Connecticut State Department of Education

Teacher of the Year Ceremony
Due to inclement weather, the Teacher of the Year Ceremony has been postponed to December 16, 2025 from 5-7pm. Doors will open at 4pm. The Ceremony will take place at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, and the order of events will remain the same.

The Not-so-Simple View of Writing

Triangle diagram showing text generation at the top, transcription on the left, and executive functions on the right, all connected through working memory and cognitive flow.

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 (pp. 96–114). New York: Guilford Press. Reprinted with permission from The Guilford Press.

The Not-so-Simple View of Writing, proposed in 2006 by Virginia Berninger, expands on previous models of writing by emphasizing that writing is a complex, multi-component process. In Berninger’s earlier model, the Simple View of Writing, developed in 2002, the primary focus was on transcription, including spelling and handwriting, as well as text generation and idea expression. The Not-so-Simple View of Writing incorporates executive functions such as planning, self-regulation, and working memory. This model views writing as the integration of lower-level skills, such as handwriting and spelling, with higher-level cognitive processes, like organization, goal-setting, and revising. It highlights that skilled writing development requires the coordination of multiple systems in the brain and evolves over time, influenced by both direct, explicit, and cumulative instruction, as well as student experience.

References

  • Ahmed, Y., Kent, S., Cirino, P.T., Keller-Margulis, M. (2022). The Not-So-Simple View of Writing in Struggling Readers/Writers. Reading and Writing Quarterly: Vol. 38, No. 3, 272–296.
  • Berninger VW, & Winn WD (2006). Implications of advancements in brain research and technology for writing development, writing instruction, and educational evolution. In MacArthur CA, Graham S, & Fitzgerald J (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 96–114). Guilford Press.