Hacker's Metacognitive Model

CORE DEFINITION

Douglas Hacker proposed a model of metacognition in writing that runs on three processes: metacognitive knowledge, covering what the writer knows about writing tasks, strategies, and their own abilities; metacognitive monitoring, which assesses how the draft is progressing and how good the text is; and metacognitive control, which adjusts strategy in response to what monitoring reports. These processes operate across planning, drafting, and revising, so goals and strategies set during planning are tested against the text as it is produced. The model's claim is that skilled writing depends on accurate monitoring rather than on drafting fluency alone.