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What the Student Owns After the Draft — English Years 7–8

Subject adaptation  ·  Years 7–8  ·  English / Literacy  ·  Field-Based STEM  ·  Tony Jones

A fluent draft is not evidence of writing. The Reconstruction Check is. When students close all tools and account from memory for the decisions behind their writing, what they can explain is what they own.

Phase 1
Complete the Draft
Phase 2
Close All Tools
Phase 3
Account from Memory
Phase 4
Submit Both Records

The Strategy

After any writing or drafting phase, students close all tools and account from memory for the key decisions behind their writing. The account is submitted alongside the draft as a required component.

  1. Students complete their draft using any permitted writing tools or resources.
  2. When the draft is finished, all tools, notes, and devices are closed or set aside.
  3. In two to three minutes, students write from memory: one writing decision they made, one reason behind it, and one thing they were uncertain about while writing.
  4. The written account is submitted alongside the draft as a required part of the assessment.

The account is a diagnostic artefact: it shows what the student genuinely owns inside the draft, distinct from what the draft itself presents. A student who can account fluently for their writing decisions has written.

In Practice

Year 7 — Persuasive writing

Students draft a persuasive text. After tools close, they name one language or structural decision, one reason for it, and one thing they would have done differently with more time. The account reveals whether the argument structure was the student's own or arrived from a tool.

Year 8 — Extended response

Students write an extended response to a text or topic. After tools close, they name one decision about what to include or exclude, one reason, and one uncertainty about whether their response answers the question. This three-part account is the secure evidence point the assessment requires.

Implementation Notes

Decision checkpoint

Tell students at the task briefing that the Reconstruction Check is part of what they are submitting. Students who know this attend differently to their own decisions while drafting.

Teacher judgement note

Do not penalise a student whose account is less polished than their draft. A brief, honest account from a student who struggled is more valuable evidence than a fluent account that repeats the draft's language.

Related frameworks

Reconstruction Check (English Years 9–10)  ·  Decision Vignette (English Years 4–6)  ·  Evidence Lock (English Years 7–8)

Tony Jones  ·  Founder, Field-Based STEM Tomorrow Ready Resources  ·  Free to use and share