Write Like This is built around a central premise: if students are to grow as writers, they need to read good writing, they need to study good writing, and, most importantly, they need to emulate good writers. The book emphasizes real-world writing purposes, the kind of writing that students will still be doing twenty years from now. Each chapter focuses on a specific discourse: express/reflect, inform/explain, evaluate/judge, inquire/explore, analyze/interpret, and take a stand/propose a solution. To help teach these lessons, the book provides mentor texts (both professional and personal), student writing samples, and numerous assignments and strategies proven to elevate student writing. By helping teachers bring effective modeling practices into their classrooms, Write Like This enables students to become better writers. More importantly, the practices found in this book will help our students develop the writing skills they will need to become adult writers in the real world.

1. Moving writing to the front burner -- 2. Express and reflect -- 3. Inform and explain -- 4. Evaluate and judge -- 5. Inquire and explore -- 6. Analyze and interpret -- 7. Take a stand/Propose a solution -- 8. Polishing the paper -- 9. The Wizard of Oz would have been a lousy teacher.