Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated.

Background The emphasis in pupil writing in the National Literacy Strategy is upon non-fiction genres (DfEE:1997; DfEE: 1998). Such genres are essential tools for life and are at the centre of an effective literacy programme (Wray and Lewis:1997). But pupil writing should cover the whole range of genres that involve creativity, emotion and imagination (Halliday and Martin:1997; Kress:1990; Wyatt-Smith:1997).