€mpEc wfufech,anics cf

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Plan and carry out handwriting classes for children;2. Plan and carry out sentence writing lessons; and

3. 3#,5.:l "ppreciation

that writing canbea difficutt ski[ to tearn by

T

Writing t: Khe

Art sf Wr{tfmg

INTRODUCTION

This topic introdu."r',r, to the basics,of writing and the teaching of writing.. Undoubtedly, writing is an essential .o**trriication skill as are reading,

listening anci speaking but writing is one that has permanence and thus itcontinues to relay the meaning encoded into it long after the author has rnovedon' The term writing however is a generic one. In Malaysian schools, "writing,, isused to refer to everything from penmanship to academic and creative writing.To some extent this is true because befor" yb.tr pupils can write their thoughisonto paper, they need to know how to extract it from paper. This module workson the basics of writing and l'row to teach it to your p"pitr.i

*.

IIlL

MECHANICS OF WRilil'.! : ;HE ART OF \URITING2 TOPIC 1

How is your own perunanship? Try this out. write a short a sentence but

make sqre that:

Each alphabet is seParate.

Write it once with all print capitals and once again

we write everyday and it comes naturaily that we often forget that it

not an easy sklu to learn. This activity is to help you remember what

was like to learn how to write'

PENMANSHIP

\\hen a child learns to write, he or she usually begins with correct letter

formation, and then moving on to writing uniform sized letters' Next he or she

can learn to produce a unilorm slant in her / his writing' so when you teach \th6m to write, focus on one objective at a time-first, correct formation, then size'

then slant. Have them work on several, but not all, letters, forming letters and

then word.s. Once assigned. letters are formed corrytly, emphasize uniform size-

lower case letter, .onr"irt"nt1y half the size of upfer case letters, but continue to

,"l,rt" correct formation. Then add uniform slant, again, while continuing to

require children to maintain the correct form and size already accomplished'

f,oilow this procedure as you add new letters, words, and sentences'

(1)

(2) cursive.

1S

it

1 ,'l

single letters, require the s,ame even spacing as you do behveen rvhole words' It

n.ifi, young children to use a Popsicle stick or some other tool that can be placed

on.the paper for uniform spacing. (I suESest using one or tn-o fingers)' Check

slant by drawing a straight rine lnto.tgt"r tne centre of eacl-r letter-top to bottom

ir",ot r"it to right). Al1 those lines should be paraliei if slar'.t rs *niform. Printing

may not require this check if letters, are totT,"f ,::1l".'lt: -:]t::i::-I::1i3'il.*";;;, ;il;;;pears sloppy simply becausg all lette:> 'i''- :"'lr. siant uniformly'

The lines yo.r dru* throughihe letiei shouid look 'rk' il' . ' or slant a bit

more to the right, but not be a mix: / I / \'

oversee their practice so they do not fill d L-.'.:: '"' - -'-: -rtl \\'ork simply to

finish quickly. Praise letters ind r.t'ords tr':1::. - ' ' - -' '-':'' e ihe student erase

and rewrite anything unacceptable' \\i'r-= :-'' --- l-' time consuming'

remembcr that it n'illIctually takc more t':-- ' :' t:'

: irrr better control.- -etting them drawYoung children

Letter size is notshould use large u ri:-:- 'important at first, irs:'- '

l? ','::HANICS OF \URITING 1 : TH E AR: 0F WRITING

on blank paper :',1-r c-t:i--io-ho1d "fat" markers, crayons., or paintbrushes whichailow less press'-.ru:,.,re r-ised in drawing a solid looking line. Be sure thechildren use the :ir-..-' ;rip required later for paper and pcncil lt'ork. For thosechildren that ir',sr-.t r,:' uSinS adult pens and penciis, add a finger grip (ar.ailableat many educatior-,.t, sitp''plr'and office supply stores). Or 1ess, simply wrappirrg a

few rubber bands r,ea: fhe tip of the pen or pencil may aiso help.

Begin with lines ane'i shapes, encouraging children to draw all vertical lines fromthe top to the bottom. A1i circular shapes should begin at the 2 o'clock position,moving up, lcft, and around-like the letter c. (Kids tend to start at the top andmake egg shapes.) Shapes using straight lines-triangles, rectangies, and squares,should alrvays use individual iines that meet, not a single stroke with an attemptto make "pointy" corners. Every line should be drawn left to right or top tobottom. Vertical lines are drawn first, left side, then right side, and then theconnecting horizontal lines. The horizontal lines on top are first, and allhorizontal lines should begin at the 1eft. The children may have their own shortcuts, so these basics do need to be taught.

Next, teach a few lower-case letters and short words. Many chiidren want tolearn to write their own name before anything eise. That is fine as long as you arecareful to show them the correct form for drawing each letter, only use a capitalietter at the beginning, and then give him samples to trace.

Once letter formation is acceptable, children should practice on paper n,ith u'ideguiding lines in order to learn to control size as well as to develop uniformitv insize. There shouid be solid lines at the top and bottom, a dotted line in themiddle, and space before the next guiding lines. You can exercise books r,r.ith thiskind of lines in them at good bookstores.

Whether printing or writing in cursive, begin with paper that has a dottedmiddie iine rather than using traditional notebook paper. The center line servesas an important guide and aids in faster achievement of uniformity of size.Handwriting paper is available with lines in a variety of widths. Have thestudent write something on blank paper so that you can see the size he is mostcomfortabk: i,r,riting, then use that as your guide, rather than age, to select themost appropriate paper for practice. Write th'e letter or word on the paper a fewtir,es for the pupils to trace and then copy.

For best resttll.s, handr,vriting practice should be scheduled every day. It is betterto take severai days off after practicing consistentlv for a week or so, then toLrractice erraticallv. It is also more effective to har-e trvo short practices a day thenone long oractice if the child becomes quickiv fatigued when rvritirig. To

5

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4 TOPIC 1 MECHANICS OF WRITING 1: THE ART OF !(/RlTlNG

i,-i'€rctrnl€ this, vou could have a decent writing practice session in class and givel,-r-rllr !.uFiis some homework for them to do after school.

p-. potor skiiis develop more slowly, especially in boys, then gross motor skills.

Often children, cspecially boys, may fuss about paper and pencil work simplybecause their hands get tired. Be sure to ha'u'e pupils sitting in a proper writingposition. The flat surface on which their arms can rest comfortably should not be

too high or too lsin,r, and their feet should be supported on the floor or on a box,

rather than dangling. Improper table height, a siouching or straining bodyposition or dangling feet all sap strength, increasing fatigue.

Handwriting practice consists of copying, not creating, letters, words and

sentences. Separate composition from handwriting by allowing chiidren todictate or type compositions, turn in work with handwriting that is less than

perfect, or copy final drafts during regularly scheduled handn,riting practice

instead of the usuai handwriting lesson. Remember that composition requires

pr-rpiis to focus on content and organization, and, during the editing process, on

ipelling and punctuation skills. If handwriting perfection is also required, pupilsr.,u.h'q are fatigued by handwriting or those who have difficulty with neatness are

likely to look for ways to avoid composition assignments. At the very ieast thelz

will compose extremely short works simply to avoid as much handwriting as

possible.

It is aiso acceptable to a1low pupils to answer workbook questions orally,

avoiding handrvriting to fill in blanks. During handwriting practice focus on

adjusting size or any other difficulties that make attempts to fill in blanks sloppy,

illegible, or tediously slow. Increase the total daily time spent on handwriting as

an isolated lesson as nec€ssary rather than pressuring the student withhand"writing expectations he is not yet able to meet n'hile l're is n'orking in other

subjdcts. As maturity and motor skills allow, you ma\- :equire readable writtenanswers that fit the allotted space. Once you knon' that tl-e student is capable ofneat work done at a reasonable speed, all final t-ritfcr, -,',i-rrr irrot rough drafts)

can be required to meet the standard you h.t\ | s.:, B- carefr-rl not to set

unrealistic standards.

Ultimately, pupils should be able to take pl',--:-: r.-':::.;i:> n.rite letters, and

complete applications with writing that is 'e:,:.. ."-.:. ,.-: iits into the space

aliotted. Teach oider pupils who have great r.-' - . ,- - -.:.ir-e -"r'riting to sign

their names with a mature looking Ctlr:: ' - 'itrcus tln printingletters that are neat and small enough for --.--- - -'- :

\

Handu'riting docs not have to be a b-,:-

narrow objcctir-es, praising efforts t1'..'.t ,-".:::eting specific and

.'. e1l as pointing out

TOF][ l','IECHANlCS OF !ilRlTtNG 1: THE ART OF l(/RtTtNG 5

errors to be correctei, and schedulingregular, supervised practice, progress canbe made much m.ore rapidly than if children ur. 1"ft on their o*n to completehandwriting n'orkbooks. Young children want to n,rite r,t,ell, but are oftenfruslrated by their on'n lack of coordination and discouraged because it requiresso much more effort to please either the teacher or themr"]rr", than they thoughtit would' older pupils often rush to complete assignments and argue thatneafness is irrelevant. In either case, the teacher must be patient, choosereasonable objectives' and stand firm. Legible handwriting ls a worthy causelGood handwriiing skills rnay take y"urc to develop. soJe may argue that handwriting is no longer necessary with the advent and ubiquitous .rr"if computers.This may be true for much work but hand writing will never be eradicated ancl itwill always have a place a.d use in everyduy *oJ"rn life.

If a child prefers to write with their left hand, that is not a problem, it simplymeans he or she is lefthanded.

$

Teaching Handwriting Checklist

What to r,r'atch?

(a) Lower case - all letters of the same length(b) upper case - all letters of the samerlength(c) even spacing between letters and between words.(d) The letters all slant in the same direction.(e) The letters are sitting on the same line.

Don't rush them.

Be gentle.

5.

6.

7.

4. Don't criticise. If they make mistake, gently show then the right way ofdoing the thing they got wrong. CritiJism *ru aurrrpen their lpirits andmay even be detrimental to their learning and mastery of pe.rmanship.

children tend have shorter attention span, about 15 minutes at the most.

Take breaks or to break the class

c)nco- yoyr pupiis have mastered the alphabets, you can move to simplewords. The best worcls to start with are their own names. This wilr givethe pupils a treirientdous scn-se of achievement to be able to write theiro\'\rn names- )'ou can move on to ivriting the

^ame of their loved ones:

parents, brothers and iriends.

2.

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6 TOPIC'I MECHANICS OF \URII:' _: :?- CF \URITING

Handwriting Activities in Class

V\4rat activities you can use to teach penmanship in class;

. imaginary writing: air, water.

. Writing on rewritable surfaces: white / black board, sand box

. large surfaces: mahjong paper, blank 44.

. Pewriting sheets. (see below)

You can also help by helping them to improve their motor skills. Activitiesthai can heip;

. playing with lego or other kinds of bulding blocks

. manipulate things like strings, shoe laces, ties, plasticine / play dough

. Drawi.g - finger painting etc.

. 3d puzzles.

(a) Make a list of safe items/toys that you can use to improve pupii'smotor skills for writing.

(b) Plan a iesson based on your item.

i

\

1 .1 " 1 Writing Sheets

The first step is always the hardest bit the first step is also the most importantstep in mastering any skill. Imagine you are a school pupil stanng at an emptypage for the first time. For a child those empty lines on an otherr,r'ise blank page

will seem intimidating. Your teacher may write things ftri \-our to copy on the

board but for a child that age copying something ::.rn the board poses a

challenge in itself.

Years ago, when i was in primary school, r.r'e ha.i s:c;,;l handwriting exercise

books with two sets of lines: a set of paraliel drt,:-'-j --:'es betr,veen the parallel

solid lines that we used to pracitce our ha:-.*'..':,ir:i. Today however, the

teacher's life is made easier because you can !t: "'. -:--i:tS that give you prepared

handr,r'riting worksheets (refer Figure 1.1). S-'':: .

TOPIC I MECHANICS OF !/RITING 1: ]F \X,/RITING

allow you to key in the phrases and words that r-ou n-ant so that vou canpersonalise the exercise sheet.

Figure i.1: Pupil's name in upprgr anC low,er case.Source: http : / / 1a,y,r,t,.h and r^, r, : -:: i:.. ..:ksh eets.com

Tr - i--

7

You can start olf by building the child's confidence bv teaching the pupil to writehis or her own name- This usually gives the pupil a great ,.r-,i" of achievement:seeing his or her ow'n name in his or her own handrvriting. You mav even wantto make several copies of the worksheet for the pupii to practice on.

r

q

I TOPIC 1 MECHANICS OF \I/R|T|NG l: THE ART OF \URITING

Having written their own name and a fer,r'important names of people who are

i*porLnt to the pupils, you can move on to simple words' Make sure that you

have both upp", i.,d lower case alphabets in thswriting sheets to reinforce the

pupil's masterY of the aiPhabets'

Figure 1.2: Simple words in upper and lower case'

SoI*.",http://rarww'handlvritingn'orksheets'com

i\;ItCHANICS OF WRITING 1:THE ;^R] CF \URtTtNG

After your pupils l'.ar e mastered single print letters, \'or-i can begin to work oncursive writine u ith, r'our pupils. You can, if vou \r'ant, start r.t'ith their ownnames again but not necessaril)'. Here the pupils need not connect the alphabetsfrom the beginning. Ii're idea here is to get them used to the way the alphabetsare writterr in the clrrsive writing.

