Celebrating aspects of the DfE’s Writing Framework: We can finally move on from the book-based approach to writing

On the 8th of July 2025, the Department for Education published its non-statutory guidance document: The Writing Framework. 

The mission of The Writing For Pleasure Centre is to help all young people become passionate and successful writers. As a think tank dedicated to exploring what world-class writing is — and what it could be — a crucial part of our work involves influencing government policy. We were therefore delighted to be invited to contribute to this framework, and we believe there is much to celebrate.

***

For years, writing lessons in many classrooms have revolved around the kinds of books loved by scheme developers. Selected novels are read aloud, dissected to death, and discussed ad nauseam — and from these, children are expected to respond in ways the scheme prescribes. The problem? These responses were often far removed from the kinds of writing children were actually expected to produce for themselves. Too often they had to write for ‘pseudo-authentic’ purposes and to ‘fake’ audiences.

The DfE’s Writing Framework now wants schools to pivot away from the book-planning approach and embrace something more effective, more meaningful – and more enjoyable. Writing is no longer to be seen as a byproduct of reading, but as a discipline in its own right. It is to be taught directly, explicitly, and with purpose. And at the heart of this shift lies the concept of mentor texts (see Young & Ferguson 2023 for more details).

Writing is no longer in reading’s shadow

Schools’ writing curriculums and commercial schemes have long blurred the lines between reading and writing. But as the the framework makes clear:

Writing must be taught separately from reading. – The Writing Framework

In practical terms, this means recognising that writing is a craft with its own set of skills. It needs time. It needs practice. And above all, it needs focused, expert teaching. The DfE wants pupils to ‘write every day’.

The problem with the book-based approach

Under the old model, pupils were often asked to write pieces ‘inspired by’ a single class novel — for example, a historical diary entry based on Goodnight Mister Tom, or a letter from Harry Potter to Dumbledore. However, the texts being studied didn’t actually match the type of writing children were being asked to produce. The framework highlights a simple truth: if we want children to write great short stories, we need to show them plenty of great short stories. If we want them to write newspaper articles, they need to read and explore real newspaper articles. Want them to write poems? Then immerse them in loads of wonderful poems (see Smith 1983 for more on this). The framework is finally calling for children to be exposed to MORE high-quality texts — instead of a single one.

The book-planning approach often caused teachers and children confusion too: the book didn’t reflect the structure, purpose, or style of the writing task, leaving pupils utterly unclear about what good writing looked like.

Thankfully, The framework now warns:

‘pupils are too often asked to analyse a story and then respond with their own, which pollutes the reading experience by bringing something transactional into play.’ 

What used to begin as a beautiful and authentic reading experience was quickly hijacked for arbitrary writing outcomes. It was a lose-lose situation.

Enter: Mentor texts

Instead, the framework now wants teachers to turn to mentor texts – real high-quality pieces of writing that realistically match the kind of compositions pupils are being asked to produce for themselves (see Young & Ferguson 2023 for more details).

Mentor texts, in the words of the framework, allow pupils to: ‘sit beside the author and study how the text is constructed and how it communicates.’ These texts can be written by recognised authors and writer-teachers, and they do more than simply model good writing. They help children see why writers make the choices they do. They encourage pupils to explore the effect of language. They give context – where is this text published? Who is it for? Why was it written? How can we write something like this too?

This is writing as craft, not task.

Here’s a free list of some of our favourite high-quality books that make excellent mentor texts:

• A list of great texts which teach great writing: Mentor texts for 3-103 year olds [LINK]

High challenge, high support

The best mentor texts are aspirational. As the framework notes, they should be: ‘written above the pupils’ instructional level’ – challenging enough to stretch them, but realistic enough for the children to see what’s probable and possible. Sometimes these texts are written by teachers. Other times, they’re selected from a bank of high-quality exemplars. Either way, they give children a clear, concrete goal to aim for.

Over time, pupils learn to deconstruct these texts, notice patterns, mimic the techniques, and ultimately develop their own writing style (see Young & Ferguson 2023 for more details).

Reading and writing for enjoyment

Crucially, the framework also honours pupil autonomy: ‘writing is better for pupils who… want to write the kinds of texts they enjoy reading.’ Children are more motivated, more fluent, and more confident when writing is connected to their own interests. They may choose to write in the style of a book they’re reading at home. Or they might write a graphic novel, a recipe, a match report – genres that feel meaningful and relevant to them.

