Shared Writing involves the teacher and a group of students (often the whole class) planning and constructing a text together. The teacher models and talks through the process of constructing a text (or part of one), giving explicit instruction in how to use writing strategies during the shared writing process.

The students contribute their ideas to the process of constructing the text. This is often followed by Guided Writing: when the teacher has constructed part of a text, the students continue writing their own texts, working with teacher support but as individuals. Through Shared Writing, students can take part in constructing a more complex text than they would be able to write on their own.

Shared Writing provides a supportive instructional setting in which (depending on their students' learning needs) teachers can:

• • • model the process of writing;

    • explain and model the use of the conventions of written text;

    • explicitly teach writing strategies;

    • analyse how words are constructed;

    • focus on letters, words, and letter-sound relationships;

    • explore letter clusters, words within words, and patterns of spelling;

    • model strategies for checking and improving spelling, syntax, and punctuation;

    • model strategies for rereading and revising texts;

    • develop students' vocabulary and their knowledge of syntax and idioms;

    • show students how to choose language to convey emotion or to persuade an audience;

    • demonstrate the use of a range of forms and structures in written language;

    • develop students' sense of an author's purpose and of the different audiences for different types of text.

Teachers can also introduce students to many forms of text during Shared Writing.