The Writing Triangle: Planning, Revision, and Assessment: A Fresh Look at Your Tired Writing Process. Graham Foster. Markham, ON: Pembroke, 2010. 96 pp., pbk., $24.95. ISBN 978-1-55138-259-3. Subject Headings: English language-Writing-Study and teaching (Elementary). English language-Writing-Study and teaching (Middle school). English language-Composition and exercises-Study and teaching (Elementary). English language-Composition and exercises-Study and teaching (Middle school). Professional. Review by Carrie Subtelny. ***/4

Writing is a cornerstone for communication. The ability to choose words and language to shape thoughts and ideas; feelings and opinions; wonderings and reflections is a skill and requires great practice and explicit, scaffolded support.

     Writing, like reading, is not a task that is predetermined by a location in the brain. Rather, our brain manifests this discourse of communication by combining structures and knowledge across - cortices. Knowing that there is no �writing centre� in the brain, teachers rely on tools and resources to support their own understandings and teaching decisions to help students connect the dots of ideas, words, meanings, language and form.

     As I am in the middle of crafting this piece, I notice that I am participating in this mysterious, yet identifiable process of writing which is outlined by Graham Foster in his text, The Writing Triangle: Planning, Revision and Assessment. The text looks at a variety of writing forms and explains each one in great detail. Chapter 1 sets the stage by defining and describing the writing triangle.

     The analogy of the triangle is used in order to more easily remember the 3 stages of writing � planning, revision and assessment.

     Each chapter is dedicated to one of the forms stated above. Foster takes a few pages for each to explore the form and to provide the necessary scripting and steps for teachers to refer to when teaching. Foster also suggests that students use a Personal Writing Goals chart: �A writing goals chart includes dated notations about what you need to improve and what you have already improved in your writing� (p. 6). The example provided is clear and concise, and I can see how it would be a useful tool for both students and teaches to monitor writing growth/changes over time.

     Rather than provide details on grammar and conventions, Foster presents a succinct chart of guiding prompts and questions. He created the list based on the most common errors writers make, including, for example, - affect vs. effect and dinning vs. dining, plus other examples referencing verb tense (see pages 10, 11).

     Ultimately, any classroom writing program needs to consider one�s passion and invitation to write. Students demand and desire many models to discern from and �heaps� of time to practice. Students must see their teachers as writers and hear the processes they go through as they create, edit and publish. Foster provides a good structure to follow; one that will complement the many other writing resources teachers reference.

Recommended.

Carrie Subtelny is a consultant, reading clinician, instructor, tutor, writer in Winnipeg, MB.

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