In this theoretical article, I argue that classroom teachers are in an ideal position to help students make sense of and take action regarding pressing social issues. Yet according to past research, writing instruction in the United States tends to focus on short, formulaic assignments that do not require criticality or connect to real-world events. Additionally, this trend is more pronounced for historically underserved students, particularly students of color and/or students with lower socioeconomic statuses. To address this problematic trend, I propose a powerful writing pedagogy (PWP) that blends evidence-based practices with methods for increasing authenticity, while emphasizing critical composition pedagogy, resulting in a theoretically comprehensive pedagogy that provides necessary skills and strategies, connects to students' lives, responds to sociopolitical realities, and provides opportunities to impact actual, intended audiences. PWP illustrates that striving for social justice, increasing authenticity, and supporting skill and strategy development are mutually supportive goals for writing instruction.