Self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) (Graham & Harris, 1989b) An important outcome in instructing expressive writing is to help learners to integrate self-monitoring processes into their writing and promote the development of a positive attitude about writing. One means for accomplishing this outcome is by explicitly instructing them on the SRSD procedures.

The SRSD technique involves self-directed prompts that require the students to (a) consider their audience and reasons for writing, (b) develop a plan for what they intend to say using frames to generate or organize writing notes; (c) evaluate possible content by considering its impact on the reader; and (d) continue the process of content generation and planning during the act of writing.

Within the SRSD other strategies may be used at different stages of the writing process. For example, often learners when faced with a writing task struggle to think of subject matter. A THINK sheet may help them to brainstorm and discover that they already have subject matter for writing. The THINK sheet should be set up with write-in lines after the questions. In addition, adults with learning disabilities often don't use revising and editing as an automatic process. Thus a learner may utilize the COPS (capitals, overall appearance, punctuation and spelling) strategy to assist with this part of the writing process.