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9

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Figure 1.3: Pupil's name in upper and lower case: slanted.Source: http : / / www.hand r.r'ri tingworksheets. com

t-

10 TOPIC 1 MECHANICS OF WRITING 1: -H: ART OF WRITING

After they learn to write the pre-cursive alphabets, you can now move on to

actual cursive writing. Here the pupil leams to connect the alphabets to produce

cursive writing.

Figure 1.4: Pupil',s name in upper and lower case: solid 1ines.

Source: lnttp / / www.handwritingworksheets.com

Another way of guding children's writing is to have dots in specific places on the

worksheet. This is to give the pupils reference points for their writing. This helps

the.pupil to space thiir aiphabets properly and also to help them manage the

spac€ on the lines.

'iT lI1 /11 -rI I l!,r----tl-t-.^l,- --l r-- --t I \--l | |\_7 \_./l v ll

---:rrl,--- i-

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Figure 1".5: Simple words in upper and lon'er case: guided by dots

Source: http : / / www'handn' ri ti n lr' trrksheets' com

-ii- i ?--'l--i i'--'lr/; i ir- tll

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Tar : i'1:CHANICS OF \ilRlTlNG 1: Tt.:,:,:.-:F WRtTtNG

_ - iaii_r: _

1.....i

source: http: / / u,w,,|'f;H:*1#;fr-n'":'li*i (Accessed 1 /8 / 08)

Finally, penmanship or the art of i,r'riting is truly an artform but it has alsobecome an integral part of our everyday lives. It was the ability to record ourthoughts and memories onto a media that brought us out of our caves and towhere be are today- We still owe a lot to thls abillty that we so easily take forgranted. Some have argued that in the digitai age, there is iess need forhandwriting. I believe this is wrong. Consider the f.tt,r." of technology. True, wewill probabiy not be rid of the keyboard but we are also reducing the size of ourtechnological gadgets: our smartphones, our PDAs and our handheld computersare so smalll that for many it is becoming impractical to have keyboards orrthem.So technology has recently been moving back to handwriting recognitionsoftwares for our digital tools. Handwriting is coming back simptf Uecauie it isvery versatile. We can pick up a stick and write ot't ru.rd or earth, we can bring apencil or pen around with us and write on paper or anything handy an).wherJatanytime. we will of course be writing on our Lpndheld devices aiso,

More importantly, the ability to write is, and has always been, the mark of theeducated' It is a sign that someone has been educated. It is an extension of thenatural ability that distinguishes the hurnan being from the animal: the abilit' tolanguage even with a a great degree of displacement: space and time.

(a) co to http:/ /www.handwritingworksheets.com and preparehandwriting worksheets for 1's11 to practice on.

Prepare a few sheets and gauge how long it would take you to writethem out. This is to give you an idea of hon, long you need to girzeyour pupils to do their writing.

Learn more on about penmanship on your o\.,r-1. Go tohttp : / / www. iampeth.com / less ons. prhn

11

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TOPIC 1 MECHANICS OF \(/RlTlNG l: THE ARTOF WRITING1Z

a

a

s&qs**499eat"ttt" tt ..t'te* g46#ss$acs

penmanship is important for pupils to learn to n'rite better'

To be able to write properly, pupils need to develop specific motor skilis' you

need to help them develop these skiils'

Learning to write is more effecive if you can make it more meaningful to the

pupil.

you do not need to develoP many things on your own these days because

there are resources that you can use online'

& w * & $ q & 4 t s e & @ @ & w q 6 & 4 & V & 4 & @ & & & w & @ s & * ry

Fatigue

Formation

Handwriting

Lower case

PenmanshiP

Upper case

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KffiffiEc ffw tefiniti*se *fWriting

tr INTRODUCTION

This topic gives different Cefinitions of writing. It also provides importantaspects of writing such as the principles, techniques, tasks, and a few types ofscoring grids to assess students' writing.

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Describe writing definitions, principies, techniques and tasic;

2. Create a scoring grid suitabie for your,sfudents; and

3. Write feedback based on samples of students'writing

14 DEFINITION OF WRI_iiI. :

2,1 DEFINITION OF WRITING

Recall what struck you about writing

secondary school level' Specifically'

were assigned a writing task?

n-hen vou were at the lower

hon' .1id vou feel when You

(a) Thefirstdefinitionperceiveswriting.asP"gaphysicalandamentalact.Atthe elementary r"rr"i, writing is the ihysical u.i.of d"hvering words or ideas

in some mode oi ""pr"rsi#, *n"tn", it is printed on paper ot .u"

e-mail

message Vped ir,.to o'.o*puter. Neverthelesi, writing isihe mind's work of

, discovering id";;; thinking about how to communicate them and to,develop them into statements u'J purugraphs that will be comprehensible

to a reader.

The second definition discerns writing *ift {dual PurPose, whidr is to

express and i*pr"rr. Generally, "writers ,"1116 the Purpose of

communicating un'ia"u or feeling io the audience, who need precise and

comprehensible facts. In short, ,,,irit"tr must select the most advantageous

mediumfortheirwriting;e.gamemo/agrocery.list,minutesofameeting,a project pup"r,

^ short ,iory"u.,d tne ilte.iach of these types of writing has

a different level oiartit"rty which is determined by its objectives'

The third definition recognises writing as both a Process and a product' The

writer creates, plans, writes variousirafts, ,"rrir"r, edits, and publishes'

This proc"r, oi writing is usually recursive, and i_ ,lTt

^flsYstematic'Finally, what the audieice reads is'a product,.e.g a synopsis, a comPosition'

an essay, ietter, a story, a research report or a letter to the editor'

The three basic definitions help to clarify what constitutes writing'

&)

(c)

There are three basic definitions of writing according to Nunan, (2003)'

As an adult student,

writing assignment'

IqPtc 2 DEFlNrf ioN oF !(/RiTtNG 15

q

2".2" tsACKGROUr{D TO T[-IE TEACHING OFWRITING

The history of h-ritl'': :l"struction goes back a few decades. Nevertheless, up untilthe eariy tlventieth cent'r\,, *,riti.,g instruction was grounded on a ratherskingent set of P;en_li.e:. Exenrplary writing was performed from a set of ruiesand principles; t]'ie tt'.rch.., ,r*r" ,.up".,ribre foi convelring thesc rules, andstudents then u'rote. ir', response to sele'cted written texts, by compiying with theconventions of gocd rr'riting. A student essay was then gria"J rir'grammaticalaccuracy' effective organisation and content. This idea is shown clearly inHarvard University,s entrance requirements of 7874:

Prevalent in second language writing instruction are the "rules of r,t,riting,, *.hichtouched more on correctness of form over function. In class, students practise br.reproducing models of writing. rather than expressing their or,r.n ideas anciwriting creatively' Formerly, iriting was utilisJa to show that students werecompetent in a particular grammaticil rule, rather than having knowledge about' the topic discussed-, Mosi importantly, correct sperling, grafiunar, and overallorganisafion were the essential evidences of seiond language proficiency. Asfudent's ability to generate, plan, revise, edit and compose writingdernonstrated a studentt ability to write.

In spite of that, it was not until the 1960s that a more comprehensi'eunderstanding of rvriting and the teaching of writing began to take place in thewriting class' writing instruction began" to include the complete process ofwriting, namely invention, drafting, feiback, and revision.

3:l;::Y,",::.n::1.f 1* y:.y:rl"s i ns r ru*i on adheres to trre p rinci p les a nd::-t1'.:'":::1::'* il iiT:^t""q1lr" rvriting .1;;;' ;##;:":5;:li;:;:il :'J,::"ff::""a . :: *':,: - 1.of I' j ri7,1 1'"j 3n

" * l. i" #:;""' ; r

ji $':: ll

;Jj,'# -lj:l"t:T:,:::T::.' :- ? - a ssoci a k: d *; i rh',"a

"" o ; #;;f;". ;: #;;: ;

Each candidate wil! be requirecr to write a short Engrish composition, ,_*r*t(,":,Pf:!r:::::o:? gti^*rr, and expression, fi.," subject to be taken fromsuch works of standard authors as shari bu ur*ornJ";;i;; ,^" ;;r';::;;;suhiect for tB74 will be taken from one of the follctwatg works; shakespeare,sTempes{, Julius Caesar; ancr Metchant of venice; Gordsmith's vicar ofwakefield; scott's lvanhoe and Lay of the Last Minstrer.(BizzeII, Herzberg & Reynolds, 2000)

.r

Iioberr Kaplan introduced the icii:a of co*irastii." .n"i.rrt.,;; ilt "":l.il.,l,]"i,

different types of writing in terms of organisaional patterns' In his landmark

essay, Cultural Thoughl Paftems in IntJrcultural Eiucation, he claims: "Each

Ianguage and each ,iltur" has a paragraph olcer unique to itself' and "' part of

the leaming of a particular languige'is the masten- of its logical system'"

(Kapian, 1966).

This idea was illustrated in Figure 2.L, which shon,s the paragraph structures by

speakers of different languagur, r.rurrr"ly extensit'^t putoil"i constructions in the

Semitic group, an indirect approach in the Orientai grouP' and repeated

digressions in Romance and Siivic groups' Aithough this iliustration is often

criticised for being too simplistic and"fot u""*ing the English language writing

tobelinearornormal,itcontinuestoattractattention,andthereisarenewedinterest in the influence of first language on additional language (Connor'1996)'

16 TOPIC 2 DEFINITION OF WRITIi\.:

English Sernitic

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O riental Romance Russian

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Figure 2-L: Contrastive rhetoric

To test your understanding, please do the foilowing activity'

t\

I

2.

Asawritingteacher,doyoueverconsideryourstudents,writing,1*art If ye!, what are the students'needs? List down five.

Recall whether your writing teacher considered

what were your needs? If not' cotrld vour

have consideied your needs as a learner

Explain your answer with examples'

vour needs. If Yes,writing teachers

more effectivelY?

r

TOPIC 2 DEFli.i- l:,. 0F WRtTtNG 17

2,3 STUDENTS' WRITIruG NEEDS

Petel Elbor.t'arld Donald Murray, proponents of first langr-rage writing, called forteachers to t.-rke sttrdent writers' needs into consideration when ionductingwriting lessons. Among the methodologies proposed are expressirrism,cognitir.ism and principled eclecticism.

(o) H::Xfitfi ,n" expressivism methodoiogv, students are encouraged rowrite openly and personally. Writers explore their identities and writingyrocesses in order to take charge of their writing. Teachers act as'facilitators" who prompt students to write heedlesi of "the rules,' ofr,t'riting. To illustrate, Peter Elbow encourages a qrpe of writing called freewriting, in which students choose and write on any topic for a iixed perioclof time (usuaily about ten minutes), without bothering about grainmar,spelling, or punctuation. This writing practice is aimed it getting studentsto reiax and to reassure them in the act of writing, and subseqlently, tohelp them not to be afraid to make errors.

' Regardless of what many writing teachers think, expressivism is beneficialto lt'riting instruction and this approach has drawn several comrnents fromwithin ESL/EFL. First of all, in some kaglitional academic settings, personalwriting is discouraged. Students from some cultures will be unfamiiiar f iththis styie of writing for schooi purposes, or see the topics as inappropriatein an academic environment. However, aspects of this pro."rr, such asq reading resPonses, journal-keeping, and quick writing are rrrore and morecommon in the ESL/EFL writins classroom.

(b) Cognitivism '

The cognitivist methodology has its roots in the 7970s due to interest incognitive science and the sociology of language. The psychologicalprocesses of composing were seen as prorriding important insights into howstudents write and 1earn. Critical thinking an-d pioblem solving are givendue recognition, particularly, in the writing class. Students define problems,investigate them thoroughly, and then after presenting their arguments,come to consider logicai conclusions. The cognitivist approacn in gSt-/Efi-classrooms is aiso evident in aspects of a proies upproich that encouragesbrainstorming, drafting, and conferencing among ituaents and with theteacher. Editing and proofreading are seen as a final and less importantstage in the working out of the r.t'ntten text.

(c) ConstrucfionisrnThc lhird mcfhod, constructionisrn er ,--,-i ctj t,hen concerns for cjiversitv,bilingLralisrn/Inliltilingr-ia[srri, and pr.-i,.:., issucs iniormed iire teachirig of

18

writing in ESL settings during the 195r,rs ano 1990s. Writers were then seen

as belJnging to " discourse commttnities." ln this 'iew, the language and

form of-wiiting arose from the targei cgmmunity. For first language

speakers in forrial educational settings. this often means direct instruction

in academic discourse, which in furn integrates them into the academic

community. However, for second-language rvriters, there is a double

burden, that is to learn the skills that rvi11 help them integrate into the new

language community as weil as into the academic community.

Most recently, Larsen-Freeman (2000) introduced a methodology termed

principled eclecticism. F{ere, teachers are encouraged to consider carefuily

in. different approaches, methods and techniques that have occurred

historicaily, and io select those that are most relevant to their classroom or

individual student's needs.

