Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice

Hillocks outlines well the "whole" territory (or the main important parts) of "what is involved in the successful teaching of writing." The idea of "inquiry" and "discourse" as the double helix of what writing entails seems particularly useful to me. This was coupled well with the admonition that particular writing tasks can be broken down into their salient features, and those features can be taught both in terms of what they are (teaching features of "discourse") and of how to create them (teaching processes of "inquiry"). One of the strengths of the book is that Hillocks provides many practical and concrete examples for what he is talking about. These include descriptions of particular assignments, transcripts of student discussions, and other narratives from inside and outside the classroom. These work well to balance the critique of some that the book is a bit inaccessible. The book is at times dense and jargon-filled, such that I think that those who already know something of composition theory will benefit most. But even for those who don't, if they are reasonably skilled readers, the book is not too dense to read; the jargon is always carefully explained. This "density" seems necessary in order for Hillocks to reach the level of abstraction necessary for a "metatheory" of writing that can be useful in many contexts. The book emphasizes active learning and collaborative learning. It emphasizes designing and sequencing practical concrete writing activities. It also emphasizes, as the title indicates, reflection on teaching during planning, while in action teaching, and after a teaching session. These reflections, Hillocks maintains, ought to take place within a working framework or theory of what writing entails, like the one the book lays out.