Welcome to our new blog series where BIG WRITING IDEAS ARE SIMPLY EXPLAINED! This series is dedicated to sharing key subject knowledge that can make you a better teacher of writing.
Each month, we will share a new concept or figure with you. Over time, we hope this series can build up your expertise. To follow the series, simply sign up to our newsletter here.
We are starting off with a real pioneer: Donald Murray. He changed writing instruction by showing that both the finished text and the writer’s ongoing development matter.
Murray taught us to ‘Teach the writer – not just the writing’ and showed that writing is first and foremost a process, which he described as ‘a way of thinking on paper’. He normalised the messiness of creation, reminding teachers that the writing process involves flexibility and that even so-called ‘writer’s block’ is part of writing – a stage of ‘incubation’ where ideas form unseen.
By exploring Murray’s core concepts, you will gain a better approach to feedback, encourage revision and metacognition, and help your pupils develop and value their own unique writing habits.
🔄 Writing as a process
“Teach writing as a process not a product” – Donald M. Murray
🧠 The big idea
Donald Murray transformed writing instruction by focusing on the writer’s process, not just the final product. He argued that writing is an act of discovery – a recursive journey where ideas emerge and evolve through drafting, revising, and reflection.
Rather than correcting students’ writing, Murray believed teachers should coach writers, helping them understand how they write and how they can develop their unique voice over time.
🏛️ In context
| Year | Event |
| 1968 | Murray wins the Pulitzer Prize for journalism |
| 1972 | Publishes Teach Writing as a Process Not Product |
| 1970s–80s | His ideas become foundational in writing education |
🔍 Core concepts
🟢 Writing is a process
Professional and recreational writers don’t write in one straight run – they plan, explore, rethink, and revise continuously.
🟢 Discovery through writing
Writers don’t always start with clear ideas – they discover their ideas through the act of writing itself.
🟢 The writer at the centre
Students should be treated as apprentice authors, not just students doing assignments. Their interests, voices, and choices matter.
🟢 Teachers as coaches
Teachers should give feedback as readers, ask questions, and support the writer’s growth over time – rather than acting as judges and editors alone.
👤 Key figure
👨🏫 Donald M. Murray Journalist turned teacher. A key figure in the process writing movement, Murray’s essays and classroom work reshaped the way writing is taught from primary school through to university.
🛠️ In the writing classroom
✅ Emphasise idea generation, planning, drafting, and revision
✅ Encourage reflection and metacognition
✅ Respond to children’s ideas and development, not just their use of grammar and conventions
✅ Help students develop and value their own writing habits and writing process
⚖️ Criticism and debate
🔸 Some argue Murray was too student-centered and unstructured
🔸 Still, Murray’s influence is visible in nearly every modern writing classroom
💬 Representative quote
“Teach the writer – not just the writing”
Find out more:
- A Writer Reforms (The Teaching Of Writing) Donald Murray & The Writing Process Movement, 1963-187 by Michael J. Michaud [LINK]
- Teach Writing As A Process Not Product by Donald Murray [LINK]
- Write to Learn by Donald Murray
- A Writer Teaches Writing by Donald Murray [LINK]
- The Essential Don Murray: Lessons from America’s Greatest Writing Teacher by Thomas Newkirk & Lisa C. Miller [LINK]