Based on your understanding, what are _the differences between

expressivism, cognitivism and constructionism?

7..4

,/

FOUR PRINCIPLES FOR TEACHINGWRITING

Generally, to build a house we need an architect to draw a well-structured plan'

The same goes to writing. The following four principles based on Nunan (2003)

are for tea&ers to consider when planning a writing course.

2.4,1 Understand Your Students' Needs for Writing

Ponder on the necessity of considering your students'needs for writing'

The greatest frustration with writing instruction occurs when the teacher's

objeciives do not concur with the sludents' needs, or when the teacher 's

objectives do not coincide with those of the school in which the students learn.

Hence, it is essential to understand both and to communicate aims to students in

ways that are comprehensible to them. Namelr-, do the students have to take

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TOPIC 2 DEFi\:L:ia ii CF WRtTtNG 19

other courses? Ti s.r, n hich ones? Wili those courses require specific writingskills? If so, n-}..at kurrts of n'riting skills?

2.4.2 Make Arrangement$ for students to write"Practice ntakes partect". Just like any other type of skil1s, the same applies towriting. Evaluate n'riting activities in your class; hou'much time is speni ieadingor talking about n'riting, and horv much is spent actually writilg? For the .r"rortpart, writing practice sessions should be subtly intcgrated into your syllabus.Also, writing practice should provide students the opportuniiy to t y outdifferent types of nriting, such as short responses to a^literary text,journalentries, letter writing, summaries, poetry, or ut"ry type of writing you find usefulin the students' future undertakings, should be extensively practised in thewriting class.

2,4.3 Provide constructive and Meanlngfut Feedback

When writing comments on students' papers, make sure they comprehend theterrns or symbols you use. Take time to discuss them in clais. Be iery carefuiwith the tone of your comments. Wren writing comments, consider the student'sfeelirrgs for we tend to leave out the words th4t cushion the assertiveness of ourmessage. While you may think, -This is not afpropriate, why don't you considerIooking at it from another perspective." may cause you to write srmplr.," IRRELEVANT' or just "?". Therefore, students can see conunelts such as tliescas unkind and unhelpful. Feedback need not always be written in the margir,s.You can experiment with different forms such as individuai conferences, tapeclresponses,Vped summary responses, and so forth.

Finally, feedback should not necessitate "correcting" a student's writing. In orderto promote independent writers, you can provide summary comments thatinstruct students to check their errors and correct them on theii o\^/n. So, insteadof correcting the subject-verb agreement detected in the writing, a coffrrnent atthe end rnight say,

"There are se\/eral subject-verh agreement errors detected. Trr to ]ocate anc!correct them in the next draft. -

zo TOPIC Z DEFINITION OF WRITING

with one of the student's sample pap-'er5' erperiment with written

feedback.

.Find.onegoodid'eathestudenthas,andmakeSomepositivecomments about it'

.Find'asectionwherethestudentwasnotciear'andwriteSomecomments that will help her/him clarify it'

.Id.entifyagrammarproblem,andmakeacoffImentthatwillhelpthestud.entldentffytheprobleminothersectionsinthePaper-

. What other aspects might you comment on?

2.4,4 Explain to Your students How Their writing will''' Be Evaluated

The evaluation of students' writing is normally subjective. .Teachers often

complain, "I just don't und'erstana"wnat you watrt to write'" One way for

teachers to combat that feeling is to first ievelop a statement about what is

valued. in the stud.ent,s writing."Some questions teachers can ask are:

. On a scale of 1-10, how important is creativity, ot originality of ideas?

.Onascaleofl-l0,howimportantisfollowingaparticularwritingoutline(such as a formal letter, book report' etc')?

. On a scale of L-10, how important is grammaticai accuracy?

.Onascaleofl-l0,howimportantisthemechanicsofwriting?

These questions can guide teachers to construct a rubric' a kind of scoring grid

that elaborates th. "f"rr,"nts

of writing that are to be evaluated' This rubric

should outline the weight of gramma' X"d mechanics in relationship to content

and ideas, as *"ff "J other features of writing that t'otl find relevant and

important.

q

TOPIC 2 DEFINITION OF I(/RITING 21

There are three gei-elal tvpes of rubrics that .!'ori can develop for yourassignments:

(a) Non-weighted RubricThis type o; rubric provides descriptions of rn,riting quaiity by level acrossother rt'riting crtteria. A brief example of this type of r.r6.i.1 is shor.vn inTable 2.1:

\

ti

Table 2.1: Non-weighted Rubric

CONTENTS EXCELLENT C.OOD POOR. Thorough

discourse.. Originality of

ideas.. Good range of

vocabulary usedwith someinteresting

expressions.

. Adequatediscourse.

. Some relevance totopic.

r Accurate and clearlanguage used mostof the time, withsome slips that doesnot disruptmeaning.

Poor non-substantive.

o Not cr:eative.. Very limited

vocabulary.

' Irrelevantdeas.

n Ilardly anyunderstanding cftopic.

ORGANISATION Orderlypresentation ofideas.

r LooselyTrganisedfrom paragraph toparagraph.

. Ideas

d isconnected.. No organisation. Minirnai ilcirt of

ideas.

. No consistencvand continuity.

II

i

j

I

GRAMMAR o Cramrnar pointswell presented toconvey intendedmeaningeffectively.

o Appropriatetoproficiencylevei.

o Averagepresentation ofgrammar points.

r Some grammarerrors but meaningis mostly clear.

. Crammar pointsnot well-presenied.

" Excessivegrammar errors.

. Meaning is

totally distorted.

2)3e

with this type of rubric, the teacher would ci'cle or check the level the student

has achieved in each of the three categories, and then provide some written

comments at the bottom of the PaEe, or on the student's assignment'

&) Weighted RubricA weighted rubric is similar towriting skills into categories and

assigned to each.

the unweighted one, but it breaks the

sub-categories- A specific point value is

For example, 10 points for "organisation". Therefore, the following

elements are to be taken into consideration'

. Has a clear introduction'

. Have separate paragraPhs'

. Has a conclusion '

. Uses transitions to join paragraphs'

. Uses transitions when needed within paragraphs'

For each element listed, for example, the instructor might assign up to two

points, for the total of ten. Table ).2 and, Table 2.3.illustrate examples of the

ilrurki.,g scheme based on criteria and marking srheme based on Progress

respectivelY.

TOPIC 2 DEFINITION OF I(/RITING z3

Tabie 2.2: \4arking Scheme Based on Crrteria

15-13 lL-1u 9-7 ctsl 3{Display confidentcontrol oflanguage.

Di-.r.a.,--i j- ---,--a{i.-\-dL!iri \

coLt:ttl irf1,. n,rr r: cp-.--'ir**n-

Display rnodestcontrol oflanguage.

Display poorcontrol of't^,--,^-^rar 16ud6u.

Display verypoor control ofl:noreop-*-'b **tr-'

Language largelvaccurate with fervminor errors,spelling generallyaccuraie.

Language fairlyaccurate n'ithsomc minorerrors, fervspelling errors.

T ^'---,^^^Ldr rli udtrU

sometimesaccurate butmistakesmore serious;some spellingerlors.

Language largelyinaccurate lt ithmany spellingerrors.

Language grosslvinaccurate withserious spellingerrors.

Meaning comes

across clearly.Meaning comesACTOSS

sahisfactorily.

Meaning maybe occasionallyunclear but notincomprehensible.

Meaning issometimesblurred, makingreading difficult.

Meaning is oftenunclear andincomprehensible.

Use somevariety ofsentencestructures.

Some varietyof sentencesbut tendencyto use simplesentencesprevail.

Limited varietyof sentences,generaliy simp!structures.

Hardly anyvariety ofsentences

-mainlysimplestructures.

No variety ofsentencestrucfures atall.

Appr<;priateand variedvocabulary.

Reasonablyappropriateand yariedvocabulary.

Modestlyappropriatevocabulary butthese are mainlysimple.

Hardly anyappropriatevocabularyand novariety.

L:rappropriatevocabulary andno variety at all

Able to linkideaseffectively.

Able to linkideassatisfactorily.

Attempt to linkideas but notquitesatisfactoriiy.

Hardly anyattempt to linkideas.

No attempt tolink ideas.

Paragraphs haveunity and shorvreasonableevidence ofplanning.

Paragraphsshort'some,,-i r,. -- lur ilry dlu

evidence ofpianning.

Paragraphs donot show unityor signs of-l----;'--Fr

rd r u rrr tB.

Some kind ofparagraphing isevident but doesnot show anyunity ofplarLning.

I'aragraphingmay be

haphazard ornon-existent.

tI

e

z4 ToPlc 2 DEFINITION ollryRlMs

Table 2.3: Marking Scheme Based on Progress'

(c) Holistic RubricA hoiistic rubric describes in general terms the qualities of excellent, good ' fait'

and unsatisfactory assignments. These descriptions can be tied to grades or

stand.ontheirown.Thdinstructorthenchoosesthedescriptionthatfitsthe4ssignment.Table2.4showsanexamPieofonepartofaholisticrubric.

3

l-ulllll uISK

modestlY.

,2

i Fulfill task in a:..i imtteo way.

1

5A=

Do not fulfilltask.Fulfill task

competentlY.

Fulfill tasksatisfactorilY.

Show limitedunderstandingof the toPic.

Show goodunderstandingof the toPic.

ShowsatisfactorYunderstandingof the toPic.

Showunderstandingof the topic.

Show someunderstandingof the topic.

Deveiop ideas

with some

effort.

Hardly develoP

ideas.

Mere mentionof ideas.Develop ideas

ef fectiveiY.

Develop ideas

satisfactoriiY.

Attempts topresent viewpoints but notquitesatisfactorilY.

Hardly anyattempts topresent viewpoint.

No attemPt topresent viewpoints.

Present viewpointseffectivelY.

Present viewpointssatisfactorilY.

Show fairlYmaturetreatment ofthe topic.

Immaturetreatment ofthe topic.

Shallow andimmaturetreatment ofthe topic.

Show maturetreatment ofthe topic.

ShowsatisfactorilYmaturetreatment ofthe topic.

Table 2.4: Holistic Rubric

woros.o I clear organisational Pattern'

. Vocabulary that is adequate in expressing ideas'

.Generallycorrectuseofpunctuationorspelling,althoughwith

The'B'PaPer shows:

. An ability to interPret

occasionai errors'

r Grammar that is usuailY

reader's understanding'

and develop ideas in the writer's own

accurate, and cloes not interfere lt'ith the

TOPIC 2 DEFINI;ICN OF WRITING 25

\{4rat is the resuit if you do not properly inform your students howtheir rt ritrne is er-aluated?

Sfudents can help to form a rubric as well. Take class time to ask them what theyvalue in writing. Ask them what features make lr'riting enjoyable to read andwhat features distract from that enjoyment. This kind of discussion has twobenefits. It does not only give students a voice in the evaluation of their ownwork, but it also provides a cornrnon vocabuiary with which the entire class candiscuss their writing and the writing of others. To assist in this discussion, givestudents a piece of good writing and a piece of poor writing (from a differentclass than the one they attend, of course). Ask them to state which is the goodpiece and which is the poor piece, with an explanation. Then, get them to saywhy one piece is good and the other piece is poor. In this way, they generate thecriteria for good writing.

2.5 PRINCIPLES FOR PLANNING WRITINGTECH N rQU ES

There are six guidelines teachers must adhere to when planning r.t ritjnStechniques, as shown in Figure 2.2. The six guidelines are integrate routines ofexemplary writers, match process and product, consider student's culiuraibackground, link reading to writing, furnish with lots of authentic materials andcompose according to the stages of pre-writing, while writing and editing.

*&

*

{

z6 TOPIC 2 DEFINITION OF \(/RITING

lntegrate routines ofexemplary writers

Guidelinesfor Planning

WritingTechniques

Match process and Product

Link reading to wriling

Equip students with authentic writing

Compose according to the stePS In

the process writing aPProach

Consider student's culturalbackground

Figure2.2:Guidelinesforplanningwritingtechniques

(a) ' Integrate Routines of Exemplary Writers\ / 'Wh; considering a technique to be used as a guideline for your writing

students consideithe routines followed by exempiary writers- To illustrate,

normally exemplary writers do the following rogtine.

concentrate on the purpose for writing;

ascertain and check the audience;

have an outline for the writing;

do freewriting when generating ideas;

proceed from a PrePared outline;

request feedback;

do not be tied to specific grammatical rules or mechanics of writing; and

when revising, be responsible and persistent'

(b) Match Process and ProductTeachers shouid guide students through the stages oi the writing process/

namely: pr"- *rif,ng, while writing, revising a ierr- drafts, editing, proof

reading ind the finil product. Teachers must aiso erplain and rationalise

every step of the composing Process 19 tl" stud.ents, and consequently

prorrid" adequate and const*itirr" feedback ir' the n'riting both from the

itudents, p".tr and the teacher. This n-iil en-<ure that the finai .writingproduct *ilt U" a clear, coherent and cor'rpreher*':bLe piece of writing'

a

a

\

TOPIC 2 DEFINl;l3i'l WRITING 27

Consider Srud ent's Culfural BackgroundWhatever teachers do, it is important to take into account the students'backgrotLnci kr,t-'"r-iedge, experiences and culturai setting. This can be doneby conducting a diagnostic test on their it'riting capability, as well asconducting a simple questionnaire to elicit their knor,r'ledge of writingconventions.

