Put Aside Your Pencil: How Talk Becomes Writing Through Verbal Rehearsal

ABSTRACT Writing is essential in both academic and professional settings. Yet, becoming an expert writer is challenging, and teachers need ways to support students' growth as writers. This article explores how teachers can use verbal rehearsal, an oral writing intervention, to enhance the quality of students' initial drafts. One student's writing will be highlighted to demonstrate how verbal rehearsal was used, which resulted in progress toward an organized and elaborated first draft. The aim is to provide teachers with insights into implementing verbal rehearsal in classrooms to improve writing instruction.