programs. She is an experienced educator, nationally recognized speaker and teacher trainer. She has worked for over 35 years in the literacy education field and has presented to thousands of teachers and related professionals at schools, colleges, clinics, and professional conferences.

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The Not So Simple View of Writing - Keys to Literacy

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Recently, I've been receiving questions about The Writing Rope framework for writing instruction that I developed in 2019, which is also part of the title of a new book that will be published in the summer of 2022. (Click here to read a related blog post).

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If you are a professional supporting students with specific learning disabilities in Illinois, join our mailing list to receive updates on the SLDSP and our professional learning opportunities.

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Check out this Presentation designed by Jessica Rodriguez.

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If you are a professional supporting students with specific learning disabilities in Illinois, join our mailing list to receive updates on the SLDSP and our professional learning opportunities.

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Listen to this post as a podcast (sponsored by Listenwise):
Plagiarism can be a real pain. Most teachers have had to deal with it in some form or another, and a whole lot of us still haven't figured out the best way to combat it. Many of us issue stern warnings and threaten serious, soul-crushing consequences. Others also use plagiarism checkers to catch students in the act.

While these methods can deter students from plagiarizing and catch them if they do, they operate on the assumption that all plagiarism is devious, that all students who plagiarize know exactly what they're doing, and our mission is to catch and punish. Now because I don't believe that assumption is true, I think we could be handling the problem with a lot more finesse.

How Well Do Students Understand Plagiarism?

In my own experience as a teacher and a parent, I have seen acts of plagiarism that I truly believe were rooted in ignorance.

Take my 5th-grade daughter, for instance. A few months ago, she and her best friend were collaborating on a Google Slides presentation about a Native American tribe. Reading over it as she worked, I found sentence after sentence written in language she never could have come up with. When I asked her where she got the information, she told me point blank that she copied and pasted it from a website. It took me forever to explain why that was wrong and what she needed to do instead. She seriously had no idea. She wasn't trying to cheat. Eventually, I convinced her that she really, really needed to revise, and even though she did, I could tell she was mostly humoring me.

Okay, that's 5th grade, you say. Surely it gets better as students get older?

Marginally. Let's take a look at college undergrads. In two separate studies, undergraduates were asked to identify incidences of plagiarism. In both, students' ability to correctly label plagiarism could best be described as limited (Dawson & Overfield, 2006; Marshall & Garry, 2005). In other words, a significant number of students have an incomplete understanding of what plagiarism actually is. And if they don't always know when they're doing it, it's going to be pretty hard to get them to stop.

To be clear, I'm not arguing that all students who plagiarize are innocent. I've had students whose attempts at passing off someone else's work as their own were so blatant, I took it as a personal insult. But I do believe we can cut way back on less deliberate instances of plagiarism by teaching students the skills to avoid it.

Direct Instruction Works

Unfortunately, students are expected to learn how to avoid plagiarism by some kind of osmosis. As they progress from grade to grade, they are expected to already know how to weave research into their writing in original, elegant, and ethical ways, but far too often, they don't have this skill set. Not at all. So rather than going straight to the plagiarism checkers, we need to explicitly teach these skills, and we need to do it more than once if we want good results.

How? First, we need to help them identify plagiarism. When students are shown different examples of plagiarism and taught-even through basic lecture-the many forms it can take, their understanding of what constitutes plagiarism gets much more sophisticated (Landau, Druen, & Arcuri, 2002; Moniz, Fine, & Bliss, 2008).

Then we need to give them practice in correctly citing their sources. When students get hands-on practice with paraphrasing and correctly citing sources, especially if that practice comes with instructor feedback, plagiarism is significantly reduced (Emerson, Rees, & MacKay, 2005).

Below I have outlined five exercises you can do with students in grades 7-12 to give them a much better understanding of what plagiarism is and how to correctly integrate research into their own writing.

5 Exercises for Reducing Student Plagiarism

These exercises come from my own classroom practice and are supported by the above research. (If you'd like these exercises in a classroom-ready format, take a look at my Avoiding Plagiarism Mini-Unit at the end of this post.)

Before we start, two important tips:

First, use simple texts for practice. If you want students to read and cite challenging academic texts, that's fine for later, but to teach them the skills of writing from research and giving proper credit, make the reading material easy so they don't waste energy struggling with that. Once they have the writing and citation skills down, they'll be better equipped to plug in more challenging sources.

Second, do these exercises together in class. These would not be good lessons for flipped or blended learning, where students just work through them on their own. The skills are complex and often require a judgment call to determine if they have been done correctly. For every exercise, students should be getting feedback from you, from their group members, or both. Setting aside class time to do these together will pay off in the long run.