(d) Link Reading to WritingBefore embarkir-rg on the writing per se, teachers must provide adequateand relevant reading materials to be used as models for their writing. Thiscan be in the form of exemplary essays written by senior students orauthentic rnaterials extracted from renowned magazines, journals andreports. Additionaliy, during the initial stage, provide a frame for them tomodel their writing. Gradually, teachers can let them go and they can createtheir own frame to write. Every genre has a specific fiame with its relevantsentence connectors. To illustrate, a compare and contrast essay must bematched with distinct sentence connectors.

Eqrip students with authentic *itiogwhen assigning a writing task, ensure that there is a real purpose andaudience for it. Authenticity for the writing can be made by shared-writingwith peers, publishing the masterpiece,,writing real leiters to relevaniauthorities outside the class, writing ad?ertisement, script writing for aciass drama presentation or by responding to anonymous pe"r,, p-bl"*,on the bulletin board.

Compose according to the steps in the process writing approachThe process writing approach specifies three stepJ foi composing: pre-writing, drafting' and revising. The pre-writing stage stimulates thegeneration of ideas through various techniques such as skimrning andscanning, brainstorming, clustering, discussing, freewriting andgroupwork.

The foremost stages in the process of writing are the drafting and revising. Mostimportantly, drafting entails a series of procedure namely frLewriting, plinning,outlining, categorising, revising, peer feedback, editing and proof..udi.,g, whiJhis a recursive cycle. Here, students will write multipie drafti until they ire fullysatisfied with the finai product before it is handed to the teacher to be erraluated.

(e)

/{\

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TOPIC Z DEFINITION OF \(/RITING28

2.6 CLASSROOM WRITING TECHNIQUESTASKS

What kind of writing technique do you employ in the classroom?

This section Presents a few techniques an-d tasks.you

These-techniques are part of what has been ca11ed

process writing, although as Kroll correctly points out:

canthe

use to teach writing.process apProach or

E.

In other words, these activities serve to encourag2btatnstorming' drafting'

*rit*g, feedback, revising, and editing in a cyclical fashion' These types of

activities encourage the iiea that leaming to write-is more than creating a

final product, it i""Ut" learning of a series of skills leading to that product'

Below are some writing techniques to inspire students'thinking'

2.6.1 lnvention Techniques

lnvention techniques include brainstorming, word mapping and quick writing'

Instructors are of?"r, undecided whether to provide students a topic for writing

and allowing students to formulate their own topics' whichever you decide

upon/ students will have to come up with.id:u: 1o

use in their assignment. These

ideas will not .orr," fully formed, so it is helpful to provide. activities that allow

them to "think * pup"t." In this way, they can clevelop their thoughts before

spending time writing a more formal essay'

(a) Brairstorming can be done individually or in pairs or in groups' In a

brainstormiofi r"rrion, students list ali the ideas i]..e' can think of related to

a topic, eithei in writing or aloud, quicklr- ar''; r.' rfhtrr-rt much planning' If

no topic is gi'en, then t{e student can brainsitrrr" p'rssible topics' 1

The "process aPproach" serves today as an term for many types

of rrriting courses..- lfihat the term captures i: 'h" ?'!,'!::^:y::'r[:::::i

:";;;;; iJi"*it-g tasks ttuough i cyctical approach rather than through

a single-shot aPP roach'

'' (Kroll' 2000)

*

TOPIC 2 DEFINITICN OF WRITING 29

Give students plenty of time for this actir.ity, and sometimes clich6d ideas,come eariY in the process. When they have time to get past these ideas,imore top-hitti.uted and original ideas often surface-. Fiom the lists ofbrainstormed ideas or topics, sfudents can choose those they are mostinterested in, or feel they can lvrite most proficiently about.

&) Word nnapping is a more visual form of brainstorming. When studentscreate rvord maps, they begin with an idea at the top or centre of a blankpiece of paper. They then think of related ideas or words and drawrelationships with a series of boxes, circles, and arrows.

(c) Quick-wrltiog is where students begin with a topic, but then write rapidlyabout it. You can give the students a time limit, usually 10 to 15 minutei,and instruct them not to erase or cross out texts, to keep writing withoutstopping, and to just let the ideas and words come out without concern forspelling, granunar, or punctuation. From their piece of quick writing, theythen identify key ideas or interesting thoughts 6y underiining them. Theseideas are then used in the first draft of tn"i.

"rsays.

In your opinion, which is the most eff{ctive writing technique andwhich is the least effective? support your answers with reasoni.

2;7 WRITINGT DRAFTIhIG, FEEDBACK ANDREVISING

(a) DraftingAfter students have developed their topics and ideas, it is time for them towrite their first draft. Ample time should be given for the first draft, andstudents should be reminded that at this point, they need to fclcus on thedevelopment of ideas and the organisation of those ideas more than thedevelopment of perfect granunar, puncfuation, or spelling.

(tl) FeedbackAfter the draft is handed in, the instructor can make comments, but onlv inkeeping with the instructions given to students. Make commelts more onthe ideas and organisation than on the grammar anci spelling. At this point,the inskuctor can also utilise peer feedback. Sfucients exchange papers anciprovid-e each other with comments on the paper's conLnis.^ If peer

30 TOPIC Z DEFINITION OF \ilRITING

conunentary is used, it is best to use some kind of structured feedback formas shown in Figure 2.3:

Figure 2.3: Feedback form

RevisingAfter siudents have received feedback, they tlen begin the process of

revising their papers. Note that students often mistake the idea of revision

with "iorrecting mistakes" (Sommers, 1980), so you should spend time

talking about the process of reorganisation, developing ideas, and so forth,

as separate from editing for grammar or spelling.

(c)

2,7 .1 Proofreading'and Editing

Before the final draft is turned in for evaluation, students should, of course, read

for mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and so forth. Students can help

each other to proofread and edit. The instructor should keep his/herinvolvement to a minimum. In developing independent writers, it is important

that students learn to proof read and edit on their orvn as much as possible.

Besides, a teacher should not correct a student's draft bv supplying all the correct

forms of words, punctuation, and so forth. Students are often overwhelmed by

the large amount of teacher's writing on their papers, and feel paralysed by what

looks like an immense number of "errors."

Although these techniques are presented in a lineai iashion, as mentioned in the

introduition to this section, any of these steps can and should be performed, at

any stage in the writing process. For example, ir a student's essay is not well

developed, doing another round of quick-n'ritir".: irr brainstorming may help to

Peer Comment written bY for

Read your partner's paper. Answer these questions:

1. Is the introduction effective? In what wav? Explain your answer.

2. What is the author's main idea? Restate it here.

3. Does the writer support that idea with evidences? What are the

- evidences?4. What evidence is missing, or incomplete?

5. What questions do you have about this writing?6. Is the conclusion effective? How would you improve it?7. Do you notice any grafiunar or word choice errors? Underline them.

Girre this sheet back to your partner, and then discuss your answers.

TOPIC 2 DEFINITICN OF WRITING 31

further generaie her/his ideas. Even though spelling and punctuation may not beof prime concern earlv in the process, students can, and should, make correctionsany time they rroiice them, and not wait until the "1ast step.,,

Plan an assignment in which you will ask your students to write a shortessay about a favourite musician.

7- write the steps of the assignment. For example, which of thetechniques mentioned wiil you use to help students through theprocess?

2. Describe a peer-review and feedback activity.

Choose a type of rubric or eva.fuation method you might use,and explainwhy you chose that method.

2.9 WRITING IN THE CLASSROOM

In this section, we will first look at exercises from some textbooks that implementthe principles described in this topic. These example exercises come frorndifferent levels. We will then look at short samples of stuclent writing, andpossible ways to comment on their writing.

What is the purpose of proofreading and editing?

To test your understanding, please do the following activity.

aa C 3r The Writing

E *FE Process

It is helpful for students to discern the purposeand audience for their writing. In

this topic, students are given a writing thecklist to focus their writing and

use it as a guideiine to develop good essays'

3.1 .

PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE

Why do you think it is important for students to have a purpose and an

audience for their writing?

IOPIC 3 THE WRITING PROCESS

'?urpose is why ysu are writing. The audience ,for vour u,rihng is the person forwhom you write rf" (Koiin,1990). Effective writing is precisely organised,comprehbnsively researched and distinctly presented. When forwarding a

memo to a colleague or a specific report to the head of your departrnent,your writing r,n'ill be more effective if you pose to yourself these fourquestions, which are adapted from Kolin (1990):

(a) Who will read what I write? (Identify your audience)

(b) Vfhy should they read what I write? (Establish your purpose)

(c) V\hat do I have to say to them? (Formulate your message)

(d) How can I best communicate it? (Select your style and tone)

The four questions posited: who, what, why and how do not operate separately;they are all interconnected. A writer writes for a specific audience, with a

clearly defined purpose in mind, about a topic the readers need to comprehendand most importantly in a language suitable for the occasion. A writer whocan answer all the four questions is on the right path to writing.

(a) Know Your Audience

It is the writer's responsibility to know his/her audience. As a writer youmust ask some questions about your audienc6.

Kolin (7990), proposed some questions that writers can ask themselr.es so as toform a picture of the audience.

o V\{ho is my audience?

o What is the ,eaderS lob?. What specific duties does my audience have to perform?

c What kind of education, social background, and interests does rny audiencehave?

r How many people will make up my audience?

o How much does my audience already know about what I am writing?[for exampie the technical procedures/terms]

r Does my audience need some background information, definition of termsand explanatory visuals?

. \Mhat is my audience's reason for reading my work?[for exampie as a progress report/ an evaluation checklist]

* Do they want to hirrre a detail or jusi a summar\. of the main points?

44 TOPIC 3 THE \URITING PROCESS

\44:rat is the attitude of my audience ton-arcis me and my work?

[for example, friendly, skeptical, antagonistic, clisappointed or sympathetic]

\Alhat do I want my audience's attitude to be after readi^g *y work?

[for example, to Store it for future reference, review it, act on it at once,

approve it, agree with it, gather additional information] Have I made clear

what I expect next from mY reader?

In short, your answers to these questions will give you a precise outline of youraudience and the purpose for vu'riting. Each group of audience wili have differentexpectations and as the writer you need to understand these differences if youwant to provide appropriate information. However, in some cases you are not

able to identify all the members of your potential audience. In such cases, youcan just assume that you have a general audience and keep your message as

brief, precise and as simple as possible.

(b) Establishing your PurPoseWriting wili be a si.mple process if the writer knows why he/she is writing.The reader's needs and the writer's goal in communicating will assist the

,writer to formulate his/her purpose. It will help the writer to determine

exactly what they can and must say. The writer must know his/her goai forcomrnunicating the ideas. Reflect what you have written. Rewrite yourpurpose statement until it states clearly whyTyou are writing to youri"ud"ts and what you want them to do or know. It is convenient to have an

overview to guide the reader and act on your communication. For instance,

the writer's purpose determines the amount and order of information to

include.

Formulating the MessageThe writer's message is the Sum of what facts, responses, and

fecommendations he/she put in writing. A message includes the scope and

details of your communication. Writers should take note that they will have

to adapt their message to fit their audience. For technical audiences such

aS doctors oI engineers, you may have to provide a complete reportwith every detail noted in an appendix. Conversely, for the reader-busy

executives, a summary of the financial or managerial significance would be

sufficient.

\

(c)

\{hy is it essential for rvriters to adapt their message to fit their audience?

TOPIC 3 THE WRITING PROCESS

(d) Choosing your Sryle and ToneStyle is hon' something is written which heips to determine how well youcommunicate n'ith an audience, and how weli they understand and receiveyour message. Basically, it involves the choices you make about theconskuction of your paragraphs, the length and patterns of your sentences,and the choice of your words. Flence, writers have to adapt their style totake into consideration the different messages, different purposes, andclifferent audiences. If alt your readers are specialists in your field, you maysafely use the technical ianguage and symbols of your profession. Non-specialists, however, will be confused and get annoyed if you write to themin the same way.

Tone in writing, like tone of voice, expresses your attitude towards a topic andtowards your audience. Generally r fotJr tone can range from formal andimpersonal, for instance a scientific report, to informal and personal such as aletter to a friend. Like style, tone is shown by the words you choose. The tone ofyour writing is especially important in occupational writin g, for it reflects theimage you project to your readers and thus determines how they wiilrespond to you, your work and your institution. Depending on your tone youcan appear sincere and intelligent, or angry and uninformed. As a writer youhave to sound professional and knowledgeable about the topic, andgenuinely interested in your readers'opinions and problems.

3.1 .1 Writing Purpose

Basically, all writing serve a purpose, namely to:

(a) entertain;

(b) inform; or

(c) persuade.

(a) Writing to Entertain

. What is tl're purpose in writing to entertain?

. \AIho writes to entertain?

. F{ow do writers write to entertain?

Example:Write a letter to your best friend relating something that had happened toyou. Yorir purpose is to entertain.

