: Turning corners in writing In this blog, we will explore the value of dictation and how to use it effectively in the classroom.

This blog is accompanied by a free downloadable guide (see resources section).

Meet Sophia and Jake. They’re both in Year 2, and while they share the same classroom, their journeys with literacy are worlds apart.

Sophia lights up when it’s time for anything wordy – reading, writing, spelling – she loves them all! She’s already whipping through chapter books and loves crafting little stories at home. Then there’s Jake. Literacy feels like a mountain he has to climb every day. Spelling trips him up, handwriting feels like a wrestling match and putting his thoughts into sentences? It’s exhausting.

Two very different children, but guess what? Dictation could be a game-changer for both of them.

What is Dictation?
Simply put, dictation is when a teacher reads aloud a carefully chosen passage and the children write it down. But don’t be fooled by its simplicity – there’s more going on here than meets the eye. Dictation integrates listening, spelling, handwriting, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, sentence construction, syntax and composition into one neat package. It’s like a mini workout for all the skills essential for literacy, enhancing focus and attention to detail along the way.

At the heart of why it works lies something called the ​“Simple View of Writing”. It is represented here as a triangle with three corners:

- Transcription – spelling and handwriting
- Composition – creating and organising ideas
- Executive function – the mental processes that keep it all running smoothly.

This diagram and further information, can be found in the following EEF guidance reports:
Improving literacy in key stage 1 (page 30)
Improving literacy in key stage 2 (page 29)
Improving literacy in secondary schools (page 19)

Writing happens when these three corners work together. For pupils like Jake, transcription feels like a full-time job, so he struggles to get to the composition corner. For Sophia, transcription is a breeze, but she’s starting to flex her composition muscles. Dictation helps both of them connect the dots and build strength across all corners of the triangle. As pupils gain confidence in transcribing dictations, they can shift their focus from mechanics to expressing ideas more fluently in composition.

How dictation helps Jake
For Jake, dictation removes some of the overwhelm that comes with staring at a blank page. He doesn’t have to think up his own sentences – he just needs to focus on listening and getting the words down. This step-by-step approach builds confidence because the structure is already there.

Take spelling, for example. Jake hears the words, and with the teacher’s support, he starts recognising common patterns. Over time, tricky words don’t seem so tricky anymore. And because he’s writing sentences, not just isolated words, he’s learning how spelling fits into the bigger picture of language.

Then there’s handwriting. Dictation gives Jake a chance to practise forming letters and words in context, rather than in random drills. It’s purposeful practice and it helps him connect the physical act of writing with meaning.

And let’s not forget composition. Listening to a rich, well-structured sentence during dictation exposes Jake to vocabulary and grammar he might not yet use in his own writing. Slowly but surely, he’s soaking it all in and building the skills he needs to tackle the composition corner of the triangle.

What about Sophia?
You might think, ​“Well, Sophia’s flying with literacy – does she really need dictation?” Absolutely! For Sophia, dictation challenges her in different ways.

First, it stretches her listening skills. As the sentences grow more complex, she learns to hold longer ideas in her head and transfer them to paper accurately. It’s a great brain workout!

Dictation also helps Sophia refine her spelling. While she’s confident, there’s always room to master trickier patterns, rules and morphemes. The more she practises, the stronger her transcription corner becomes.

And for Sophia, dictation is a way to finesse her composition skills. Writing down well-crafted sentences helps her internalise what strong writing sounds and looks like. These examples become the building blocks for her own creative work.

Early dictation
There is one crucial caveat: in the early stages of learning to read and write, dictation must align with the phonics scope and sequence. For pupils just starting to decode and encode, dictations that outpace their phonics knowledge can lead to frustration and mistakes that reinforce bad habits.

For Jake, for example, dictation passages need to stick to the letter-sound correspondences he’s learned so far. This ensures that every word he encounters builds on his knowledge rather than throwing him off balance. Similarly, for Sophia, advanced dictation should reinforce, rather than ignore, the phonics principles underpinning her success.

How does executive function fit in?
Both children rely on executive function to juggle the demands of writing. Dictation lightens the load by reducing the cognitive demands on one corner of the triangle, allowing pupils to focus their mental energy where it’s most needed. For Jake, it might mean reserving brainpower for forming letters or spelling words. For Sophia, it might mean fine-tuning her punctuation or pushing her creative boundaries.

What does the research say?
Research backs up what we see in classrooms: dictation is a powerful tool for developing literacy. It builds phonemic awareness (essential for spelling), strengthens handwriting fluency and exposes children to a range of sentence structures and vocabulary. Importantly, it combines multiple skills in a single activity, which makes learning more efficient and impactful.

Dictation also supports a key principle of effective teaching: scaffolding. By giving pupils a clear structure to follow, it reduces cognitive load – so they can focus on improving specific skills without feeling overwhelmed.

Why dictation works for everyone
What makes dictation so magical is its adaptability. For children like Jake, it provides the support they need to practise and grow, building fluency in their skills. For children like Sophia, it offers the challenge and polish to push their skills further, fostering greater fluency. And for teachers, it’s a simple yet effective way to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

So, whether your classroom has a Sophia, a Jake or a mix of everyone in between, dictation is a secret weapon worth adding to your literacy toolkit. A weapon that helps all pupils turn a corner in their writing journey – whether it’s strengthening Jake’s transcription skills or giving Sophia the tools to refine her composition. Oh, and just in case you need another good reason for including dictation in your toolkit, it’s a National Curriculum statutory requirement up to Year 4!

So, next time you see a child’s face light up when they write their first perfectly spelled sentence – or you hear a pupil confidently use a word they learned in dictation during a discussion – you’ll know that this simple strategy is helping them turn a corner in their literacy development. Maybe it’s the pride on their face as they correctly punctuate a sentence for the first time or the way their handwriting starts to flow more smoothly and neatly. Perhaps they begin to organise their ideas more clearly in their own writing, drawing on the sentence structures they’ve absorbed from dictation. Whether it’s spelling, punctuation, handwriting or composition, dictation gives them the tools to tackle all these aspects of writing with growing confidence.

Don’t forget to download our practical guide to teaching through dictation from the RESOURCES section.

Looking for the next step?
If you’ve tried dictation and want to take your pupils’ writing skills even further, why not explore slow writing? It’s a natural progression from dictation, offering more freedom for pupils to craft their own sentences while still benefiting from structured support. With slow writing, you can help your class develop creativity, refine their grammar and build confidence in composition – all at their own pace.

Check out our blog, ​“Why Slow Writing Might Be Your Next Big Win” and the linked guide to discover how slow writing can transform your approach to teaching sentence construction!

Why not expand your dictations by varying your sentence level moves? Alex Quigley’s Crafting Great Sentences blog is a must read!