Since the 1960s, writing instruction in the United States has undergone a major transformation in philosophy, theory, and pedagogy. This enormous change has refocused the teaching of writing from its former emphasis on mechanics and grammar to a focus on content and process. One theory and pedagogy that has arisen out of this transformation in the teaching of writing is writing workshop. Donald Graves, Lucy McCormick Calkins, Nancie Atwell, and Linda Rief, all advocates of writing workshop, have significantly affected the way writing instruction takes place in schools.In addition to providing historical background on the writing workshop movement and on the statewide assessment program in Texas, this paper draws on detailed observations in three Southeast Texas middle school classrooms to identify Texas factors which shape writing workshop. Through analyzing variations in eight critical elements of writing workshop (time on mini-lesson, time on writing, content of mini-lesson, choice of topics, choice of form, conferencing, sharing, and publishing) the paper identifies and analyzes four causal factors: the TAAS test, the school environment, the teacher, and the students.
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