46 TOPIC 3 THE \(/RITING PROCESS

(b) Writing to inforrn

. What is the purpose of writing to inform?

. Who writes to inform?

. How do writers write to inform?

ExampleWrite one informative ParagraPh.

"Let me tell you about my operation."

(c) Writing to persuade

. \\4^rat is the purpose in writing to persuade?

. lArho writes to persuade?

. Hor,r' do writers write to persuade?

, Example'Write one persuasive ParagraPh.

Example 1: Some students live in hostels while attending' university.Others choose off - campus housds, rooms, while others liveat home. Which do you prefer? List 5 reasons you wouid use

to persuade someone based on your preference.

Example 2: Some people choose to marry young. Others choose to marrywhen they are already established in their career, while stiliothers chgose to stay single. Which do you prefer? List 3reasons you would use to persuade based on your preference.

Purpose is why you are writing. List down the purpose of writing for the

following people:

(i) students

(ii) job seekers

(iii) teachers

(iv) teenagers

(") secretary l

(vi) ne\ rspaper reporter

TOPIC 3 THE \i,'RiTING PROCFSS 47

3,1 ,Z Audience

The audience for \ our n'riting is the reader, the person for whom you aren'ritirrg.\Alhenet-er \-ou u'rite anything, you shouid alrn.ays ask yourself, "whowiJI read this?" therr vou ask yourseif one more question: 'what does myaudience need to knor+, for me to achieve my purposeT

The answers to these tu.,o questions will tell you what information you mustprovide and i.t,hat you can safely leave out.

NOTE: Tire rcadr:r/audience must know the terms used in the field written. Forinstance, concepts, definition, vocabulary, and specialised terminologies in thespecific area written.

To test your understanding, please do the following activity.

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The writing task is aimed at three different audiences. If you are towrite about your university iife, what details about your university lifewould you focus on for each audience. ,/1. Describe your university life for a pen-pal who is planning to visit

you.

Describe your universityuniversity in Malaysia.

Describe your university life to your lecturer.

3.2 TI"!E KVRITIT{G PROCESS

For classroom implementation, the writing process is expiained in thisorder; from forming intentions, to composing and drafting, an,l finally,cor;:ecting arrd publishing. Writing is recursive because the writer 'smoverlrcni frorrr one stage to anoiher is affected by what has gone before andwhat is anticipated. Each stage influences, and is influen."d by the other.Cenr:ra111r, the I'r'ritinil process is conducted as a group work. The follorvingguidelines ran bt implernented rt hen teachers conduct ihe rvriting process inthei r respcctivr: cl a s,.roorns.

to another student another

V

48 TOPIC ] THE V/RITING PROCESS

3,2.1 Pre-writing Stage

During the pre-writing stage, the writer;

. clarifies the Purpose for writing;

. is thinking, taiking, drawing, remembering, reflecting, searching for

information, and org-anising atl this into rough sections or sequences; and

r tests ideas about content and form, especially when an audience is proposed'

3.2.2 While-writing Stage

This stage is often tYPified bY:

. bursts of writing as ideas seek expression in the form of words, phrases, and

sentences;

. slorv and halting writing by immature writers developing handwriting skills

and beginning to understand conventions of spelling;

. frequent re-reading of the text to establish how the work is developing with

regard to the original Plan;

. departures from the original plan; ,/

. attention to details such as correcting spelling, punctuation/ or grammar

(which can sometimes divert attention from the meaning and progress of the

writing);

" revision, arisingand

. a focus on clarifying and shaping meaning; this can involve changes to

coritent and struciur6, re-shaping or re-crafting until the intention becomes

clear.

3,2.3 Post'writing Stage

In providing an accurate text for readership, the writer needs to edit and publish

his or her work. This is a stage for modifications and attention must be given to

the following writing mechanics such as spelling,- punctuation,- grammar, and

concern for neatn.rr] Th" teacher can herp with final cletails about which the

writer is still unsure. An essential outcome of publishing is a text that others can

read easily.

h

from a need. to more clearly represent an intended meaning;

TOPIC 3 THE WRITING PROCESS

3,2..4 Outcomes

Through publishing, sharing, and reflecting on their own work, writers willfind out whether they have fulfilled their intentions for writing. The outcomes ofpublishing and sharing provide responses that help writers:

' discover how effective or valuabie their writing has been;

' confirm what the writers have learnt about how to write, and their newinsights into the world around them; and

. prepare for the path ahead.

Figure 3.1 shows the writing process for classroom implementation.

Figure 3.1: A simplified model of the writing process for classroom implementation

50

Basically, producing a written text involves three broad stages, as shown inFigure 3.2.

Generating ideas

Organise ideas

Presentation

Display

Figure 3.2: Writing stages

Select topic

Getting feedbacUconferencing

Re

How many stages are there in the writing process?

TOPIC 3 THE',', il-ll,: PROCESS 51

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3"3 RATIONALT FOR PRE-WRITING

Pre-rt'riting refers to strategies you can use to generate ideas beforc' starting thefirst draft of a paper. Pre-n'riting refers to ali the preliminar\. steps you mighttake in preparing to n'i'ite. Pre-writing techniques are like the \varm-ups you dobefore going out to jog - they loosen you up, get you n.ioving, and help youto clevelop a sense of r,t'eli being and confidence. Since pre-writing techniqqesencourage imaginative exploration, they also help you discover n,hat interestsyou most about your subject. Having such a focus early in the rt'riting processkeeps you from plunging into your initial draft u'ithout first giving some thoughtto what you want to say. Pre-writing thus saves you time in the long run bvkeeping you on course.

The preiiminary steps include randomly thinking about the topic, systematicallygathering information about it, and sketching out a possible structure for theessay. Pre-writing can help in other ways too because the main aim is to equipyou to write a better essav. Your purpose is simply to get ideas down ot-,paPer without evaluating their effectiveness. Writing without irnmediately

',judging what you produce can be liberating because the random associationstypical of pre-writing tap the mind's ability to make unusual connections.

The most commonly useC Vpe of activity js oral presentation because ithelps to develop ideas or clarify and enrich original ideas. This can take the formof whole group discussion, pair discussion or small group discussion. Discussiontriggers more ideas and help you to refine your thinking. Ilesources such aspictures, charts, articies from journals and newspapers, photographs, slic-ies,comic strips, maps and audio as well as video recording are useful catalvsts tomotivate you in generating ideas and thinking.

What do you think is the purpose of pre-writing activities?

The following are a number of techniques that teachers can utilise toencourage students to generate ideas.

(a) Free WritingFree rvriting means i,vriting freely and creatively on the assignment. Yourgoal is to put dor'r'n every random idea, notion, thought or opinion thatpops into your head about the general subject. First, you rvrite dor.t,n theassignment, l'or,c for rvord, on ihe top of the paper. Thcn vou begin thefrce r,r'ritjns. If vou get stut-k, virite I'm stuck anri iiecp goi;ii;. Here's an

5Z

example of free writing on aparents face raising children

typical assignment: "The special problems thattoday"

Parents today have tough problems to face. Lots of dangers. Drugs andalcohol for one thing. Also crimes of violence against kids. Parents also haveto keep up with cost of living, everything costs more, kids want and expectmore. Television? Kids grow up too fast, too fast. Drugs. Little kids can'thandle knowing too much at an early age. I'm stuck. I'm stuckl!! Both parentsat work much of the day. Finding good day care a real problem. Lots ofiatchkey kids. Another problem is getting kids to do homework, lots of otherthings to do. Especially like going to the malll When I was young, we didhomework after dinner, no excuses accepted by *y parents.

After a fruitful session of free writing, your focus is likely to be narrower thanbefore. Now you will have a better idea of what you want to do. In free writing,remember to suspend all hesitations, doubts and fears and simply allow yourcreatir.e energies to surge. You scribble and jot until you uncover a leaningtorvard a particular topic. Then, you freely write further on that narrowed topic quntiilou hit a particular part, give yourself a detailed answer, and end up with a

tentative controiling idea or thesis for your essay.

Questioning '/In questioning, you generate ideas and details by asking as many questionsas possible. \Alhat we have in mind here is purposeful talk, where you oryour friend ask pointed questions aimed at ferreting out particularsubtopics you might find appealing in your chosen subject. Askingquestions is an effective way of getting yourself to think about a topic froma number of different airgles. This is because the questions can really helpyou generate details about the topic.

Making a List/ BrainstormingLet your mind wander freely, as you did rvhen narrowing your generalsubject. This time, though, list every idea, fact, and example that occurs toyou about your iimited subject. Use brief n'ords and phases, so you do notget bogged down writing full sentences. Do not \\-orrv rvhether ideas fittogether or whether the points listed make sense. The following is an

cxamplc of a list that was produced during a t'r.:i:.torrtring session.

&)

(c)

TOPIC 3 TH: 'i. ? -l'.: PROCESS 53

. Trying to raise kids n'hen both parents work.

. Prices of even'thing outrageous, even when both parents n'ork.

. Clothes so important.

. Day care not alrt'ays the answer - cases of abuse.

. Day care very expensivc.

. Violence against kids when parents abuse drugs.

. Cocaine, crack, AIDS.

. School have to teach kids about these things.e Not enough homework assigned - kids unprepared.. Distractions from homework - malls, TV, phones, stereos, MTV.

Brainstorming can also be conducted as a group activity. Thrashing out ideaswith other people stretches the imagination, reveals possibilities you may nothave considered on your own. Group brainstorming does not have to be

conducted in a formal way and it can be done anywhere.

How does brainstormingprocess?

benefit yourrstudents during the writing

& (d) Diagramming/Mapping/ClusteringIf you like doodiing while thinking, you may want to try diagramming,sometimes called mapping or clustering. Like other pre-writing techniques,diagramming proceeds rapidly and encourages a free flow of ideas.

Begin by expressing your limited subject in a crisp phrase and placing it inthe centre of a blank sheet of paper. As ideas come to you, put them alonglines or in boxes or circles around the iimited subject. Draw arrows andlines to show the relationship among ideas. Focus on each idea as subpoints and details come to you, connect them to their source idea, againusing boxes,lines, circles or arrows to clarify how everything relates. Figure3.3 is an example of the kind of map that could be drawn to generatematerial for the limited subject based on the assignment "The specialproblems that parents face raistng children today".

There is nc right or wrong way to do mapping. It is a way to think on paperabout ho'w various ideas and detaiis relate to one another. Sometimes you

',viil move from the limited subiect to a kev related idea and all the details itprompts bcfore irior,ing to ihe next ker' iiea; othcr fimes ),ou n,iil inap orrt

54

ali the major divisions of a limited subject before mapping the details of anyone idea. In addition to helping generate idea, diagramming can provide anearly sense of how ideas and details relate to one another.

In Raising Children Today

, Working Parehts l:

Distractions ',

Drugs

Alchohol

Gangsterism

Figure 3.3: Diagramming

(e) Preparing a Scratch OutlineA scratch outline is' an excellent sequel to the first four pre-writingtechniques. A scratch outline often follows free writing, questioning, list

' making, or diagramming. Specifically, a rough outline or scratch list canhelp shape the tentative ideas generated during pre-writing.

As you reread your exploratory thoughts about the limited subject, keep thefollowing questions in mind:

. What purposehave you decided on?

. What are the characteristics of your audt'cntr.?

o \iVlrat tone wlll be effective in achiei -n: \ ollr purpose with youraudience?

. What pointof view will you adopt?

b

Record your responses to these quesfions at i:t : ., trLlr pr€-writing materiai.

TOPIC 3 THE '). 3.III\G PROCESS

Now go to work cn ihe rarv material itself. Cross out anvthing not appropriatefor your purpose. autiience, tone, and point of vierv; add points that did notcriginally occur to r-or-r. Star or circle compelling items that rvarrant furtherdevelopment. Then drari' arrows between related items, )/our goai being togroup such material under a cofiunon heading. Finaily, determine what seemsto be the best order for the headings.

A scratch outline makes the writing process more manageable. You are less likelyto feel overwhelmed once you actually start writing because you will alreadyhave some idea about hor,v to shape your material into a meaningful staternent.Tire scratch outline can and most likely will be modified aiong the rval'.

The pre-writing strategies described so far provide a solid foundation for thenext stages of your w.ork. However, invention and imaginative explorationdo not end wh.en pre-writing is completed. As you wili see, remaining open tonew ideas is cruciai during all phases of the writing process.

Now you are ready to proceed to the next stage of actually writing out the essav.This stage includes drafting, getting feedback, revising and editing.

3,4 DRAFTING,/

After pre-writing, deciding on a thesis, developing and organishg er,idence,you are ready to write a first draft, that is, a rough, provisional version of r.ouiessay. Drafting which is the attempt at actualiy writing the essay, usualh-begins after the research and reading have all been done. Writing a draft is notalr,vays so sysl'ematic. Whatever your particular method, drafting is the timeto practise compositional eccentricities. Choose the place to write that is idealfor you, a method of writing that rvorks for you, and the writing instrument that

'you prefer, whether quill pen or laptop computer.

The first draft should sirnply get something down on paper. Revise this formacro errors and you end up with the second draft. After editing andproofreading this second draft, you type and print out the final draft forsubmission. Ihe following are some suggestions that will help with the actualw'riting:

. Rervrite your thesis statement at the top of your first page to break the ice andbuild i-rromentum.

