Process Writing

JoAnn Miller, Macmillan Publishersjoannmillerj@gmail.com

www.efltasks.net

Differences between speech and writing

Speech• Universal• Dialect variations• Voices and body language• Pauses and intonation• Spontaneous and unplanned

Writing• Not universal• Standard forms• Only page for expression• Punctuation

• Usually planned(Raimes, 1983)

Speech• Pronunciation• Listener is present, feedback• Informal and repetitive• Compound sentences (and’s and

but’s)

Writing• Spelling• Only one chance to communicate• More formal and compact• Complex sentences common

History• Shift in emphasis from the product

of writing activities (the finished text) to ways in which text can be developed– from ‘what have you written?', ‘what

grade is it worth?’– to ‘how will you write it?', ‘how can it

be improved?’

(Furneaux, 1998)

• Beginning at the end of the 1960s and continuing through the 70s and 80s, composition was investigated as a cognitive process – began to be reflected in L1 freshman

composition – filtered eventually into ESL writing

textbooks. • ESL began investigations of L2 writing

informed by the insights of L1 (Myers, 1997)

What is process writing?• All writing is a creative act

– requires time and positive feedback to be done well

• Teacher doesn’t just assign a writing topic and receive the finished product for correction with no intervention in the writing process itself.

(Stanley)

Why use process writing?• To address the needs of our changing

society, – teachers must prepare students for the

challenges of today's world.• Writing is a powerful tool

– can influence others and clarify one's own thoughts. 

• Teaching the writing process can give students the key to unlocking this powerful tool. 

(Antifaiff )

Teacher / Student Roles• Teacher

– Move away from being a marker to a reader

– Respond to content more than form. • Students

– encouraged to think about audience– realize what they put down on paper can

be changed

(Stanley)

The role of grammar

“Grammar is important—but as a tool, a means, and not as an end in itself.”

(White, Arndt, 1991)

Assumptions about writing

• Writing is a thinking process• Writing is a form of problem-

solving• Ideas are revealed during the act

of writing itself.

(White, Arndt, 1991)

Every day? *• A report about a

family tradition• An email to a

friend• A letter of advice

to a relative• Questions for a

school quiz show

• Advice leaflet on security

• An essay• A code of conduct

for the school• A letter to a

boy/girlfriend to break up

The stages of the process

1. Pre-writing 2. Focusing ideas3. First Draft 4. Revision 5. Editing 6. Publishing

(Antifaiff )

Stage One: Pre-writing• Stimulate students' creativity

– get them thinking how to approach a writing topic.

• Most important– flow of ideas– not always necessary to produce much (if

any) written work.

(Stanley)

• magazines/newspapers/periodicals/CD-ROM • conduct an interview based on your topic • media-TV, internet • experiences • movies and documentaries • music • visual art • dreams

• memories • discussion and brainstorming • responding to literature • role playing • research • imagination • personal interest inventories • class interest inventory

How can they get ideas? * (Lipkewich, Mazurenko 1999)

Pre-writing activities• free writing • “journalling “• image streaming

– transplant yourselfto another place or time and describe from a first person point of view

• lists

• visualization – walk through

house• brainstorming

– individually or as a group

• webbing / mapping / clustering – graphic

organizers • topic or word

chart

(Lipkewich, Mazurenko 1999)

Graphic Organizers: When could you use each one?

(Lipkewich, Mazurenko 1999)

Chain of Events

ClustersComparison

Cycle

Fishbone Mapping

Stage Two: Focusing• Students write without much attention to the

accuracy of their work or the organization. • Most important feature is meaning. • Concentrate on the content of the writing.

– Is it coherent? – Is there anything missing? – Anything extra?

(Stanley)

• Fast writing– students write quickly for five to ten minutes without

worrying about correct language or punctuation. – Later this text is revised.

• Group compositions– Working together in groups, sharing ideas. – involves other skills (speaking in particular.)

• Changing Viewpoints– follow a role-play or

storytelling activity. – students choose

different points of view– discuss what character

would write in a diary, witness statement, etc.

• Varying form– different text types are

selected. – how would the text be

different as a letter, or a newspaper article, etc.

Focusing activities

(Stanley)

Stage Three: First Draft

Ideas are composed on paper.  – focus on the content, not the

mechanics.  – ideas should flow easily and the

words be written quickly. 

(Antifaiff )

Questions for writers• What is my purpose for writing this

piece?• What will my audience want to know

about my topic?• How can I best arrange my

information?• What are the main ideas I want to

present?• What details can I add to support my

main ideas?• What will make a good lead to catch

the reader's attention?• How can I end the piece effectively?

