writing

I. Writing

There are four macro skills in the English language namely Listening, Speaking,

Reading and Writing. These four basic skills are related to each other by two

parameters: the mode of communication either oral or written and the direction of

communication, receiving or producing the message. It is a productive skill in the written

mode. It is as well a more complicated skill at first and would sometime seem to be the

most difficult one since it involves not just a visual representation of speech but also the

development and presentation of thoughts in a very structured manner.

Definition

Perhaps people would define writing in many ways but would still mean the same

thing. Definitions vary due to the different needs and purposes of writing. Even experts

in the field of English Language Teaching have various definitions of the said skill. The

following are definitions of experts in the field of the said skill.

For the process oriented professionals and researchers, writing is a product of a

person’s search for meaning. Zamel (1982) points out that writers go through the

process where meaning is created because writers seem to start off the process not

knowing what they are going to say at all.

Writing is a way of knowing, of discovering what you know as what you put it

down—not only in the form of words and phrases but of scribbles and drawings, ideas

and images and all other wonderful stuff in your mind that may only become clear as

you engage in the process of writing it down. Just as you may not know what you’re

going to say until you say it, so you may not know what you’re going to write until you

write it. Thus, as you write, writing becomes a way of knowing (Cox 2007). Grabe and

Kaplan (1996), in their book “Theory and Practice of Writing”, explore the meaning of

writing in terms of the rhetorical triangle in writing. And such triangle consists of the

reader, the recipient of the final product of the writing process; the writer, the originator

of the message; and the subject matter and text itself. Both the writer and the reader

have to consider all these aspects when writing and reading, respectively, for each one

plays a significant role in the journey towards meaning. According to Klein (1985),

writing is the ability to put pen and paper to express ideas through symbols. This way,

representations on the paper will have meaning and content that could be

communicated to other people by the writer.

In writing, any idea that you advance must be supported with specific reasons or

details. (Langan, 2008). Campbell, in her book “Teaching Second Language Writing”

(1998:37) says, “One of life’s greatest releases is to express oneself in writing.”  She

goes further by quoting one of her students as saying that writing, as a form of creative

release in a second or foreign language is “Freedom!” So this is the definition more

suited to this study of writing among elementary school children in an international

setting – their discovery of self, their way of self expression and the teaching of life and

about growing up as children engage in writing activities.

As Harris (1993) has pointed out, writing is a complex activity. In the ESL

context, the teaching of such a skill is confounded by the fact that L2 writers are faced

with differences between the conventions of writing in their first language and English,

which cause confusion on the L2 learner (Hedge, 1988). But still, this aspect of

language learning – writing – has been a neglected area according to Hedge (1988).

She further explains that it is only recently that research into writing has produced

results that offer insights as to what good writers do.

These ideas, according to Hedge (1988), have implications for teachers who

want to help their students become good writers. Without a well-established or highly-

recognized model of writing, teachers tend to have different  ideas about its role in the

classroom, what is involved in the teaching of writing, and the possible roles teachers

and students play in developing activities to practice it (Hedge, 1988).

Writing is of fundamental importance to learning, to development of the person in

each learner, and to success in the educational system. As teachers, we need to work

continually to aid our students in their search for fulfillment as writers (Harris, 1993).

In an international setting, ESL students are required to produce written work in

all their core subjects namely; Science, Math, Social Studies and most especially,

Language Arts. They are required to hand in reports, narrative and descriptive essays,

biographies, as well as other forms of writing needed in their various class and

homework assignments. Therefore, there is an important need for them to be instructed

and provided with practice activities to develop their writing skill in order to ensure their

success in their school life.

Reference: http://www.heddatan.com/a-definition-of-writing.html

Nature

There are two kinds of skill

The two oral skills listening and speaking develop fairly, rapidly, and effortlessly

in the course of acquiring the first language. But to communicate effectively in the

written language, one needs mastery of the two skills of literally namely reading and

writing.

Listening and reading skills are called receptive skills, because when listening

and reading the person is at the receiving end of the communication channel. Speaking

and writing on the other hand are active or productive skills. Here the person, being at

the transmitting end of the channel has to take the initiative. These two skills are known

as ‘productive skills’.