. Write your first paragraph, introducing your essay and statii-rg your thesis. Ifvou are stuck here, move on to the rest of the paper.

u iroilow )/olir p1an as you r,r.ritc. Begin nrith \.our first main point and r,r'ork one;t:i: stciir.ln in turn.

55

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I56

Look over the supporti.ng details listed under the first heading in your notes.Write a topic sentence stating the central idea of the paragraph.

o Turn the details into sentences; use one or more sentences to explain eachone. Add other reiated details, facts or examples if they occur to you.

. \Alhen you move from one paragraph to the next, try to provide a transitionalword or sentence that connects the two.

. Write your last paragraph, ending your essay in an appropriate fashion. Ifyou get stuck, set your conclusion aside and return to it later.

Using a computer and word-processing software allows you to compose, savewhatever you write, insert new material, delete unwanted material, movesections around, and when you are ready, print out copies.

3,5 FE E DBACKTCO N FE RENCT NG

Conferencing is a very important stage in process writing because writing issocial and interactive. It is at this stage that you receive the most guidanceon how to improve your writing skills. Through the questions and commentsraised by your instructor or peers, you discover, clarify and refine your writing.

Besides feedback from your instructor, collaborative feedback encourages you totake a. conscientious approach to your writing. Your peers' comments canheip you strengthen your writing before it undergoes your instructor's scrutiny.Accepting criticism is not easy. Try to listen with an open mind and take notes oftheir observations. Use a system of marginal annotations to help youevaluate and remedy any perceived weakness in vour draft based on thefeedback given.

In your opinion, is feedback/conferencing the stase rthere students needteacher's guidance/comments the most?

E\{rhat is the consequence of not carrying out the drafting process?

TOPIC 3 THE \URITING PROCESS

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3,6 REVISING

Revising'is as much a stage in the writing process as pre-writirg, outlining,doing the first draft. Rer-ising means re-writing a paper, building on whitalready been done, in order to make it stronger. Revision often involvesupheaval of your draft ds vou change its content and organisation in ordercommunicate more effectively.

A mediocre paper becomes a good papercoherence, variety, transition, emphasisirrelevance, wordiness and inconsistencies.perfects.

mdhasan

:to

an

when it is revised. Revision addsand' detaiis. Revision eliminatesRevision polishes, hones and

In_ the revision process, you should read the draft quickly to assess its generale-ffect and clarify. Does the draft accomplish what you set out to do? Does itdevelop a central point clearly and logicu1ly? Does it merit and hold the reader,sattention? Preparing a brief outline of the draft can help evaluate the essay,soverall structure.

After refining the paper's fundamental meaning and structure, it is time to lookclosely at the essay's paragraphs. It is the macro elements of the essay i.e.especially the paragraph that your focus shouJd be on during the revision. yourmain aim is to repair any major structurar fla#s in the larger plarts of the essay.

Use the foliowing checklist:

. Check your opening paragraph.

. Check your sequence of points.

. Check for adequate examples and details.

. Check paragraph transitions.

58

.3.i,7 EDITING

When revising the paper, you probablv spotted some errors in grammar/

punctuatiorr, oi spelling. Now uit"t yor-, are satisfied with the organisation

ff the essay, its deve"lopment, and style, it is time to fix these errors'

Editing is to check for and correct errors in grammar, Punctuation, and

spelling.

If you are working with pen and Paper o. 91a typewritten or word-processed

araft with handwiitten annotations, use different colour ink, so your new

corrections will stand out. To be a successful editor of your own work, you

need two standard tools: a grarnmar handbook and a good dictionary'

After editing you will also need to proofread your essa-y' Proofreading

means checklng your final copy carefully ior mistakes. One trick is to read your

material backwaids. If you."ud fto* the end of each paragraph to the beginning,

),ou can focus on each word individually to make SuIe no letters have been

left out or transposed. This technique prevents you from getting caught up in

the flow of ideas and missing minor defects, which is easy to happen when

yot fiut" read your own words many times'

,,.s

3.8' PUBLISHINGt,

Pubiishing is sharing one's writing with an audience' The final products

should, if possibl", i" displayed ot', tn. bulletin board or published in the

university's newsletter. ThiJ is to reinforce the concept of an audience' It is

necessary to show sfudents why they must proofread their papers to ensure there

are no mistakes in their final copies'

The process of producing an essay may seem, tedious but is indeed very good

training for ali types of writing tasks that students are usually engaged in'. The

importlnce of generating ideai, planning, drafting, revising, editing and re-

*riti^g before the finaf version must be emphasised ilr er-er'rvriting project'

What does the editing process entaii?

.iiR1TING PROCESS

3,9 AN EXAMPLE OF TE-IE WRITING PROCESS

A example of the t'riti;rg process is girren. You can try them r.t'ith yoursfudents. The topic chosen LS " A Perfect World' . The example shows the processfrom the pre-writing stage until the publishing stage. The example is suitable foran upper secondary class and has been adapted from Behrman (1995).

3"9.1 Pre-writing - Brainstenrning

A Perfect World

There are man)/ wonders in this world. But it is far from perfect. JustIook at a newspaper an)/ day and it is clear that many things are wrong. Ifyou had a wish that would turn this tnto a better world, what would youchange and how w,ould you change it?

DIRECTIONS: Use the brainstorrning iist below to compile your icleas andthoughts. In the first column, list the things you think are wrong with theworld. In the second column, write down how you would change them. This isjust a way to get your thoughts down on paper. It's not necessary to use completesentences. ]ust allow your thoughts to flow fr€ely. Words, phrases, and sentencefragments are good enough.

BRAINSTORMING LIST

THINGS THAT ARE WRONG HOW I WOULD CHANGE THEM?

3.9.2 Pre-writing - Outline (First Draft)

When you prepare a good outline, your essay almost writes itself. An outline canbe done quickiy and help you to be focused and turn into a clear and logicalessay. Use your brainstorming list as your source and guide.

Steps in Pre-Writing:

(a) On a separate paper, write your name, dat'e, and the title, " A Perfect World- Outline."

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60 TOPIC 3 THE \(/RITING PROCESS

(lo) Write the Roman numeral I. Next to it, write "Introduction". On the nextline, write "A - Topic Sentence". Next to this, rvrite a topic sentence foryour first paragraph.

On the next line, write "B". Next to this, write a word or phrase that willdevelop your topic sentence. On the next line, write "C". ltlext to this, writea word or phrase that will develop your topic sentence.

(c) Choose ihree items from the first column of your brainstorming list. These

will be the points you will make in the main section of your essay.

Write the Roman numeral II. Next to it, copy the first point you are going touse from your brainstorming list.

On the next line, write "A". Next to this, write a word or phrase you can

use to develop this point. On the next line, write "8". Next to this, write a

n,ord or phrase you can use to develop this point. On the next line, write"C". Next to this, write a word or phrase you can use to develop this point.

Write the Roman numeral III. Next to it copy the second point you are

going to use from your brainstorming list. Follow the same directions as

above for A, B, and C. /to it copy the third point you are goingFollow the same directions as above for

(d) Write "V. Conclusion".On the next line, write "4". Next to this, write a phrase or sentence thatrestates the topic. On the next line, write "B". Next to this, write anotherphrase or sentence that adds to your conclusion.

. Compare your outline with the following sample.

. Are there any similarities or differences?

' If yes, what are theY?

" Wrhy are they different?

. Which is better, yours or the sample given?

. \Alhy?

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Write the Roman numeral IV. Nextto use from your brainstorming list.A,B, and C.

--'1

TOPIC 3 THE \YRITING PROCESS

Exanrple of Pre-Writing0utlineYour outline will look something like this:

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Many bad things happen in the world today.

B. It doesn't have to be that way.

C. We could change this into a perfect world.

II. FIRST POINT _ HTINGER

A. Many peopie don't have enough food.

B. Even babies die from starvation.

C. Well-fed people are healthier and happier.

ilI. SECOND POINT _ IGNORANCE

A. In some parts of the world, there are no schools.

B. Even in our country, some kids don't get a good education.

C. A good education can lead to a better life.

IV. THIRD POINT-WARS ./

A. Lots of people are killed in wars.

B. There should be other ways to settle arguments.

C. If everyone refused to fight, wars would end.

V. CONCLUSION .

A. This world could be better that it is.

B. There would not be hunger, ignorance, or war in a perfect world.

3.9.3 Revising and Writing a Final Copy

DIRECTIONS: Correct and revise your draft. Follow these guidelines:

o Are your sentences complete? Do subjects and verbs agree?

. Check spelling in a dictionary.

' Are all of your thoughts expressed in clear and interesting language?

" Does your first paragraph (I on your outline) introduce the topic? Is itinteresting?

62

. Does each paragraph in the main section (II, III, and IV' on your outline) state

and develop utp".ls of your "perfect world"?

. Does the last paragraph (v on your outiine) restate and sum up the topic? Is it

as clear and interesting?

\Mhen you are satisfied with your revised essay, write your finai copy below'

Indent at the beginning of each paragraph'

To test vour understandin$, please do the following activity'

Choose a topic and follow the outline on Pre-writing given' Exchange

;;;r essay *ltn u partner and revise it baied on the revising checklist

given.

Now, do you think you can write and revise better? Give two reasons for

your answers.

,/tu & a & & e 4 A & A w'b & * r4 & tu & & & & & & & & & b & u & & & 6 & @ &

start off with identifying the purpose and audience for. In writing, studentsthe writing.

. Then, the 3 writing stages in the writing Pfocgs-t is shown as a recursive cycle

which is further Jxplalned by the Model of writing Process-

. Also included is an example exercise on the writing Process for classroom

implementation.

Audience

Diagramming

Proof-reading

Recursive

Scratch outiine

TOPIC 3 THE WRITING PROCESS 63

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lAtrhat' happens in post-writing?

Is diagramming like mind-mapping?

\Alhat is revising?

l\4rat are the three basic reasons people write?

Why is writing recursive?

What are the four key questions that writers need to ask?

(a) How can a writer know his audience?

(b) How do aspects mentioned above (question 10 relate to the purposeof writing?

Pre-writing can be important to start you writing.

(a) How do the techniques work?

(b) \Atrhich pre-writing technique also v/orks on structure?

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'2.

€epEc@w 8ffit19TA7 'rvv rlte

INTRODUCTION

This topic examines some techniques to support student in learning to write. Itgives a comprehensive description of some writing techniques such os,

interactive writing, guided writing and independent writing.

4.1 TECHNTQUES TO SUPPORT STUDENTS ASTHEY LEARN TO WRITE

Typically, teachers support or scaffold student's rt'riting as theydemonstrate, guide, and teach. They graduaily pror ide the appropriate amountof support according to their instructional purpose anel students' needs.Sometimes teachers model how experienced r,r'ritcrs u rrte or thev write alongwith students. At other times they carefully guide chilorerr as they developideas for their writing, record ideas on papr': a:..i prtrofread to correcterrors. Teachers also provide plenty of time for chr,.t:er-. irr .,i rite independentiy,to experiment with writing, and to practise skills th:.. :-.r', t e::ned.

.a\

Fountas and Pinnell (1996), proposed fivc iei e.s . -

highest levei to the lowest level of support .r: >:

more of the responsibility for themselr es. I.-modelled writing, shared writine, interactir..i ..

from theS--'i-: l:i, movlng---lr:l-iS aSSUme mofe and:- . ..', cls of support are. - r :iiided writing, and

By the end of this topic, you should be abie to:

1. Describe some techniques for teachers to support sfudents in theirwriting; and

2. Provide a step-by-step inslruction on how to conduct the fivetypes of writing.

TOPIC 4 SUPPORTING STUDIN rS TO \(/R|TE 65

independent rr.ridr.S rsee Table 4.1). It is advisable that teachers working withstudents through secondart' schools use all the fir.e leyels. For instance, whenteachers inkociuct a ne\\- ry_rtrng forrn or teach a n'riting strategy or skiil, theyuse demonstrations or modeled writing. The purpose of Jhe actitity determineswhich 1evel of support is used. The teacher is less actir.ely involved indirecting the n-rifing activity in independent writing, but it-t" quality ofinstruction that students have received is most obrrious in independent *riti.,gbecause they are applving what they have learned.

Table 4-1: A Continuum of Teacher Suppori for Student Writers (Fontas & pinnell, 1996)

ModelledWriting

Shared

WritingInteractive

WritingGuidedWriting

Independent

Writing

Whatisit?

Teacherdemonstrates,.,-:+;- ^ :-vvrrrulS Iltfront ofstudents andthinkingaloud aboutwritingstrategies andskills.

. Teacher andstudentsconstruct thetext together;then theteacherdemonstrateswriting.

. Students mayassist byspellingwords.

Teacher andstudentscreate thetext andshare thepen to dothe writing.Teacher andstudentsdiscusswrittng,conventions.

. Teacherpresents a

structuredlesson andsupervises as

students write.. Teacher also

teacheswritingstrategy, orskill

. Students usethe writingprocess towrite stories,informationalbooks, andothercompositios

. Teachermonitorsstudents'progress.