This is about more than just output. It’s about identity. By decoupling writing from the rigid novel-study approach, and giving pupils access to a variety of real models, we give them space to explore who they are as writers.

Finally catching up with other nations

The use of mentor texts in the writing classroom is common sense. It shouldn’t be controversial. It certainly isn’t in other anglophone countries like Australia, New Zealand, the USA, or Canada. Here are just a few publications from these nations which talk about the benefits of using mentor texts in the writing classroom:

• The mentor text: using literature for writing and Knowing how texts work by Marie Quinn & Brett Healey [LINK]
• Building young writers by Murray Gadd [LINK]
• Mentor texts by Allison Marchetti & Rebekah O’Dell [LINK]
• Mentor texts: Teaching writing through children’s literature by Rose Cappelli [LINK]
• A teacher’s guide to mentor texts by Carl Anderson [LINK]
• The writing thief: Using mentor texts to teach the craft of writing by Ruth Culham [LINK]
• Mentor author, mentor texts by Ralph Fletcher [LINK] 
• The Two Writing Teachers – [LINK]

However, we have to say that Lasting impressions: Weaving literature into the writing workshop by Shelley Harwayne is one of our all-time favourites. Alternatively, you can buy her newer book: Above and beyond the writing workshop [LINK].

The future of writing

This shift towards mentor texts and purposeful class writing projects represents a real moment of progress (see Young & Ferguson 2023 for more details). It moves us away from tired book-based schemes and transactional writing tasks, and towards a model that takes writing seriously – as an expressive, technical, and joyful process in its own right.

When we teach writing as writing – not as an afterthought to reading – we show children that their words matter. That they can write clearly, persuasively, creatively. That they can do the things writers do too.

So what about writing in reading lessons?

By the way, this doesn’t mean children can’t or shouldn’t be invited to write about their reading in reading lessons! For more on how to do this effectively, see: Literacy For Pleasure: Connect Reading And Writing and Oh, For Literature’s Sake! How To Build Reading–Writing Connections.

