NAME: ____________________________________ HR: ____ DATE:
___________
READING-WRITING SURVEY
[adapted from Linda Rief’s book Seeking Diversity (pp. 270-271); which
she originally adapted from Nancie Atwell’s book In the Middle]
Please answer the following questions as thoroughly as possible. Refer to specific pieces of
writing you have done or specific books you have read whenever possible as you answer each
question.
1) What does one have to do in order to be a good writer?
2) What is the easiest part of writing for you? What do you do well?
3) What is the hardest part of writing for you? What do you need to work on?
4) How do you come up with ideas for writing?
5) What are the qualities of good writing?
6) What is the best piece of writing you’ve ever done? What makes it so good?
7) What helps you the most to make your writing better?
1
8) What kind of response [by response, I mean, what written or spoken comments from peers, family,
friends, and teachers] helps you the most as a writer? Who gives you that response?
9) Why is it important to be able to write well?
10) What do you like about writing?
11) What happens to your finished pieces of writing?
12) How did you learn to write?
13) What kind of writing do you do just for you?
14) After reading Ralph Fletcher’s definition of what a Writer’s Notebook is and what it is
not, how do you feel about keeping a Writer’s Notebook?
15) What does one have to do in order to be a good reader?
2
16) What makes reading easy for you?
17) What is the hardest part of reading for you?
18) How do you go about choosing what you want to read for pleasure?
19) What kinds of texts (including print and/or non-print) do your read for pleasure?
20) What are the qualities you look for in the texts you choose to read for pleasure?
21) What’s the best book you’ve ever read? What made it so good?
22) How did you learn to read?
23) What kind of reading do you do just for you?
24) What do you think the connections are between reading and writing? How does the
ability to do one, help you do the other?
3