Here are the exercises:

Exercise 1: Recognizing Plagiarism
Required Time: 15-20 minutes
As mentioned earlier, students have an incomplete understanding of what actually constitutes plagiarism. This exercise uses the concept attainment instructional strategy of showing students "yes" and "no" examples to help students refine their definition of a concept.

1. Have students read a short, simple text. This could be anywhere from 500-800 words, on a somewhat familiar topic. Something like this article about bees would do the trick.

2. Show several teacher-created examples of student writing based on that text. In some cases, the writing should demonstrate plagiarism, and in other cases, it should not. For each one, have students decide whether they think it represents plagiarism or not. Have them discuss this in groups if possible. After each example, tell them if they are correct or not, and explain why.

3. Eventually, they should get to the point where they can correctly identify most examples as "plagiarism" or "not plagiarism."

Exercise 2: Summarizing
Required Time: 20-30 minutes
Once students know what plagiarism looks like, have them practice putting the information they learn from texts into their own words. Here we're not talking about a full-length summary; the skill of summarization can be applied in smaller bursts, and it's absolutely necessary for writing about the things you research. Students need to be able to read something, digest it, then explain what they learned in their own language. In the context of plagiarism, that skill is referred to as summarization.

For this exercise and the ones that follow it, use a classic I do, we do, you do format to model the process described below: Start by modeling the process yourself (the "I" step), then repeat it as a whole class with you in the lead or by having students try it in pairs or groups (the "we" step), and finally have students make a fresh attempt on their own (the "you" step).

Here's the process to teach:

1. Choose a 1-2 paragraph section of a text. (If you haven't already gutted the one used for Exercise 1, that will work; otherwise, find a fresh one). Read it several times to make sure you understand it.

2. Turn your paper over (or minimize their screen, if you are reading it digitally), then think for a minute about what the section said.

3. Next, turn to a partner or group and explain what you learned from the paragraph in your own words.

4. Write a few sentences summarizing that information without looking back at the original source. Their summary should sound like YOU, not the source.

5. After you have written your summary, check the original source to make sure your summary is correct and that key terms are spelled correctly.

6. Finally, make sure you give credit to your source for this information. (Show students a few different sentence stems so they have options for building their sentence, e.g., "According to..." "In her article, _____ says...")

This process, if done carefully, will show students how important is is to disconnect from the original text when composing. After the "you do" part of the exercise, let students study the paragraphs of their peers and evaluate each other for plagiarism. Looking at how other people summarized the same idea will help them see the range of possibilities.

Exercise 3: Paraphrasing
Required Time: 20-30 minutes
There's a fine line between summarizing and paraphrasing, which is . Each one needs to be treated a little differently. When you summarize, you are pulling together lots of information and making it your own. When you paraphrase, you are taking a more specific, unique idea from one author and using similar- explained here by the OWL at Purdue but not exactly the same -language.

For this lesson, use the same I do, we do, you do format to practice this process:

1. Read a section of a text (like the bee article mentioned above).

2. Point to a specific idea and show them how to paraphrase it and give credit to the author. Show students a few different sentence stems so they have options for building their sentence ("According to..." "In her article, _____ says...")

3. Have students practice the same skill with a different passage, checking their response with each other, then reviewing it with the class.

Exercise 4: Using Direct Quotes
Required Time: 20-30 minutes
The next level up from paraphrasing is using some of the exact words from the source. This will help students understand that the only time it's okay to copy someone else's exact words into your work is when you put those words in quotes and give them credit for them.

For this exercise, use the same I do, we do, you do pattern as in exercises 2 and 3 to show students how to quote a sentence or phrase from the original text, using some of the same sentence stems from exercise 3.

Exercise 5: Using a Formal Citation Style

Required time: 30-40 minutes

At the university level, students are expected to use a formal citation style (such as MLA or APA) when writing papers, and the Common Core requires students to start applying a formal citation style as early as grade 7. So choose the style your district uses most frequently and teach students the basics.

Give students 2 to 3 sample items to use as practice sources. I recommend sticking with simple, predictable items that resemble the kinds of things students will access in their own research. For middle and secondary students, this most likely means online articles and (maybe) books.

Start with the references list at the end of the paper (or Works Cited, if you're doing MLA). I recommend beginning this way because many students will already be somewhat familiar with the concept of a bibliography, so this is a logical jump. Also, when you do in-text citations later, those citations will actually refer to something, since the references will already be listed at the end.