Research and further reading on using mentor texts 

• Ackerman, S. (2016) Becoming Writers in a Readers’ World: Kindergarten Writing Journeys. Language Arts, 93(3), 200–212.
• Brownell, C. (2018) Creative language play(giarism). Elementary English Language Arts Classroom, 95(4), 218–228.
• Crawford, P., Sobolak, M., & Foster, A. (2017) Focus on Elementary: Knowing and Growing With Mentor Texts. Childhood Education, 93(1), 82–86.
• Cremin, T., Hendry, H., Chamberlain, L., & Hulston, S. (2023) Reading and Writing for Pleasure: A Framework for Practice Executive Summary. The Open University: The Mercers’ Company.
• Cushing, I. (2018) ‘Suddenly, I am part of the poem’: Texts as worlds, reader-response and grammar in teaching poetry. English in Education, 52(1), 7–19.
• Deane, P., & Traga Philippakos, Z. A. (2024) Writing and Reading Connections: A before, during, and after Experience for Critical Thinkers. The Reading Teacher, 77(5), 770–780.
• Derewianka, B. (2025) Knowing how texts work. In M. Quinn & B. Healey (Eds.), Teaching writers: From apprentice to expert (pp. 18–35). PETAA.
• Derewianka, B., & Jones, P. (2023) Teaching language in context. London: Oxford University Press.
• Dollins, C. A. (2020) A Critical Inquiry Approach to Mentor Texts: Learn It With EASE. The Reading Teacher, 74(2), 191–199.
• English, R. (2021) Teaching and learning through children’s literature: Teaching through mentor texts. Practical Literacy, 26(1). ALEA.
• Fitzgerald, J., & Shanahan, T. (2000) Reading and writing relations and their development. Educational Psychologist, 35(1), 39–50.
• Gallagher, K. (2014) Making the most of mentor texts. Educational Leadership, 71(7), 28–33.
• Glenn, W. (2007) Real writers as aware readers: Writing creatively as a means to develop reading skills. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(1), 10–20.
• Griffith, R. R. (2010) Students Learn to Read Like Writers: A Framework for Teachers of Writing. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 50(1).
• Hansen, J. (1987) When Writers Read. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Harman, R. (2013) Literary intertextuality in genre-based pedagogies: Building lexical cohesion in fifth-grade L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22(2), 125–140.
• Harwayne, S. (1992) Lasting Impressions: Weaving Literature into the Writing Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Heller, M. (1999) Reading-Writing Connections: From Theory to Practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Hoewisch, A. (2001) “Do I have to have a princess in my story?”: Supporting children’s writing of fairytales. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 17, 249–277.
• Kim, Y. S. G., & Zagata, E. (2024) Enhancing Reading and Writing Skills through Systematically Integrated Instruction. The Reading Teacher, 77(6), 787–799.
• Kim, Y. S. G., Harris, K. R., Goldstone, R., Camping, A., & Graham, S. (2024) The science of teaching reading is incomplete without the science of writing: A randomized control trial of integrated teaching of reading and writing. Scientific Studies of Reading, 1–23.
• Kim, Y.-S. G., Wolters, A., & Lee, J. won. (2023) Reading and Writing Relations Are Not Uniform: They Differ by the Linguistic Grain Size, Developmental Phase, and Measurement. Review of Educational Research, 0(0). [https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543231178830](https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543231178830)
• Lancia, P. (1997) Literary borrowing: The effects of literature on children’s writing. The Reading Teacher, 50(6), 470–475.
• Lewison, M., & Heffernan, L. (2008) Rewriting Writers Workshop: Creating Safe Spaces for Disruptive Stories. Research in the Teaching of English, 42(4), 435–465.
• Lewis, C. (2000) Critical issues: Limits of identification: The personal, pleasurable, and critical in reader response. Journal of Literacy Research, 32(2), 253–266.
• Manak, J. (2011) The social construction of intertextuality and literary understanding: The impact of interactive read-alouds on the writing of third graders during writing workshop. Reading Research Quarterly, 46(4), 309–311.
• Martin, J. R. (2009) Genre and language learning: A social semiotic perspective. Linguistics and Education, 20(1), 10–21.
• Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2007) Interacting with text: The role of dialogue in learning to read and write. Foreign Languages in China, 4(5), 66–80.
• Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2009) Genre Relations: Mapping Culture. Equinox Publishing.
• Myhill, D. A., Lines, H., & Jones, S. M. (2018) Texts that teach: Examining the efficacy of using texts as models. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 18, 1–24.
• Nystrand, M. (1986) The structure of written communication: Studies in reciprocity between writers and readers. USA: Academic Press.
• Opatz, M. O., & Nelson, E. T. (2022) The Evolution from Mentor Texts to Critical Mentor Text Sets. Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education, 11(2), 12.
• Pantaleo, S. (2006) Readers and writers as intertexts: Exploring the intertextualities in student writing. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 29(2), 163–181.
• Parry, B., & Taylor, L. (2018) Readers in the round: Children’s holistic engagements with texts. Literacy, 52(2), 103–110.
• Premont, D., Young, T., Wilcox, B., Dean, D., & Morrison, T. (2017) Picture Books as Mentor Texts for 10th Grade Struggling Writers. Literacy Research and Instruction, 56(4), 290–310.
• Purcell-Gates, V., Duke, N., & Martineau, J. (2007) Learning to read and write genre-specific text: Roles of authentic experience and explicit teaching. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(1), 8–45.
• Quinn, M. F., & Traga Philippakos, Z. A. (2023) Building a Bridge: Writing and Reading Connections in Early Childhood. The Reading Teacher, 77(2), 260–267.
• Rossbridge, J. (2025) The mentor text: Using literature for writing. In M. Quinn & B. Healey (Eds.), Teaching writers: From apprentice to expert (pp. 36–51). PETAA.
• Smith, F. (1983) Reading like a writer. Language Arts, 60(5), 558–567.
• Solsken, J., Willett, J., & Wilson-Keenan, J. (2000) Cultivating Hybrid Texts in Multicultural Classrooms: “Promise and Challenge”. National Council of Teachers of English, 179–212.
• Ward, B., Collet, V., & Eilers, L. (2021) Using published authors as mentors to teach grammatical conventions. Research Papers in Education. [https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2020.1864764](https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2020.1864764)