It is mainly through writing that knowledge is created and shared across boundaries of culture. A key objective is to improve our understanding of how written production is mastered and how this learning process can be made more effective for each and every European citizen, especially children at school and adults in the workplace.

Given the diversity of educational systems and languages, it is important to build a common multidisciplinary research programme, sharing theoretical, methodological and educational resources. This research programme needs to focus on four complementary areas:

• Early acquisition of writing skills
• Improvements in written communication
• Design of written documents
• Technological advances in writing tools

By bringing together European research teams that are already working on the topic of writing - or are intending to do so -, the COST Action The European Research Network on Learning to Write Effectively will support the building of an active and open network sustained by regular scientific events, research meetings and junior researchers’ training.

This research network will provide a means of disseminating recommendations throughout European society (schools, universities, workplace) in order to help professionals and citizens write, learn to write and teach writing more effectively within their particular cultural context, as well to communicate across cultural boundaries through writing.