Pre Write

Draft

Revise

Edit

Publish

The process of writing refers to what the children do, which Donald Graves

(1983) describes as having five stages—(1) prewrite, (2) draft, (3) revise,(4) edit and (5)

publish—each of which involves children in a number of different activities.

Draw on their own experiences Read or listen to stories read aloud Generate ideas Organize thinking Talk over ideas with others Choose what type of writing they’ll do: journals, letters, expressive writing, literature as model Consider the audience they’re writing for Brainstorm ideas: make a list cluster, quick write Rehearse: draw, talk, map plot, diagram, act out

Put their ideas down on paperFocus on meaning rather than on conventions Feel free to experiment Understand that writing can change Try out different possibilities Talk over their drafts with others Rehearse some more

Reread during and after writing the draft Rethink what they’ve written Share with others in the reader’s circle Talk to the teacher in a conference Change, add, delete or modify their draft Clarify meaning Expand ideas

Proofread their revised piece Talk to the teacher in an editing conference Ask for help in a peer- editing conference Rephrase and refine Check: spelling, punctuation, capitalization, usage, form and

legibility Identify and correct their own pieces

Choose the form; book, displayed in room, drama, reader’s theater, electronic media, letter, big book, newspapers, posters advertisementShare their published pieces by reading aloud: reader’s circle, Author’s chair, writing workshop

What Children Do in the Writing Process

Reference: Cox, Carole. Teaching Language Arts: A Student Centered Classroom 6th

Edition. Massachusetts, MA:Allyn and Bacon, 2007

The following are views of writing according to John Langan in his book College

Writing Skills. It views writing as a skill, a process of discovery and as a way to

communicate with other.

Writing as a Skill

According to Langan’s book, writing is a skill that is to be developed and not just

a natural gift. Everybody has this skill and that it just had to be developed through

practice.

Writing is a skill not a natural gift.

Writing is not an automatic process: we will not get something for nothing- and

we should not expect to. Competent writing comes from plain hard work—from

determination, sweat and head on battle. The skill of writing can be mastered,

and if you are ready to work, you will learn what you will need to know.

Writing as a Process of Discovery

The truth is that writing is a process of discovery involving a series of steps, and

those steps are often a zigzag journey.

Seldom the Case

Starting point Finished paper

Usually the Case

Starting point Finished paper

Very often, writers do not discover just what they want to write about until they

explore their thoughts in writing.

Writing is often a process of continuing discovery; as you write you may

suddenly switch direction or double back. Writers frequently do not know their

exact destination when they begin to write. Very often they discover the direction

and shape of a paper during the process of writing.

Writing as a Way to Communicate with Others

To communicate effectively, people must constantly adjust their speech to suit

their purpose and audience. This same idea is true with writing. When you write for

others, it is crucial to know both your purpose for writing and the audience who will be

reading your work. The ability to adjust your writing to suit your purpose and audience

will serve you well not only in the classroom but also in the workplace beyond.

Many authors and experts in the field of English Language instruction have

different views on the process of writing. They often have varied number of stages in the

process but still they all refer to the same thing. Stages just differ on how the authors

name the certain phase of writing development.

THE WRITING PROCESS

Prewriting

Prewriting techniques that will help you think about and develop a topic and get

words on paper.

1. Freewriting

2. Questioning

3. Making a list

4. Clustering

5. Preparing a scratch outline

Technique 1: Freewriting

Freewriting means jotting down in rough sentences or phrases everything that

comes to mind about a possible topic. This makes one familiar with the act of writing. It

is a way to break through mental blocks about writing. Through continued practice in

freewriting, you will develop the habit of thinking as you write. And you will learn a

helpful technique for getting started on almost any writing you have to do.

Technique 2: Questioning

In questioning, you generate ideas and details by asking questions about your

subject. Such questions include why, when, where who and how. Ask as many

questions as you can think of. Asking questions can be an effective way of getting

yourself to think about a topic from a number of different angles. The questions can

really help you generate details about the topic.

