Jill V. Jeffery is Associate Professor of English at Leiden University’s Centre for Linguistics in the Netherlands. Her research investigates how competent writing is conceptualised in educational policies, large-scale writing exams, teachers’ instructional approaches and by student-writers.Judy M. Parr is Professor of Education at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research, much of which has been large-scale, is grounded in improvement science, focusing on enhancing professional practice and student learning in literacy, particularly writing.