Whowrites?

. Teacher . Teacher . Teacher andstudents

. Students . Students

Whatstzegroups?

O

Whole class

Small group

a . Whole class. Small group. Pair. Individuals

. Whole class

. Small group

. Pair

. krdividuals

. Small group

. Pair

. Individuais

. Pair

. Individuals

Whichactivities

DemonstrationsLanguageExperienceApproach.

K-W-L charts

Predictions

Daily news

lnnovationsLetters

. Classcoilaborations

. Class ABC

books. Formula

poems

Writingcentres.

Writingworkshop.

Writing Injournals.

Letters.

66 TOPIC 4 SUPPORTING STUDENTS Trl ''. :' Ti

Can students use the writing process for all kinds of writing?

4,1 .1 Modelled Writing

The greatest level of support is when teachers demohstrate or model how

.o*p""t.1t writers write *nlt" students observe. Teachers usually decide what

they will write and create the text themselves, although they do accept

suggestions from students. Then teachers either write on the white board or

,rrJ"ur, overhead projector so that all students can see what is being written.

Teachers use modeiled writing to demonstrate writing workshop procedures,

such as how to make small books and how to do new writing forms and

formats. Often teachers talk aloud or reflect on their writing Processes as

thev n.rite to show students how competent writers think as they alef ,t

\vrlrrnF ano rne rypes of decisions they make and strategies they use.

Three purposes of modelled writing are as follows:

" To demonstrate how to do writing activity before;instructing students to do

the writing activity independently or in small groups'

. To demonstrate how to use writing strategies, such as proofreading,

monitoring, sentence combining, and revising'

. To demonstrate writing conventions and other writing skills'

4.1 Shared Writing

In shared writing, the teacher and students work together to compose a text' As

they write, teachlrs demonstrate how competent writers write while the students

obserrre. They also teach the conventions of written language- Also, teachers

write the texts on the whiteboard so that students can observe what is being

written. Likewise, teacher instructs individual students to rn'rite smali parts of the

text to be compiled into a class book.The three purposes for shared writing are as

follows:

to demonstrate writing through thinking aloud;

to generate students'ideas; and

to create written texts for students rt'ho could noi

,:i\

.z

rndependently.

TOPIC 4 SUPPORTING STUDTii TS TC \(/RITE 67

Cne noticeable feaiure that differentiates shared n riting from modelled writingis that the teacher i\ ritcs the text with input from the students. Hor.t'ever, inmodelled wriiing, ihe teacher ,.loes everything.

T'eachers can u$lise sliared writing in a varief of lvays. Primary teachers oftenwrite students' clictation on paintings and brainstorm lists of words on thechalkboard, rvhile secondary teachers may take students' dictation when theymake K-W-L charts, drar,,r maps and clusters, and rt,rite class coliaborationpoems.

The language experience approach (LEA) is one type of shared writing. It isbased on student's language and experiences (Ashton-Warner, 7965; Stauffer,7970). Studentsdictate words and sentences about their experiences, and theteacher writes the dictation. As they write, teachers model how writtenlanguage works. The text the class develops becomes the reading materialbecause it has been written with conventional English spetling. Since, thesfudents formulate the language and the content is based on their experiences,they are usually able to comprehend the text easily.

, The steps in the language experience approach as advocated by Ashton-Warner(1965) and Stauf fer (1970) are shown in Figure 4.1.

Discuss and Share theExperience

J*a

II &*semfu!* $si'!t*nee C=rds i

L--- --i

4.J: -cteps i;r thc langu.rge er.peiience approach

Frovide Eae *<gro/ndKn*wiedg*

Dictation

ffiead Text

Widen as"ad *eve[*p the Wriiingand Readi*g Hxperience

!-,'-.-.-.r J.5 u_r..

68

(a) Provide Some Background Knowledge Before WritingThe purpose of the background knor,r'1edge is to provide the stimulus forwriting. For group writing, it can be an experience shared with peers, storybooks read, a field trip, or incidents during the semester break. Forindividuai writing, the stimuius can be any personal experience that issignificant to the student.

Discuss and Share the ExperienceStudents generate ideas as they talk and reflect on their experience.Through this ta1k, students refine and organise ideas, use more specificvocabulary, and extend their understanding.

(b)

(c) Record the Child's DictationHere, teachers conduct dictation for the students' writing. Texts forindividual students are written on sheets of writing paper or in smallbooklets, and group texts are written on chart paper. Teachers print neatly,spe1l words correctly, and preserve student's language as much as possible.It is a great temptation to change the student's language to the teacher'sown, in eithcr word choice or granunar, but editing should be kept to a :{rrlinimum so that students do not feel belittled and discouraged to write.

For individual texts, take the student's dictation and write until the studentfinishes. If the student hesitates, the teache, ,.r.1d, what has been writtenand persuades the student to continue. For group texts, students take furnsdictating sentences. After writing each sentence, the teacher rereads it. Forediting purposes, teachers often put a sheet of plastic over class charts sostudents can underline kev words or other familiar words in the text.

(d) Read the Text Aloud, Pointing to Each WordTeacher demonstrates how to read the text aloud with correct intonation.Then students join in the reading. After reading group texts together,individual students can take turns to reread.

Widen and Develop the Writing and Reading ExpenenceStudents can be encouraged to draw picfures or scenes to accompany theirwriting text. This can assist to heighten the underlving meaning of the textthat the writers want to convey. When they u'rite individual texts, studentscan also read their texts to peers. Students can take their own individualtexts and copies of the class text home to share rr-ith familr'members.

Assemble Sentence CardsTeachers rervrite the text on sentence strips. , i-.':', tt-'ad and sequence thesentence strips accordingly. When the senfcl'-'- :::il-S are ready, studentscan cut the strips into individual rvord circ: ..-'.:-. s:ucients can rearrange

(e)

(f)

E

TOPIC 4 SUPPORTING STUDENTS TO \URITE

the wordS dni-1 create new sentences with the n-ord cards. Later the wordcards can be acioed to student's word banks. The language experience

approach is often used to create texts studenis can read and use as a

resource for other n'riting tasks.

4.1 .3 Interactive Writing at the Primary Level

Teachers and children create a text and "share the per(' to write the text on chart

paper (Button, Johnson, & Furgerson, 1996). The text is composed by the

gto.rp, and the teacher guides the students as they write the text word-by-*ora on a chart paper. Students take turns writing known letters and familiarwords, adding punctuation marks, and marking spaces between words. The

teacher assists students to spell the words correctly and use written language

conventions so that the text can be easily read. All students participate in creating

and writing the text on the chart paper, and they also write the text on small

white boaids. After writing, students read and reread the text using shared

and independent reading.

During interactive writing, teachers provide instruction and assistance to

students as they write. It is quite similar to shared writing except that the

students are doing much of the actual writing.

(a) Purposes of Interactive WritingFour purposes of interactive writing areas follows:

. To demonstrate how to write words and sentences.

. To teach how to use capital letters and punctuation marks.

' To demonstrate how to use phonics and spelling pattems to spelJ

words.

" To create written texts for students who could not write independently.

tVhen students begin interactive writing in kindergarten, they r.trrite letters

to represent the beginning souncis in words and familiar words sr"tch as tire,

a, and is. The first letters that students write are often the letters in theirotvn names, particularly the first letter. As studenis learn more about

sound-syrnbol correspondences and spclliiri: pattcrns, tirey do tnore of the

69

70

writing. As they do interactive writing, students gain valuable experienceapplying the phonics skills and writing the high-frequency words they arelearning.

Once students are writing words fluently, they can do interactive writing insmali groups. Each student in the group uses a particular colour pen andtakes turns writing letters, letter clusters, and words. They also get used tousing white correction tape to correct poorly formed letters and misspelledwords. Students also sign their names in colour on the page so that theteacher can track which students wrote which words.

(b) Suggested Activities for Interactive Writing

. Write predictions before reading.

. Write responses after reading.

. Write letters and other messages.

. Make lists.

,. Write daily news.

'. Rewrite a familiar story.

. Write information or facts.

o Write recipes. '/. Make charts, maps, clusters, data charts, and other diagrams.

. Create innovations or new versions of a famiiiar text.

. Write class poems.

. Write words on a wo?d wall.

q Make posters.

Interactive writing includes many of the features of Language ExperienceApproach (LEA), but in interactive writing, students do much of thewriting themselves.

(.) The Steps in Interactive Writing

. Collect Materials for Interactive WritingTeachers use chart paper, coloured marking pens, n-hite correction tape,an alphabet chart, magnetic letters or ietter cards, and a pointer forinteractive writing. Also collect these materials for individual studentswriting: small white boards, dry-erase p€n-;. anci erasers.

\;,

IOPIC 4 SUPPORTING SI-- r'.-S ;O \(/RITE 71

" Offer Stimu-tusOften teachel.s read or reread model text as a stimulus, but students canalso u-iite oaih'news, compose a letter, or brarnstorm information theyare iearning tn other subject areas.

o Work out a TextStudents create a text, often a sentence or tn'o, to use for the r,r'ritingactivity. The,v repeat the sentence several times and segment thesentence into lt'ords. Students also count the number of n'ords inthe sentence. This practice helps children remember the sentence as itis written.

" Distribute Materials for Students to ExploitStudents use individuai white boards, dry- eraser pens, and erasers towrite the text individually or together as a class on chart paper.Teachers periodically ask students to hold up their white boards so theycan see what the students are writing.

* Write the First Sentence Word-by-WordBefore writing the first word, the teacher and students siowlypronounce the word. Then students take turns writing the letters in thefirst word. The teacher chooses students to write the letters thatrepresent each sound or spell the entire word, depending on student'sknowledge of phonics and spelling. /eachers often have students useone colour of pen for the letters they write and then use another coiourto write the parts of words that students do not knor.r' hon' to spell. ir.,.

this way, teachers can keep track of how much writing students are abieto do. Teachers keep a poster with the upper- and lowercase letter> o:the alphabet to refer to when students are unsure about hor,r' to form a

letter, and they use white correction tape (sometimes called "boo-boo"tape) when students write a letter incorrectly or write the wrong letter.After writing each word, one student serves as the "spacer." Thisstudent uses his or her hand to mark the space between words (andsentences). Teachers have sfudents reread the sentence from thebeginning each time a new word is completed. When appropriate,teachers call student's attention to capital letters, punctuation marks,and other conventions of print. Repeat this procedure to wrjteadditional sentences to complete the text. \Ahen teachers are usinginteractii'e writing to write a class collaboration book, this activity cantake up to a week to complete.

o Display the Completed lVriting Chart on the Class Notice BoardStudents reread the completed r,t'riting chart using shared orir-rdependent reading. Thcy mav also ll.ant to add artwork tc augrnentthr: lt'riting chart. Aiso, students can use the rt'ords and scntences foroilLer n'i'riing a ctir.i iies.

7Z TOPIC 4 SUPPORTING STUDENTS TC "t

RITE V

4.1 .4 Guided Writing

Teachers scaffold or support student's writing during guided writing, butstudents do the actual writing themselves. Teachers plan structured writingactivities and then supervise as students do the writing. For example, whensfudents make pages for a class ABC book or when sfudents write formulapoems, they are doing guided writing because the teacher has set up thewriting activity. Teachers also guide the writing when they conference withstudents as they write, participate in writing groups to help students revise theirwriting, and proofread with students. With incompetent writers, teachers use

guided writing to help students choose what they want to write, organise theirideas into a sentence, and then transcribe each word onto paper.

Teachers read with small groups of students and provideneeded. The five purposes of guided writing are:

. To scaffold a writing experience.

. To introduce different types of writing activities.

. To teach student to use the writing process especially, how

. To teach procedures, concepts, strategies, and skills during

assistance as it is

to revise and edit.

mini--lessons.

r{

4,1 .5 Independent Writing

In independent writing, students do the writing themselves and often use

the writing process to write books. They practice the r.t'riting strategies and skillsthey are learning.

Often students do independent writing in writing centres and during writingworkshop, but they can also use independent writing n hen they write in readinglogs, make posters, and do other types of writing activitres.

The six purposes for independent writing are:

" To provide an authentic context for writing practice.

o To give sfudents opportunities to choose writing topics and forms.

c To gain writing fluenry and stamina.

How does guided writing help the weaker students?

TOPIC 4 SUPPORTING STUDENTS TO WRITE

. As a tool for learning, such as when sfudents write in reading logs and othertypes of journals.

. To inake and pubiish books.

o To document leaming in literature focus units and thematic units.

Students often r,r.rite independently, whether they are writing in readinglogs, making projects, or writing books during writing workshop.

* n : 4 4 tu & k a & 1t 6 & & @ 4 6 4 &i & e & & 4 4 6 * 4 6 & tu & 4 & & rE * &

r This topic describes some levels and types of support teachers can perform ina writing class as a proposed by Fontas and Pinnell (1996) and theLanguage Experience Approach (Ashton, 7965 and Stauffer, 1970).

e 4 @ q 4 e 6 6 4 4 A 4: 6 /4 4 r' q 4 4 {. & & A,,4 @ A 4 & $ + * !- : .! .

\Alho writes in rnodelled writing?

Hor,r'does a teacher heip in shared writing?