Technique 3: Making a List

In making a list, also known as brainstorming, you collect ideas and details that

relate to your subject. Pile these items up, one after another, without trying to sort out

major details from minor ones or trying to put the details in any subject order. Your goal

is just to make a list of everything about your subject that occurs to you.

Technique 4: Clustering

Clustering also known as diagramming or mapping is another strategy that can

be used to generate material for essay. This method is helpful for people who like to do

their thinking in a visual way. In clustering, you use lines, boxes, arrows, and circles to

show relationships among ideas and details that occur to you.

Begin by stating your subject in a few words in the center of a blank sheet of

paper. Then, as ideas and details come to you, put them in boxes or circles around the

subject and draw lines to connect them to each other and to the subject. Put minor

details or ideas in smaller boxes or circles, and use connecting lines to show how they

relate as well.

Technique 5: Preparing a Scratch Model

A scratch outline is an excellent sequel to the first four prewriting techniques. A

scratch outline often follows freewriting, questioning, list-making, or diagramming; or it

may gradually emerge in the midst of these strategies. In fact, trying to make a scratch

outline is a good way to see if you need to do more prewriting. If you cannot come up

with a solid outline, the you need to do more prewriting to clarify your main point or its

several kinds of support.

In scratch outline, you think carefully about the point you are making, the

supporting items for that point, and the order in which you will arrange those items. The

scratch outline is a plan or blue print to help you achieve a unified, supported, well-

organized essay.

Writing a First Draft

When you write a first draft, be prepared to put in additional thoughts and details

that did not emerge during pre writing. Make it your goal to state your thesis clearly and

develop the content of your essay with plenty of specific details.

Revising

Revising is as much stage in the writing process as prewriting, outlining and

doing the first draft. Revising means rewriting an essay, building on what has already

been done, to mae it stronger.

Quick hints that can make revision easier:

1. Set your first draft aside for a while

2. Read your draft aloud

3. Add your thoughts and changes above the lines or in the margins of your essay.

Written comments serve as a guide when you work on the next draft.

THREE STAGES IN REVISING PROCESS

1. Revising content

2. Revising sentences

3. Editing

Revising Content

To revise the content, ask the following questions

1. Is my essay unified?

Do I have a thesis that is clearly stated or implied that in the introductory

paragraph of my essay?

Do all my supporting paragraphs truly support and back up my thesis?

2. Is my essay supported?

Are there three separate supporting points for the thesis?

Do I have specific evidence for each of the three supporting points?

Is there plenty of specific evidence for each supporting point?

3. Is my essay organized?

Do I have an interesting introduction, a solid conclusion and an accurate title?

Do I have a clear method of organizing my essay

Do I use translations and other connecting words

Revising Sentences

To revise sentences in your essay, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I use parallelism to balance my words and ideas?

2. Do I have a consistent point of view?

3. Do I use specific words?

4. Do I use active verbs?

5. Do I use words effectively by avoiding slang, clichés, pretentious language and

wordiness?

6. Do I vary my sentences?

Editing

Checking for incorrect and correct – errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Eliminating sentence skill mistakes will improve an average and essay and help ensure

a strong grade on a good essay.

Outlining

An outline makes you see and work on the bare bones of an essay, without the

distraction of clutter of words and sentences. It develops your ability to think clearly and

logically. Outlining provides a quick check on whether your essay will be unified. It also

suggests right at the start whether your essay will adequately be supported. And it

shows you how to plan an essay that is well organized.

Revising

Reference: Langan, John. College Writing Skills Seventh Edition. New York, NY:

McGraw-Hill Inc., 2008.

Authentic Assessment

The best way to assess students’ writing is through contextualized, authentic

assessment. Students’ should be involved in the authentic assessment of writing,

deciding which of their pieces should be edited and graded. Through this type of

assessment, patterns of students’ progress are revealed over time (Newkirk & Atwell,

1988). These patterns will not always be regular and will vary from child to child and

among different types of writing.

1. Anecdotal Records

2. Rubrics

3. Journals

Portfolio

-are part of the movement toward more authentic assessment of student reading

and writing.

- A portfolio is a representative collection of a students’ work; it’s sometimes

called a showcase portfolio or an active-writing folder. Samples of writing should be kept

throughout the year for use in planning and assessment. Portfolios are not simply

folders of all student work nor are they all collections of work considered most correct by

adult standards.

