Have students, as a class, brainstorm ideas about why writing is important to their future. Any ideas are reasonable -- as long as they aren't offensive or completely illogical. Break students into groups once the ideas are up and assign each group at least one reason why writing is important. Ask them to construct a situation in which they would have to use writing to better their lives. Have them present the scenarios to the class at the end of the lesson.
Work with students on each aspect of the writing process -- brainstorming, outlines, introductions and conclusions, for example. While a student may write perfectly good pieces without brainstorming or an outline, teach her how to do the small steps before she develops her own style. Look at each piece of paperwork a student develops and make positive comments about her work, as well as suggesting areas for improvement.
Model strong writing assignments from earlier classes. According to George Hillocks Jr., "the presentation of good pieces of writing as models is significantly more useful than the study of grammar." You shouldn't only use models, but it is helpful to take a well done student assignment and show it to the class, pointing out what made it a strong assignment.
Meet with students individually to go over their writing drafts. Discuss things like grammar, usage and style in class, but focus on a specific student during his conference. Don't go overboard in an attempt to create a perfect writer all at once. Rather, focus on the areas that most need improvement. It could be comma usage, conclusions or run-on sentence breakdowns. Write one or two focus correction areas on the draft so the student knows what he should focus on for the final.
Create writing assignments that allow your students to write across the curriculum. Incorporating other disciplines and lessons into student writing helps students better understand how writing fits into their overall academic goals. If you have students with widely varied classes -- at a university, for example -- ask them to brainstorm a list of ideas for papers they could write that focus on something they're learning in another class. If they're studying chemistry and you're teaching interview or experience papers, suggest that they interview a local pharmaceutical company or bioassay lab.
Put students into groups and allow them to assess each other's drafts, as long as the content of the assignment is appropriate for all students to read. Create a worksheet asking them specific questions about each draft's content and grammar. Having a student's paper only read by a teacher can introduce some anxiety to the writing process. Allow students to peer review the content, grammar and style of each paper. Require that a student bring copies of her paper for each member of her peer review group. Require that each student write on the actual draft of each paper they receive, so their peer can use the comments when she's working on her draft at home.
Make writing fun. It's easy to get bogged down in semicolons and clauses, but never forget that students may not have the passion for the English language that you do. Take a class outside, if you're able, and have them observe everything they see for 20 minutes. Focus on the observation process -- colors, sounds, tastes, smells and sensations. Ask a friend or colleague to come by at that time and do something a little offbeat -- perhaps ride a unicycle, skip through with a flute or walk by in a toothbrush costume. Help the students to enjoy their assignment and to see writing as a way to communicate ideas and environments, rather than what they may see as a dull pen and paper process.