(Antifaiff )

Stage Four: RevisionRevising is . . . • Making decisions about how to 

improve writing• Looking at writing from a different point of

view• Picking places where writing could be

clearer, more interesting, more informative and more convincing.

• It's important to note that revision is not editing for mechanics and spelling.

(Antifaiff )(Lipkewich, Mazurenko 1999)

• “A cultivation of a sense of responsibility for being one’s own critic”

• Writer must realize he/she will be read by other people, not just graded

(White, Arndt, 1991)

Conferencing• Conferencing can be with another

student or with the teacher.  • The conferencing will involve each

person rereading and sharing ideas that will enhance and clarify the writing. 

• Students should be taught to conference effectively. 

(Antifaiff )

On-line Collaboration• Wikis

– Like blogs but approved writers can make changes

• Special sites are available for educational written collaboration

Stages• First reading:

– Put your pen down and read the composition for content

– Comment on content• Second reading

– Pick up pen– Comment on writing,

communication, not picky details

Revising ActivitiesA.R.R.R. - Adding: What else does the reader need to know?Rearranging: Is the information in the most logical order?Removing: What extra details are in this pieceof writing?Replacing: What words could be replaced by clearer or stronger expressions?

R.A.G. - Read Around Group (3-5 writers / group•Anonymous compositions  •Everyone reads each paper once to get a general idea. Nothing is written on papers.•On separate paper, graded on a scale of 1-4 and write comments for later discussion•Same group: second reading. More detail.

(Lipkewich, Mazurenko 1999)

• Proofread for mechanics and grammar.  – beginning stages of writing, focus on

one area at a time to edit – More advanced students can focus

on more areas.  • can conference with other students and

provide proofreading support for each other

Stage Five: Editing

(Antifaiff )

Editing Activities• Self Edit

– Read your own work backwards.– Read the last sentence, then the second

last sentence, etc.– Does each sentence make sense when you

read it on it's own?– Do you see or hear any errors in the

sentence?• Peer Edit

– Checklist for students(Lipkewich, Mazurenko 1999)

Name________________________ Project____________Peer Editor ____________________Date ______________

                  Peer Editing ChecklistUse this list to check your paper carefully.My writing meets the requirements of the assignment.I read the paper f or meaning.I checked the paper f or complete sentences.I used correct principles of grammar.I used the spell check tool on the computer.I double-checked f or correct spelling.All sentences start with a capital letter.Proper nouns are capitalized.The title has capital letters where needed.Each sentence ends with proper punctuation.Commas and quotation marks are used correctly.

I f ollowed the procedures of the writing process.I reread the paper caref ully f or all errors.

Louisiana Department of Education

General Editing Strategies• See errors as friends, not enemies• Use errors in students’ writing to

plan ahead• Learn to expect errors that

regularly occur at certain stages in a student’s learning

• Devise a system for indicating some or all of the errors in the student’s second or third drafts.

(Raimes 1983)

Correcting all errors!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Circling Errors

Symbols for Correction

Worksheet

Stage Six: Publishing• Students prepare final version• Then they need to have response

to their writing.   – helps clarify their work, generate

new ideas, and most importantly validate the piece of writing.  

– involves sharing a piece of writing with an audience. 

(Antifaiff )

Where to publish?• Author's chair

– Students sit on a designated chair for "authors" and read their writing to an audience.

• Printed class newspaper• Bulletin Board

• Blogging

(Antifaiff )

Blogs

 Weblogs--spaces on the web where you can write and publish (post) about a topic or several topics. 

Weblogs ("blogs“)– act of publishing (posting) to a weblog is

often called "blogging."  – In educational circles, "EduBlogs" or

"Schoolblogs." An Overview of Weblogs: Quoting Anne Davis: http://anvil.gsu.edu/EV/stories/storyReader$33

Common Features

• Easy and quick to create • Organized by time (chronologically

backwards) or posts• The posts are usually short and

frequently posted.• Readers can often respond or react

through a 'comments' feature.• Instant web publishing• Maintained by one person or as a multi-

person blog• Free or very low-cost to create.An Overview of Weblogs: Quoting Anne Davis: http://anvil.gsu.edu/EV/stories/storyReader$33

Class blog

OK….how do I start?

Handout available at: www.efltasks.net

Take time to look around….there are a number of downloadable and online activities for all levels

Thank you very much

JoAnn Miller

miller@room20.org joannmillerj@gmail.com

Twitter: jabbusch Secondlife: Ann Mulberry

Copies of the handout are available at:

www.efltasks.net (Presentations)

and more links at http://delicious.com/jabbusch