“The practice of writing, that is, of composing, depends on previous reading, and example.”
– Jacob Bryant, English historian and author | 1715-1804
From A New System, or an Analysis of Antient Mythology, Volume IV, p. 158.
This is why we focus, in the elementary years, on a glut of reading, and copying, with spelling and grammar work, before beginning on a formal course of composition instruction and practice in the secondary years.