WRITING

WRITING

1. What is writing?

   • It is both a physical and a mental act.
     • Its purpose is both to express and impress.
       • It is both a process and a product.
         • These contrasts may seem merely like clever or convenient ways to break down the larger concept.

2. 2 Background to the teaching of writing

   • Concern with the teaching of writing goes back thousands of years.
     • In the teaching of writing in the second language during this time, as in the native language the "rules of writing" were more concerned with correctness of form over function.
       • Writing was used to show that students had mastered a particular grammatical rule, rather than had a good idea about the subject matter.
         • Second language writing instruction generally included the principles and methods followed in first-language writing classes.
           • In cognitivism, critical thinking and problem solving are of greatest importance.
             • In the writing class, students define problems, investigate them thoroughly, and then after presenting their arguments, come to considered and logical conclusions.

3. 3 Principles for teaching writing

   • 1. Understand your students’ reasons for writing.
     • The greatest dissatisfaction with writing instruction comes when the teacher’s goals do not match the student’s, or when the teacher’s goals do not match those o f the school or institution in which the student works.
       • It is important to understand both and to convey goals to students in ways that make sense to them.
   • 2. Provide many opportunities for students to write.
     • Writing almost always improves with practice.
       • Not every piece o f writing needs to be corrected or graded.
         • You don’t keep score when you’re practicing free throws, so teachers shouldn’t grade “practice writing.”
           • Practice writing should provide students with different types of writing as well.
   • 3. Make feedback helpful and meaningful.
     • Students crave feedback on their writing, yet it doesn’t always have the intended effect.
       • If you write comments on students’ papers, make sure they understand the vocabulary or symbols you use.
         • Take time to discuss them in class.
           • Feedback need not always be written in the margins.
             • feedback should not entail “ correcting” a student’s writing.

4. 4. Clarify for yourself, and for your students, how their writing will be evaluated.

   • Students often feel that the evaluation o f their writing is completely subjective.
     • One way to combat that feeling is to first develop a statement for yourself about what is valued in student writing, either in your classroom or in your institution as a whole.
       • What a description rubric should contain are the following.
         • Contents
           • Organization
             • grammar
               • comments

5. 4. Classroom techniques and tasks

   • This section presents a few techniques and tasks you can use to teach writing.
     • Invention techniques: brainstorming, wordmapping, quickwriting
       • Instructors often feel a tension between providing students a topic for writing and allowing students to formulale their own topics.
         • students will have to come up with ideas to use in their assignment.
   • Brainstorming
     • Can be done individually or in pairs or groups o f students.
       • In a brainstorming session, students list all the ideas they can think of related to a topic, either in writing or aloud, quickly and without much planning. If no topic is given, then the student can brainstorm possible topics.
         • Give students plenty of time for this activity-the most obvious, and sometimes cliched ideas, come early in the process.
   • Wordmapping
     • is a more visual form of brainstorming.
       • When students create wordmaps, they begin with an idea at the top or center of a blank piece of paper.
   • Quickwriting
     • is where students begin with a topic, but then write rapidly about it.
   • Writing: drafting, feedback, and revising
     • After students have developed their topics and ideas, it is time for them to write their first draft.
       • Ample time should be given for the first draft, and students should be reminded that at this point, they need to focus on the development of ideas and the organization of those ideas more than the development of perfect grammar, punctuation, or spelling.
         • After the draft is handed in, the instructor can make comments, but only in keeping with the instructions given to students
           • Students exchange papers and provide each other with comments on the paper’s contents.
   • Proofreading and editing
     • Before the final draft is turned in for evaluation, students should, o f course, read for mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and so forth.
       • Students can help each other to proofread and edit, although the instructor should keep his/her involvement to a minimum.
         • In developing independent writers, it is important that students learn to proofread and edit on their own as much as possible.
           • Students are often overwhelmed by the large amount of teacher’s writing on their papers, and feel paralyzed by what looks like an immense number of “ errors.”

6. 5. Writing in the classroom

   • It uses a variation on brainstorming in which students first create a visual map, in this case a timeline, and write from the details that they first created.
     • By having a goal, that is, creating a description that someone will be able to use to identify something, there is an added value o f having a built-in audience for the writing.
       • Writing projects are often most effective when they have a “real-world” purpose; that is, the audience is authentic.