A plan for increasing effective student writing skills was developed and implemented. Subjects were students in a regular first-grade class, a fifth-sixth grade behavior disorder (BD) class, and a seventh-eighth grade self-contained educable mentally handicapped (EMH) class, all of whom exhibited inadequate writing skills. Evidence for the existence of the problem included student school records, published test scores, and teacher observations. Analysis of probable cause data showed that students exhibited poor writing skills due to negative attitudes toward writing and a lack of a writing environment in which students were given the opportunity to write to learn. A review of solution strategies by writing experts suggested that the following interventions were necessary to increase the writing process: establish the five stages of the writing process and use them effectively to create a final product; and create a writing environment in which students were given the opportunity to write to learn. Post-intervention data indicated that the writing workshop environment, which emphasized meaningful communication, promoted real purposes for writing. Findings suggest that students increased their written expression skills, learned to use higher order thinking skills, and maintained or improved their enthusiasm toward writing. (Contains 17 figures and 56 references; sample forms and data are appended.) (Author/CR)