After you've built the references list, show students how to modify the author mentions they already made in exercises 3 and 4 so they match the in-text citation format of your chosen style.

Do all of this slowwwwly, with plenty of time for students to check their work with you and with each other.

When you think they have the basics down, throw two new resources at them-a book and an online article-and see if they can repeat the process: First have them build a reference list, then then paraphrase something from each one and do an in-text citation for each.

If it fits with your curriculum, the next step after this exercise would be to have students actually do a bit of research and write their own essay or extended response with a reference list and in-text citation

By the way, citation generators like EasyBib and BibMe or the citation feature in Google Docs can be wonderful time savers, but because they are not fail-safe, students will get the most use out of them after they learn to do their own citations manually.

Get these exercises in a classroom-ready mini-unit

If you like the exercises described in this post and want them ready to teach tomorrow, get a copy of Avoiding Plagiarism, my classroom-ready mini unit for grades 7-12. It contains all five exercises in PowerPoint slideshows, plus printable handouts for student use.
References
Dawson, M. M. & Overfield, J. A. (2006). Plagiarism: Do students know what it is? Bioscience education, 8(1), 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.3108/beej.8.1

Emerson, L., Rees, M. T., & MacKay, B. (2005). Scaffolding academic integrity: Creating a learning context for teaching referencing skills. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 2(3), 3. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1059488.pdf

Landau, J. D., Druen, P. B., & Arcuri, J. A. (2002). Methods for helping students avoid plagiarism. Teaching of Psychology, 29(2), 112-115. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15328023TOP2902_06

Marshall, S. & Garry, M. (2005). How well do students really understand plagiarism? Proceedings from ASCILITE 2005: Balance, Fidelity, Mobility: Maintaining the Momentum? Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org/conferences/brisbane05/blogs/proceedings/52_Marshall.pdf

Moniz, R., Fine, J., & Bliss, L. (2008). The effectiveness of direct-instruction and student-centered teaching methods on students' functional understanding of plagiarism. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 15(3), 255-279. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10691310802258174

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Listen to this post as a podcast (sponsored by Listenwise): Plagiarism can be a real pain. Most teachers have had to deal with it in some form or another, and a whole lot of us still haven't figured out the best way to combat it.

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We know her today as Harriet Tubman, but in her lifetime she was called by many names. As General Tubman she was a Union spy. As Moses she led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad. As Minty she was a slave whose spirit could not be broken.

An evocative poem and iconographic animation come together to honor a woman of humble origins whose courage and compassion make her larger than life.

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We know her today as Harriet Tubman, but in her lifetime she was called by many names. As General Tubman she was a Union spy. As Moses she led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad. As Minty she was a slave whose spirit could not be broken.

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Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software - Canva

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Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software - Canva

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DBI is a research-based process for individualizing and intensifying interventions through the systematic use of assessment data, validated interventions, and research-based adaptation strategies. DBI is a process, not a specific program or product. The process is driven by data, characterized by increased intensity and individualization, and considers the academic and behavioral needs of the student. In some schools, intensive intervention may be known as "Tier 3 intervention," and may be embedded within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework.

DBI is the technical term for what many good teachers do naturally through the problem-solving process: frequently review student data and make changes to their teaching based on what works for students. DBI, however, makes this process systematic, explicit, and tailored to meet the needs of individual students through a multi-step process that gradually intensifies instruction and support. Learn more.
Click on each step of the DBI graphic to learn more about the DBI process and find relevant resources.
Why is DBI Important for Students?

Outcome data suggest that our current system does not adequately prepare students with the most intensive needs, particularly students with disabilities. Students with disabilities continue to fall behind their same-age peers in reading and math and are more likely to experience discipline problems at school. In addition, although validated intervention programs have been found to be effective for many students, some students will not respond to the intervention as designed.

Who needs DBI?

DBI is intended to help a small subgroup of students who:

1. Are not making adequate progress in their current intervention program (often, a Tier 2, evidence-based intervention)

2. Are not meeting individualized education program (IEP) goals

3. Have persistently low academic achievement

4. Have high-intensity/frequency behavior

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Data Based Individualization: Intensive Intervention | NCII

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Learn what data-based individualization is and how it is used to helps students with persistent learning & behavioral needs, including those with disabilities.

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You may need a writing revolution in your classroom. Here's how to lead it. Expectations about student writing have changed dramatically in recent years. Most state standards now require teachers at almost all grade levels to ensure that students learn to write not just traditional narratives, but also informational and argumentative pieces.