Writing Skills: Stages of Development - A Book Review

Abstract

Taking a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to writing growth, this book digs into the nature of writing development. Even though a significant amount of research has been done in writing development, the majority of these studies have been undertaken on specific populations or age cohorts. This research has also been undertaken from several theoretical perspectives, which is another benefit. As a result, there is a paucity of theories in writing development that can assist researchers and teachers in improving students' writing development in a comprehensive manner. This book aims to lay the groundwork for such a theory by connecting various perspectives on the development of writing skills. Beginning with the premise that writing development is an integrated component of learners' whole life experience rather than occurring in a specific context or set of circumstances, the writers proceed from there. Each section of the book is broken into three parts. All write the first portion of the authors as a communal effort. It provides an outline of the book's contents and the rationale for choosing a multidimensional approach in the understanding of writing development in the first chapter. The writers also propose a set of principles to define the complex nature of writing development across one's life span. The second section examines changes in writing and writing perceptions across time from various angles to understand better (e.g., cognitive, linguistic, socio-cultural). Finally, there is a discussion of how a fragmented understanding of writing can negatively impact educational curriculum and policymaking. The third section concludes with a concluding chapter in which the authors propose future study lines to investigate the interplay between several writing dimensions in greater depth.