Talk about Writing: Resources for Teachers and Teacher Educators

Promoting Talk about Writing

Metatalk about Writing Copyright University of Exeter 2025 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

At the University of Exeter, we have investigated the role of classroom talk in the teaching of writing. Specifically, we set out to explore and promote what we call dialogic ‘metalinguistic’ talk, or ‘metatalk’, in the secondary English classroom. This talk is concerned particularly with developing learners’ understanding of the relationship between authorial choice and rhetorical effect, and with helping learners to think about the choices they make in their own writing. This talk about writing comprises a repertoire of talk forms that are orchestrated and modelled by the teacher, including whole class talk about model texts, metalinguistic modelling, and writing conversations.

Arising from the Metatalk for Writing project, these pages provide theoretical explanations, practical guidance and exemplification of dialogic talk about writing. The resources and videos provided are intended to support teachers and teacher educators to develop deep understanding of the principles underpinning talk about writing, helping practitioners to select from and utilise repertoires of talk that promote thinking about and understanding of writing.