How can teachers develop boys’ academic writing?

Writing proficiency is a vital component of academic success. Despite the emergence of new technologies, a great deal of what we ask students to do in school still involves putting pen to paper and shaping sentences. Across most subjects, students will be expected to show that they can write in a way that demonstrates they are literate individuals who can communicate with clarity and concision. Beyond meeting expected standards and doing enough to pass exams, there is also a moral imperative for teaching students how to write effectively. As George Orwell pointed out, teaching students to write well, is also to teach them how to think for themselves. And yet, in our schools, far too many boys do not write well. Compared with girls, boys are less likely to be adept writers working at an advanced level (Babayigit, 2015; Troia et al., 2013). Boys are significantly outperformed by girls in written expression and crafting of syntax (Aitken and Martinussen, 2013). Furthermore, boys tend t