Creating portfolios is a part of the assessment process, or formative evaluation.

Work is collected throughout the year, and the students are essential to the process.

Portfolios also provide a means of summative evaluation, as when a grade s finally

given for the work and the portfolio created over the period of time.

An example of the large scale use of portfolios comes from Vermont, where all

students in the fourth and eighth grades prepare showcase portfolios that are read by

assessors (Vermont Assessment Program, 1991). The following items are in included in

every child’s showcase portfolio:

1. Table of contents in the portfolio

2. Dated “best piece”—one the student feels is representative of his/ her best

writing—chosen with the help of the teacher.

3. Dated letter explaining why the student chose this piece and the process he or

she went through in writing it

4. Dated poem, short story, play or personal narration

5. Dated personal response to one of the following: a cultural, media, or sports

event; a book or current issue of a magazine; a math or scientific problem

6. A dated piece of writing from any content area that is not language arts or

English

Macro and Micro Skills in Writing

Skill refers to the ability to perform a task or activity consistently over period time.

Thus, skill cannot be acquired instantly. It is acquired through training a lot. Writing skill

is an ability to express the idea, opinion or feeling in the written form beginning from the

simplest one to the advanced level on a certain medium consistency over period of

time. It is one of language skills which is considered important, because it is one of

means for communication with other people in addition to listening, speaking, and

reading.

According to Brown (2004: 221) there are two categories of writing skills. They

are micro and macro skills. The followings are the list of micro and macro skills for

writing.

A. Micro Skills

Produce grapheme and orthographic patterns of English;

Produce writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose;

Produce an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns;

Use acceptable grammatical systems (e.g tense, agreement, pluralization patterns

and rules);

Express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms;

Use cohesive devices in written discourse.

B. Macro Skills

Use the rhetorical forms and conventions of written discourse;

Appropriately accomplish the communicative function of written texts according to

form and purpose;

Convey links and connection between events, and communicate such relation as

main idea, supporting idea, new information, given information, generalization, and

exemplification;

Distinguish between literal and implied meanings when writing;

Correctly convey culturally specific references in the context of the written text;

Develop and use of writing strategies, such accurately assessing the audience’s

interpretation, using pre-writing devices, writing the fluency in the first drafts,

Using paraphrases and synonyms, soliciting peer and instructor feedback, and using

feedback for revising and editing.

Micro skills of writing are appropriately applied to imitative and intensive types of

writing task, while macro skills writing are essential for the successful mastery of

responsive and extensive writing.

1. Is it fair to compare the traditional with the modern tools like computer?

2. Are there any other form in testing the writing skills?

3. How to score writing?

4. How to measure a good writing and bad writing?

5. Suggestion...make a scoring rubrics

Reference: http://web.mst.edu/~gdoty/classes/concepts-practices/purposes.html

II. Academic Writing

Definition

Academic writing is 'structured research' written by 'scholars' for other scholars

(with all university writers being 'scholars' in this context). Academic writing addresses

topic-based 'research questions' of interest to anyone who is seeking factually-based,

objectively-presented information on a particular topic. The objective of academic

writing is the creation of 'new knowledge' via (a) a review of what is currently known

about a given topic as (b) the foundation for the author's new views or perspectives on

the topic. It is also defined broadly as any writing that fulfills a purpose of education in a

college or university. It could also be defined as writing that may be related to other

kinds of writing that educated people do, such as "writing for the workplace," but there

are many kinds of workplace writing that would rarely be considered "academic";

indeed, as the research by Dias et al indicates, the distinctions in audience and purpose

between academic writing by students and writing for the workplace greatly outweigh

any perceived similarities.

In academic writing, the author covers the selected topic from an authoritative

point of view. The writing is 'thesis-driven', meaning that the starting point is a particular

perspective, idea or 'thesis' on the chosen topic, e.g. establishing, proving or disproving

'answers' to the 'research questions' posed for the topic. In contrast, simply describing a

topic without the questions does NOT qualify as "academic writing."

