The Science of Writing
Dr. Karen Harris, Dr. Steve Graham, and researchers worldwide have studied effective writing instruction methods. They concluded that Self-Regulated Strategy Development has the strongest impact on improving student writing. Their research highlights SRSD as a powerful approach to teaching writing skills.
Dr. Steve Graham
World-renowned SRSD and Science of Writing Researcher
Steve Graham’s groundbreaking research on SRSD and the science of writing—how it functions, evolve, and can be effectively taught—has profoundly influenced educational policies. His studies have provided critical insights to the U.S. Department of Education and have been instrumental in driving evidence-based reforms and shaping curriculum development while advancing student literacy and fostering academic success.
“SRSD is grounded in so much research and has been proven to enhance writing by integrating strategies, self-regulation, and cognitive processes, making it a scientifically supported teaching method.”
Dr. Steve Graham
Lead SRSD Researcher
SRSD Is Internationally Recognized
Dr. Karen Harris, Dr. Steve Graham, and researchers around the globe have extensively studied effective writing instruction methods. Their findings consistently demonstrate that Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) has the most significant impact on improving student writing. Their research scientifically underscores SRSD as a powerful and practical approach to teaching writing skills.
“Strongest evidence rating.”
Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
The IES Practice Guide, “Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers” by Graham et al. (2012), presents evidence-based recommendations that align with the principles of SRSD. Self-Regulated Strategy Development has been identified as having the strongest impact on improving student writing, supported by consistent, causal, and generalizable evidence across diverse student populations. This research underscores SRSD’s effectiveness, and the practice guide integrates these insights to help teachers enhance their writing instruction.
“The single largest effect of any approach to writing.”
Writing Next
The study “Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents,” by Graham and Perin (2007), offers scientific evidence on effective writing interventions for middle and high school students. It identifies eleven key strategies, such as explicit instruction in writing strategies, summarization, and collaborative writing, significantly enhancing students’ writing skills. The findings show that these evidence-based approaches lead to substantial improvements in the quality and fluency of adolescent writing.
“Our extensive SRSD research proves that combining strategy development and explicit instruction with self-regulation ensures students excel at writing and learning.”
Dr. Karen Harris
Creator of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD)
SRSD Has the Highest Effect Size in Hundreds of Studies
Forty years of extensive research and meta-analysis prove that SRSD has the largest effect size for writing instruction, improving outcomes by 4.5 times compared to other approaches. Dr. Debra McKeown explains the concept of effect sizes and their impact on SRSD.
How Effective is SRSD Compared to Traditional Process Writing?
In his meta-analysis, SRSD lead researcher Dr. Steve Graham reviewed hundreds of studies to determine that SRSD is 4.5 times better at student writing success than traditional process writing instruction over 12 lessons. This big difference means students who learn to write using SRSD improve their writing skills significantly more than traditional methods. SRSD is like giving them a super boost!
SRSD Is Impacting Thousands of Classrooms Globally, Reaching Every Type of Student
Steve Graham highlights SRSD's proven effectiveness across diverse settings, populations, and cultures.
“Scientifically, SRSD is proven to work time and again in different situations, writing genres, grade levels, countries, and cultures. SRSD consistently makes a difference in how well students write.”
Dr. Steve Graham
Lead SRSD Researcher
Proven Success and Broad Implementation from SRSD Research:
- SRSD is utilized in approximately 10,000 classrooms across the United States and 12 other countries.
- It has demonstrated effectiveness across different research teams, methodologies, writing genres (including narrative and persuasive), and diverse student populations, including those with learning disabilities and emotional or behavioral disorders.
- SRSD research consistently shows large effect sizes, with meta-analyses typically exceeding 0.85 and often ranging from 1.0 to 2.55 across writing and affective outcome measures.
The Evidence Is Clear: Writing Strengthens Reading and Reading Fuels Writing
Reading and writing are mutually reinforcing, each enhancing overall literacy skills through their powerful, interconnected relationship. This makes SRSD the perfect complement to student success.
The Carnegie Corporation’s report, “Writing to Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading” (2010), is a vital resource that highlights the scientific basis of the reciprocal relationship between reading and writing. The report presents compelling evidence that writing activities—such as summarizing texts, taking notes, and composing extended responses—significantly enhance reading comprehension and information retention. The findings are clear: writing about what they read enables students to process and understand texts more deeply, ultimately leading to stronger reading skills.
The Science of Writing Is Integral to the Science of Reading
Steve Graham explains the powerful connection between reading and writing.
