Writing theorists, findings from research on writing for secondary students, and the best practices literature all conclude that good writing strategies are important for the success of secondary students. Research suggests that students' prior knowledge, the specific writing task, the strength of instruction, and available student support all play key roles in how secondary students make sense of writing strategies, knowledge transfer, and student performance. However, we know little about which strategies students choose, or the reasons for their choices, which strategies they perceive to work best for them or how students see themselves as writers.

The purpose of this study was to examine how high school students made sense of writing instruction and how they incorporated writing instruction into their writing practices. This exploratory, descriptive case study drew participants from a medium-sized high school in a small, rural school district in the Pacific Northwest. The three participants were seniors enrolled in a “dual-enrollment” English class in the spring term of their final year of high school. The researcher had direct daily access to the students as they received writing instruction, made choices and incorporated them into their writing practices. Sources of data used in this study include: (a) entry writing samples; (b) observation field notes; (c) teacher interviews; (d) a student survey; (e) student interviews; and, (f) an exit writing sample.

Findings suggest that the participants possess information about how they learn and perceive classroom instruction. Participants did a great deal of their writing outside of class, and embraced different strategies to accomplish the same writing task. There was no consensus among the participants as to how well prepared they were for the rigors of college writing. Research in the areas of student perceptions of writing and writing instruction are limited and could be enhanced by involving additional students in this discussion.