Reference: FIN-1 Finnish Institutions Research Paper (Hopkins) Department of

Translation Studies, University of Tampere, 2011.

Importance

Learning to write is a vital aspect for your preparation for job

One who is known for his writing ability easily finds his place among peers, civic

organizations or church groups

Personal satisfaction derived from writing

Purposes

Roman Jakobson's model of the communication situation provides a good

framework for classifying the varied purposes of writing.

Adapted to written communication, Jakobson's model has these parts:

1. Writer

2. Reader

3. Context

4. Message

5. Contact

6. Code

Writing can be seen as having six general types of purpose, each type of purpose

focusing on one of the parts of the communication model.

1. Writer: Expressive purposes.

One may write simply to express one's feelings, attitudes, ideas, and so on. This

type of writing doesn't take the reader into consideration; instead, it focuses on

the writer's feelings, experience, and needs. Expressive writing may take the

form of poetry, journals, letters, and, especially, free writing. Often, a person will

do expressive writing and then be disappointed when readers don't respond to it.

2. Reader: Conative purposes.

Conative writing seeks to affect the reader. Persuasive writing is conative; so is

writing intended to entertain the reader. Writing intended to arouse the reader's

feelings is conative. Conative writing may take about any form, so long as its

intention to persuade the reader or affect the reader emotionally.

3. Context: Informative purposes.

Informative writing refers to something external to the writing itself, with the

purpose of informing the reader. For instance, this page is informative, as are the

other components of this Map. In our times, informative writing is usually prose,

although in earlier periods poetry was used for informative purposes.

4. Message: Poetic purposes.

Poetic (or literary or stylistic) purposes focus on the message itself—on its

language, on the way the elements of language are used, on structure and

pattern both on the level of phrase and of the overall composition. Poetic writing

can be in prose as well as in verse. Fiction has poetic purposes. Anytime one

writes with an emphasis on the way the language is used, one has a poetic

purpose.

5. Contact: Phatic purposes.

Phatic language (and nonverbal communication) establishes and maintains

contacts between speakers or between writer and reader. In speaking, for

instance, we may greet someone by saying, "Howya doin?" or Hozit goin?"

These questions are not requests for information. They are intended to establish

and maintain friendly contact. Phatic purposes are not significant in most writing.

The use of greetings and closings in letters is one example of phatic purpose in

writing.

6. Code: Metalinguistic purposes.

Comments on a piece of writing are metalinguistic. If a student attaches a note to

an essay to explain why the essay is late, the note is metalinguistic in relation to

the essay. An author's preface to a book is another example of metalinguistic

purpose in writing.

If you think about it, you will realize that many pieces of writing have more than one

purpose. A poem may be intended to arouse the feeling of sadness in the reader

(conative), express the poet's feelings (expressive), and use the language imaginatively

and forcefully (poetic).

When you write, define the purposes of your writing. Decide what your primary

purpose is and subordinate the other purposes to it. If you have conflicting purposes, be

aware of that, and try to resolve the conflict or exploit it to make the writing more

intense.

I have discussed the purposes of writing from the writer's point of view, not the

reader's. The reader's purposes are discussed with interpretation. But for now, consider

that the reader's purposes may be quite different from, and may conflict with, the writer's

purposes. A poet may have written a poem to experiment with the language. A reader

may read the poem seeking biographical information on the poet. Such conflicts and

tensions produce much of the energy and excitement of literature.

Reference: Roldan, Aurora. College Reading and Writing. Philippines: Anvil Publishing

2010.

http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/referencematerials/

glossaryofliteracyterms/whatarewritingskills.htms

\Bibliography:

Books:

Cox, Carole. Teaching Language Arts: A Student Centered Classroom 6th Edition. Massachusetts, MA:Allyn and Bacon, 2007

Langan, John. College Writing Skills Seventh Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Inc., 2008.

Roldan, Aurora. College Reading and Writing. Philippines: Anvil Publishing 2010.

Websites:

http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/referencematerials/glossaryofliteracyterms/

whatarewritingskills.htms

http://web.mst.edu/~gdoty/classes/concepts-practices/purposes.html

http://www.heddatan.com/a-definition-of-writing.html