Improving Children's Writing at Key Stage 2

Wendy Body

The main problems which have been identified in KS2 children's writing are a poor narrative style because of weaknesses in sentence structure - particularly complex sentences - and weak narrative structure because the work is poorly paced, uses brief endings and lacks characterisation.

All writers learn by "putting their work under a magnifying glass" to consider:

	which parts are successful and why
	which parts don't work and why
	which sentences are effective and why
	which sentences and vocabulary choices could be improved
	the success of the beginning/introduction and whether or not it really makes the reader want to read on
	the success of the ending - How far does it satisfy the reader? Does it leave questions which can't be answered? Are things brought to an end too quickly and too easily - is it what I call a "Lazy Ending" e.g. I woke up to find it had all been a dream?
	whether or not characteristics are believable
	whether or not the setting has been made clear

To do this they need opportunities for close examination and discussion of their own work in Guided Writing, for example, and of other's work in Shared Writing - both that of professional authors and other children. (Keep examples of writing from the previous year's children for this purpose.)

Most children can be helped by asking them to consider their writing in general terms - for example through a questionnaire:

Find Your Weak Spots!

	Do you avoid using words you can't spell?
	Do you usually write in simple, fairly short sentences?
	Do you often forget to put in punctuation?
	Do you have trouble writing in paragraphs?
	Do you often forget to read your writing through as you are doing it?
	Everyone gets stuck for ideas sometimes but do you get stuck quite often?
	Do you find it hard to write good beginnings to stories?
	Do you get tired before you get to the end and so finish things off quickly?
	Do you often write about similar things using similar characters and settings?
	Do you spend as little time as possible revising your writing?
	Look through different pieces of writing you have done. What five things do you notice about your work?

Analysing their answers will provide you with confirmation or information about aspects on which to concentrate in both Shared and Guided Writing. It will also enable the negotiated setting of targets for improvement for each child.

Some Advice for Children:

	Read your work back as writing progresses - "Read out loud with your mouths closed!" (Writers need to hear their words in their head to pick up slips and errors or make improvements.)
	Live your text by asking yourself, "What would I do/say/think/feel in this situation?" "What would I want to know about this?"
	Early on in your writing, think about the ending: Where is the story going? How am I going to resolve things?
	Keep your Weak Spots firmly in mind as you go through your writing.
	Remember that good writing doesn't happen by magic - you have to work at it! (Professional writers spend as much time revising as they do drafting - well, this one does, anyway!)

And Finally ...

Published resources to support writing with which Wendy Body has been involved as the series editor and contributing author:

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