The classical rhetorical tradition advocated imitation as a tool for learning to be an effective orator, and thus foregrounded the pedagogical importance of using texts as models. More recent contemporary research has also flagged the value of using texts as models, enabling explicit attention to how texts work, and scaffolding students' learning about writing. Despite some empirical evidence which points to the efficacy of this approach there is little detailed evidence of how the use of texts as models plays out in classrooms or what pedagogical practices are most supportive of student learning. Drawing on a funded four-year study, including a qualitative longitudinal project following four cohorts of students over three school years, this paper attempts to redress this gap. Through a detailed analysis of episodes of teachers using texts as models, it argues that it is critical to understand the pedagogical actions of teachers using texts as models to avoid text models being a straitjacket, constraining learning about writing, rather than possibilities for creative emulation. We highlight the fundamental importance of establishing a link between linguistic choice and rhetorical purpose so that young writers are inducted into the craft of writing, and empowered to make their own authorial choices.