Recommended Research Led by Karen Harris and Steve Graham
Studies by Steve Graham, Karen Harris, and colleagues demonstrate the extensive impact of SRSD and the Science of Writing.
Meta-Analysis of Writing Instruction for Elementary Students
Graham et al. 2012
This comprehensive meta-analysis evaluates various writing instruction methods, including SRSD. It establishes a solid empirical foundation for SRSD’s effectiveness at the elementary level, significantly improving students’ writing skills and enhancing student outcomes.
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A Meta-Analysis of Writing Treatments for Students in Grades 6–12
Graham et al. 2023
The meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of various writing interventions for middle and high school students. The study finds that evidence-based SRSD significantly improves students’ writing abilities across these grade levels, demonstrating a positive and statistically detectable impact on students’ writing and reading.
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The Writing of Students with LD and a Meta-Analysis of SRSD Writing Intervention Studies: Redux
Graham, Harris, and McKeown, 2013
This chapter synthesizes findings from over 80 studies, focusing on the effectiveness of SRSD for students with learning disabilities. It highlights the broad and substantial benefits of SRSD across diverse educational settings, demonstrating its ability to improve these students’ writing skills significantly.
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Teaching Writing to At-Risk Students: The Quality of Evidence for Self-Regulated Strategy Development
2009
The study “Teaching Writing to At-Risk Students: The Quality of Evidence for Self-Regulated Strategy Development” (2009) establishes SRSD as an evidence-based practice. It was published in Exceptional Children and demonstrates SRSD’s effectiveness in improving writing skills among at-risk students. The study underscores SRSD’s empirical support and potential to significantly enhance educational outcomes for this student population.
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Tier 1, Teacher-Implemented Self-Regulated Strategy Development for Students with and without Behavioral Challenges: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Harris et al., 2012
The study “Tier 1, Teacher-Implemented Self-Regulated Strategy Development for Students with and without Behavioral Challenges: A Randomized Controlled Trial” (Harris et al., 2012) explores the effectiveness of SRSD in general education settings. Published in the Elementary School Journal, the research demonstrates that SRSD significantly improves writing outcomes for students with and without behavioral challenges. This randomized controlled trial highlights SRSD’s versatility and effectiveness as a Tier 1 intervention in diverse classroom environments.
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Professional Development for Multicomponent Strategy-Focused Writing Instruction: Knowledge Gained and Challenges Remaining
Harris, Camping, & McKeown
The review “Professional Development for Multicomponent Strategy-Focused Writing Instruction: Knowledge Gained and Challenges Remaining” (Harris, Camping, & McKeown) examines the research on professional development for SRSD. It highlights the successes and insights gained from implementing SRSD-focused training for educators, emphasizing its positive impact on teaching practices and student outcomes. The review also addresses the ongoing challenges and areas for improvement in designing and evaluating effective professional development for writing instruction.
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Dr. Karen Harris
Creator of SRSD
Karen Harris has devoted her career to transforming writing instruction for educators. She developed SRSD to equip teachers with the most effective evidence-based writing and learning practices for their classrooms. Through her pioneering research and advocacy for practice-based professional development (PBPD), she made her insights widely accessible, trained a network of researchers to broaden SRSD’s impact, and supported colleagues in advancing their independent work. Her efforts have brought SRSD and the Science of Writing to the forefront of educational practice.
Watch Dr. Karen Harris discuss the developmental nature of writing.
"Over the past 40 years, developing SRSD and advancing writing instruction alongside my dedicated colleagues has been an incredibly rewarding journey. There's nothing more fulfilling than witnessing how it transforms learning and writing in the classroom by seeing a child’s eyes light up."
Dr. Karen Harris
SRSD Creator
IES Acknowledges Karen’s Contribution to SRSD and the Science of Writing
Improving Academic Achievement through Instruction in Self-Regulated Strategy Development: The Science Behind the Practice
June 16, 2022
This IES Research blog post explains how SRSD enhances academic performance by teaching students self-regulation and effective writing strategies.
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to Writing Research
Take a trip with Karen and Steve through the writing and reading research inspired by the creation of SRSD.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to Writing Research
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Writing Research” celebrates the extensive contributions of Steve Graham and Karen Harris to the science of writing research. This book compiles insights, stories, and studies from numerous researchers, many prominent in the SRSD community, showcasing the impact of Graham and Harris’ work on writing instruction and literacy development. It serves as a testament to his influential career and the legacy of his innovative approaches to education.
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