How to embed writing across the secondary school curriculum

by Matt Bromley

This article first appeared in SecEd on 20 May 2026. Read the original here.

Writing sits at the intersection of thinking, communication, and assessment; it is both the means through which students demonstrate what they know and a powerful mechanism for deepening that knowledge.

Yet in many secondary schools, writing remains fragmented – treated as the preserve of English departments or reduced to a set of generic literacy strategies applied inconsistently across subjects.

If we are to improve outcomes for all learners, particularly the most disadvantaged, writing must be understood not as a bolt-on, but as a carefully sequenced, explicitly taught, and deliberately practised discipline that spans the curriculum.

This requires clarity about what we mean by “writing”, agreement on core approaches, and recognition that writing is always shaped by subject-specific demands.

Writing as a continuum: From primary to secondary

One of the most important starting points is to recognise that students do not arrive in year 7 as blank slates. They bring with them a foundation developed through structured approaches to writing in primary education – often underpinned by frameworks that emphasise transcription, composition, and the teaching of grammar within meaningful contexts.

In practice, this means that secondary schools should avoid “starting again” with writing. Instead, they should build on what students already know. Students typically enter secondary school with some familiarity with:

Planning, drafting, and editing processes.
Basic sentence structures and punctuation.
Writing for different purposes and audiences.
Using models to guide their own writing.

The challenge, then, is progression. Secondary education must extend students’ capacity to write with increasing sophistication, precision, and independence. This includes:

Developing control over more complex syntax.
Expanding vocabulary in discipline-specific ways.
Structuring extended responses coherently.
Adapting writing to meet the conventions of different subjects.

A coherent writing curriculum in secondary schools therefore begins with a shared understanding of prior learning and a clear articulation of what progression looks like across key stages 3 and 4.

The purposes of writing in secondary schools

Before considering how to teach writing, it is essential to be explicit about why we ask students to write. Writing in schools serves at least three distinct, though overlapping, purposes.

1, Writing to think

Writing is not simply a means of recording thought; it is a means of generating it. Activities such as note-taking, summarising, annotating, and free writing help students to process and organise information. In this sense, writing is integral to learning itself.

Effective practice involves teaching students how to:

Take structured notes (for example, through guided formats or frameworks).
Summarise key ideas succinctly.
Use writing to clarify misconceptions.
Engage in low-stakes writing that prioritises thinking over correctness.

Importantly, this kind of writing is often informal and exploratory. It should be frequent, purposeful, and embedded within lessons rather than reserved for extended tasks.

2, Writing to demonstrate learning

In assessments – whether formal examinations, essays, or extended responses – writing becomes the primary vehicle through which students demonstrate what they know and can do. Here, accuracy, clarity, and adherence to conventions are paramount.

To support students, teachers must explicitly teach:

How to interpret assessment questions.
How to structure responses effectively.
How to use evidence and examples appropriately.
How to write with precision and control under timed conditions.

Crucially, this form of writing is often highly genre-specific. A successful response in history will look different from one in science or geography. Generic “essay writing” strategies, while useful, are insufficient on their own.

3, Writing to learn

There is also a reciprocal relationship between writing and learning. Extended writing tasks – such as essays, reports, and explanations – require students to synthesise knowledge, make connections, and articulate understanding in a coherent form. In doing so, they deepen their grasp of the subject.

This suggests that writing should not be seen solely as an end-point (the final assessment), but as an integral part of the learning journey. Well-designed writing tasks can:

Consolidate understanding.
Reveal misconceptions.
Encourage critical thinking.
Promote metacognition.

From oracy to reading to writing

Writing does not develop in isolation. It is closely linked to both oracy and reading comprehension, forming part of a broader literacy continuum.

Students typically develop ideas first through talk. Structured discussion allows them to rehearse language, test understanding, and refine their thinking. This is particularly important for students who may struggle to articulate ideas in writing without prior verbal rehearsal.

Reading, meanwhile, provides the models and knowledge that underpin effective writing. Through exposure to high-quality texts, students encounter:

Subject-specific vocabulary.
Varied sentence structures.
Different text types and genres.
Ways of organising and presenting information.

A well-designed curriculum therefore recognises the progression from oracy to reading to writing. In practice, this might involve:

Using discussion to explore new concepts before writing.
Analysing exemplar texts to identify key features.
Explicitly linking reading and writing tasks.
Encouraging students to “read as writers” and “write as readers”.

The key is subject specificity. Embed disciplinary literacy so that students learn to speak, read, and write like a historian, a scientist, a sportsperson, an artist, and so on.

Establishing consistent whole-school approaches

While writing is inherently subject-specific, there is significant value in establishing a set of consistent, whole-school approaches. These provide a shared language and framework that supports both teachers and students. Key elements might include:

1, Sentence-level instruction

Across subjects, students benefit from explicit teaching of sentence construction. This includes:

Understanding different sentence types.
Using conjunctions to link ideas.
Embedding clauses for precision.
Varying sentence structures for effect.

Teachers in all subjects can model how to construct clear, accurate sentences relevant to their discipline.

