Research suggests that experts and beginners use qualitatively different writing processes when given the same text to write. Throughout their writing, experts tend to create a network of executive, structural, and content problems that they continually refine and coordinate as they bring the text to fruition. Novices, in contrast, tend to focus on shallow, singular goals one at a time. This article reviews this research and then suggests instructional models to help talented writers develop this expert writing process across the elementary grade levels.
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