2, Vocabulary development

A focus on vocabulary is central to writing. This involves not only introducing new words, but also teaching students how to use them effectively in context. Strategies might include:

Pre-teaching key terminology.
Exploring word families and morphology.
Modelling the use of vocabulary in sentences.
Providing opportunities for repeated practice.

3, Modelling and scaffolding

One of the most powerful approaches to teaching writing is modelling. This involves making the thinking process visible, showing students how to construct a piece of writing step by step. Effective modelling might include:

Writing in front of the class, verbalising decisions.
Annotating exemplar texts.
Demonstrating how to plan and structure responses.
Gradually removing scaffolds as students gain independence.

4, Use of exemplars

Providing high-quality examples of writing helps students to understand what success looks like. These should be carefully selected and used actively, rather than simply displayed. Teachers can:

Analyse exemplars with students.
Highlight key features.
Compare different responses.
Encourage students to critique and improve them.

5, Feedback and redrafting

Writing improves through feedback and revision. Schools should establish clear expectations around:

Providing specific, actionable feedback.
Allowing time for redrafting.
Teaching students how to respond to feedback.
Focusing on both content and technical accuracy.

The importance of disciplinary writing

While consistency is important, it must not come at the expense of disciplinary integrity. Writing in secondary schools is not a single, uniform skill; it is a collection of practices shaped by the epistemology of each subject. For example:

In science, writing often involves explaining processes, describing methods, and presenting data with precision.
In history, it requires constructing arguments, evaluating sources, and using evidence critically.
In geography, it may involve analysing patterns, explaining relationships, and interpreting data.
In mathematics, writing includes justifying reasoning and explaining solutions clearly.

Each subject therefore has its own conventions, structures, and expectations. A generic approach to writing – focused solely on “PEE paragraphs” or similar frameworks – risks oversimplifying these differences. Instead, departments should:

Identify the key writing genres within their subject.
Break these down into their constituent components.
Teach these components explicitly.
Provide opportunities for deliberate practice.

This is what we might call disciplinary writing: writing that reflects the ways of thinking and communicating within a particular subject.

Balancing consistency and specificity

The challenge for school leaders is to strike the right balance between whole-school consistency and subject-specific nuance. A useful approach is to think in terms of:

Shared principles: Agreed approaches to modelling, vocabulary, sentence construction, and feedback.
Subject adaptations: Tailored strategies that reflect the demands of each discipline.

For example, a school might adopt a common approach to paragraphing or structuring extended responses, while allowing departments to define what this looks like in practice within their subject. This ensures that students experience coherence without losing the richness of disciplinary differences.

Practical implementation: What this looks like in schools

Embedding a writing curriculum is not a quick fix. It requires careful planning, professional development, and sustained leadership. In practice, schools might consider the following steps:

1, Audit current practice

Begin by understanding what is already happening. The aim is to identify strengths, gaps, and inconsistencies. This might involve:

Reviewing schemes of work.
Observing lessons.
Scrutinising pupil work.
Gathering staff and pupil voice.

2, Define progression

Articulate what writing progression looks like across year groups and subjects. This includes:

Increasing complexity of sentence structures.
Greater precision in vocabulary.
More sophisticated organisation of ideas.
Enhanced ability to adapt writing for different purposes.

3, Provide professional development

Teachers need support to develop their expertise in teaching writing. This might include:

Training on modelling and scaffolding.
Opportunities to share best practice.
Collaborative planning within departments.
Access to high-quality resources.

4, Align assessment and curriculum

Assessment should reflect the importance of writing. This means:

Including writing tasks in assessments across subjects.
Using clear criteria that reflect both content and communication.
Ensuring that feedback on writing is meaningful and consistent.

5, Monitor and refine

As with any whole-school initiative, on-going evaluation is essential. Leaders should:

Monitor the impact on pupil outcomes.
Review the quality of writing across subjects.
Adjust approaches based on evidence.

Avoiding common pitfalls

There are several pitfalls that schools should be mindful of when embedding a writing curriculum.

Over-reliance on generic frameworks: While structures can be helpful, they should not become formulaic or restrict thinking.
Neglecting subject specificity: Writing must reflect the demands of each discipline.
Focusing only on extended writing: Short, frequent writing tasks are equally important.
Separating writing from content: Writing should always be rooted in subject knowledge and have a clear purpose and audience.
Inconsistent implementation: Without clear expectations and support, approaches can become fragmented.

Final thoughts

Embedding a writing curriculum in secondary schools is about far more than improving literacy in a narrow sense. It is about equipping students with the tools to think, communicate, and learn effectively across all subjects.

This requires a dual focus: establishing consistent, evidence-informed approaches to the explicit teaching of writing, while also embracing the distinctiveness of disciplinary writing. It demands recognition of writing as a continuum, building on the foundations laid in primary education and extending them in meaningful ways.

Above all, it requires a cultural shift. Writing must be seen as a central pillar of teaching and learning. When this happens – when writing is embedded, purposeful, and expertly taught – it has the potential to transform not only how students express their knowledge, but how they develop it in the first place.