\Alhat enhances activities are involved in guided writing?

How big are guided writing groups?

\{hich supporting model would you choose to get students to write?

.j&'b!14{4&x6a

2.

Describe how independent writing can be used to help larger groups ofpeople to write.

F{ow does tfre experience approach (Ashton, 7965 and Stauf fer,1970) makeuse of prior experience to heip students n,rite?

73

7.

2.

3.

/l

5.

I

& 6 t& b 4 b lt S 4 & & * & I 4 4 4 r'e 4 @ tr t\ & Nk & & A & & & * & & & *

Collaboration

Independent

Interactive

Modelled

TopEc Pw Htf,fiilion

This topic introduces you to some techniques in teaching grammar. You will also

learn about teaching writing skills by incorporating tke medium of literature.

7,1 GRAMMAR IN WRITING

Understanding the writing processes have helped us design and implement moreeffective composition programmes and teaching materials. This is due to the

developments in composition theory and research during the past fewdecades. Confusion about the role of grammar in ESL /EFL writing instruction is

a resuit of the paradigm shift in composition theory from a focus on writingproducts to that of writing processes. Adding to the uncertainty about whether.gru**ur has a place in the teaching of writing are the result of a considerable

body of native English speakers' writing research rvhich indicates that formalgranunar instruction has iittle or no effect on *'riting improvement (Hillocks,

1e86).

ESL writing teachers know from experience that their students often have

difficulties at both sentence and discourse ler el English grammar. Besides,

research has provided evidence that ESL lvriters' eirors may negatively affect

assessments of overall writing quality. A studr hr' \IcGirt (7984), showed a

statistically significant difference between holistic rcrti:rgs of ESL essays withmorphosyntactic and mechanical errors of the s-t:t-.. essavs in which errors had

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Devise various techniques to teach grarrunar in writing and

the medium of literature to teach writing skitls.2. Incorporate

TOPIC 7 INTEGRA-l 3 l'r'3: SKILLS 175

been corrected. L'. ..,r'.::,..=: ti're difference in ratings for a control group of nativeEnglish speaker t'S:;'.'" s '.'. .ti'. and lvithout errors was not signiticant.

It seems tl..at mi::t,;'.;gplrfnS about the roie of grammar iI n'riting has resulted

from a narro*.lr t-ltlir.,L.ti view of "grammatical instruction" as traditional,decontextualiscd granr.mar lessons with a focus on formal analysis of sentence-

1eve1 syntax (e.g., ir-pes of clauses) and/or a preoccupation r,l'ith correctingerrors. In conirast to this \.ieh', as Widdowson (1988) discusses in his article"Grantnlar, fJ{}r1stnse, and Learning," is one of graminar as .-t resource forcommunication, or n'hat Widdowson terms "the adaptation of iexis" (p. i54). Inother words, grarrunar is regarded as an aid to language users in accuratelycommunicating their messages, not as some isolated body of knowledge thatmust be studied for its own sake. Widdowson states that "language learning isessentially gramnTar learning and it is a mistake to think otherwist'"(p. 154). Thisciaim might at first seem to reflect a long outdated language teachingmethodology, concerned with forms rather than functions of language, and lt,ithdiscrete sentence-level units rather than connected discourse. However,Widdor.t'son, who is 'known for his work in communicative language teaching(e.g., Widdowson, 7978), is simply stressing that grammar as a component of

' language enables us to make our meanings clear and precise. For example, inEnglish, word order is an essential determinant of meaning. The scntences 'tcthn

Ioves Mary" and "Mary loves John"obviously cfnvey two different messages.

This positive orientation toward grammar points to a solution to the problen-r

discussed above. If gramrnar is seen as an essential resource for rl'ritc'rs tn the

process of shaping accurate and effective communication, ESL w'nting tcachers

can use knowledge of grammatical forms and functions to address specific neetis

of students and to guide instructional materials development for learners at al1

stages of the writing plocess. in this way, grammar instruction is integrated lr,ithvarious writing goals; it is presented to learners not just as a prescriptive model'for error correction but rather as an aid to convey meaning appropriately tointended readers.

What is the role of grariunar in writing?

il:

ffi

&

176 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SK;]..S

7,2. GUIDELINES FOR INTEGRATINGGRAMMAR INTO WRITING INSTRUCTION

Figure 7.7 shows the six guidelines for integrating granunar into writinginstruction.

Figure 7.1:Six guidelines for integrating grammar into writing instruction

The ESL/EFL instructor will need to assess both learner and instructionalvariables when deciding what kinds of grammar-based activities are most

relevant to particular writing contexts. Celce-Murcia (1985b), suggests that the

following learner variables b6 considered in making choices about granunarinstruc{ion:

t ug";

n proficiency level; and

. educationalbackground.

According to Celce-Murcia, for the schema of variabies influencing grafiunarteaching, a focus on formal aspects of language is increasingly useful as writersbecome older, more advanced in English proficienc)', and more highiy educated.

In addition, the students' backgrounds in grammatical instruction should be

considered, especially with reference to knowledge of grammatical terminology.

One of the frequent criticisms of traditional grammar instruction in writing has

been its overemphasis on teaching terminologv to students. It is argued that such

{c} Tex€ Analysis

{h} Gulded WritiergPrae tlse

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E&:Tg*ffiATIruG

*ffi&fr&MAR

iel Sletatiq:st

{d} Text Elleitati*e:

ie] Texi Conversion

{f} Text fompleti*r:

TOPIC 7 INTEGRAIICNJ OF SKILLS 177

insiruction is trm--: - r':.1:-.ir-r9 and often results in confusing students rather thanhelping them.

In the fielii o- rasic writing for native English speakers, the

prevailirLg reconlmenCation to teachers is to use as lift1e terminology as

possible and to keep it as simple as possible (e.g., D'E1oia, 7975; Neuleib& Brosnahan,7987').

many ESL/EFL contexts, itsecond or foreign language

knowiedge of traditional

-I

I

I

I

\{hile this is ceriainly good adr.ice for teachers'inshould be noted that some learners of English as a

enter the writing classroom with a sophisticatedgrafiunar.

Since terminology can be useful in providing teacher feedback on

syntactic and morphological error patterns in students' writing, an

awai:eness of individual learners' knowledge of grammaticai terms isimportant.

This can be achieved at the beginning of a course by giving students a list ofterms and asking them to check ones with whish they are familiar.

Furtherrnore, there will be some basic terms which the writing teacher rvill n'antto familiarise all students with in order to help them edit their writing. For these,

the advice is to keep terminology simple. For example, progressive t-erbs,

gerunds, and present participles in adjective/adverb phrases might be

distinguished as -ing,main verbs, -ing modifiers and -ing nouns, respectirrely.

Relative clauses couid be referred to as which/who/that-clauses used as

. adjectives. Such designations link grammatical functions with actual morphemesor words that student will see in writing so that there is less of a requirement tomemorise terms.

Moreover, instructional variables must be considered in developing graffunar-oriented writing activities. As proposed by Celce-Murcia's schema, the moreformal the register and the more professional the use of language, the greater the

need for focus on form. In most types of academic writing, conformity tostandard English conventions of grarnmar and mechanics is assumed; thereforein this regard the ESL/EFL instructor will need to assess both learner andinstructional variables. Ii-r short, rvriting iirstructors in secondary and highereducation r.vill neecl to help students become aware of the expectations ofacademic discourse communities.

178 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKi._:

The specific objectives of a writing class will greatlr'influence the ways in which

gru*ttrut will be integrated with writing. ln ESL/EFL writing Progranrmeswhere students ur" plu."d on the basis of diagnostic tests which evaluate

syntactic and rhetoricil fluency, some courses may focus particularly on helping

siudents to reduce error frequency, while those for advanced writers may be

more concerned with the grammatical choices writers make to achieve certain

stylistic effects. Thus, coulses desi.gned lot writers with numerous

*orphoryntactic problems might include considerable work on editing and on

guided writing piactice, with a focus on common grammatical problems such as

ierb formr, *ord classes, or articles. Courses for advanced ESL/EFL writers with

few grammatical problems, could offer extensive practice in such activities as

cont&tualised ,"rit"r,." combining and discourse analysis/evaluation, to help

students achieve greater stylistic sophistication and to heighten awareness of the

ways in which grammitical choices serve various discourse pragmatic

considerations, such as topic emphasis and reader expectations'

In the sections which follow, specific activities and techniques for achieving these

goals will be suggested.

7 .2.1 Text AnalYsis

The study of text models is emphasised less in the process oriented, student-

centred #riting class than it was in the past when presentationai modes of

instructio., pr"io-inated (see Hillo ck$, 1976, for an overview of instructional

modes). However, exercises based on text analysis can help ESL/EFI' writers to

see how particular grammatical/syntactic -features are used in authentic

discourse contexts, which are in texts written for acfuai communicative purposes

and not just to illustrate grammatical points'

Text analysis can be especially useful as an inductive approach for helping

learners who are already familiar with prescriptiYe grammar rules, but who stil1

have problems understanding and using appropriatelr- grammatical oppositions

such as definite and indefinite articles, restrictive and non- restrictive clauses,

and present perfcct and past- or present-tense Verh f()rn]s.

TOPIC 7 INTEGRAT;3I. :|_ SKILLS 179

In selecting authenhc ierts for inductive exercises, the rtriting teacher shculdkeep in mind the proiiriencr'1evel of sfudents, avoiding rr riting that might be too

cornpiex or lengthr-, ano should look for texts .,r-itl-. anrple instances of the

grammatical feature to be analysed. Since finding an appropriate text whenneeded for a lesson is often difficult, it is useful to create files beforehand of short

texts (e.g., magazine and newspaper articles, advertisements) that would be good

for examining grammatical features most often problematic for ESL n'riters. Atleast some texts should represent the kinds of rt'rihng that students will be

expected to produce. However, a variety of writing samples can help to keep

interest levels high. Especially for less advanced students, advertisements can be

excellent sources for iliustrating grarnmatical features; they often incorporategrammatical repetition as a rhetorical device.

Teachers often assume that the text used has sufficient instances of the particulargrammatical item or items. Text analysis in the writing class should be

subordinate to actual writing activities; exercises should usually be kept brief. Ifthe instructor decides to incorporate text analysis routinely into classroom or out-of-class activities, students couid be asked to purchase differentiy coloured pens

or pencils to highlight contrasting functions of different grammatical features.

The following are a few examples of lessons that focus on grammatical featuresin texts.

,/To help students distinguish restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses,

ask them to underline restrictive clauses in a text with onc colour pen andnon-restrictive. relative clauses with another colour. Flave them circlecommas to locate non-restrictive clauses. Ask them to identify which typeof relative ciause is more frequent. Elicit functions of clauses (e.g., non-restrictive used for definition, restrictive which provide cohesion byrepeating information previously I given) to point out salient differences inusage.

Select a text that illustrates several functions of the definite article "the"(e.g., second mention, shared knowledge between writer and reader,uniqueness through post-modification). Uncierline and number only thoseuses of "the" on rvhich you want students to focus. Present functionclassifications and ask students to classify each numbered use. A rrariationof this'lvould be to focus oniy on function. For example, students who are

familiar n,ith abstract nouns but unsure as to when it is appropriately usedcoulC be asked to highlight abstract noun phrases preceded by "the"(inciucling any post-modification) and those '"vith no article, h'ith differentcolours. In discussion or -writing, elicit the principles that account for use ofthe article.

(a)

(b)

180 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SI. .-S

(c) To help students understand hon' the present perfect contrasts with pastand present tenses, find a passage that uses all three. Ask students to markinstances of the three verb types in different ways (using different pencolours or circling, boxing, and underlirLing). Ot"t a blackboard, overheadprojector, or handout, present students lvith a time chart including thefoliowing categories:

. completed events in the past;

. er.ents that started in the past and continue to the present;

. repeated events in the past;

o events in the present (from the writers'perspective); and

. any other categories relevant to the text.

Have students complete the chart by writing verbs from the text under eachappropriate categor/; then ask them to sumrnarise the uses of the presentperfect.

For adr.anced ESL writers, grammatical analysis can be used for lessons

concerned r,t'ith styiistic options and methods of rhetorical focus such as passivevoice. In addition, this approach can be used to demonstrate exceptions toprescriptive rules. For example, advanced ESL students who have been taught toavoid sentence fragments are often confused whe( they encounter them inauthentic texts. Text analysis can help to clarify the contexts in which some lypesof fragments are acceptable and to point out how they differ from fragment"ertors" that would be inappropriate in almost any context. As an illustration,the following passage about developments in running shoes, taken from Burfoot(1988), uses repeated noun phrase fragments as a stylistic device.

Or)er the last two decades, we have seen shoes that were light andfirm. Shoes with high heels or low heels, wide heels or narrow heels.Shoes that promised motion control and stability. Schizophrenic shoes:firm on one side, soft on the other.

After discussing rhetorical functions ofsfudents could then examine sentencewhether they serve a rhetorical purpose

examples such as in the text mentioned,fragments in their own writing to see

or need to be revised.

In all types of text-analysis exercises, students can develop greaterunderstanding of how grammar contributes to communication by identifyitgand explaining the meanings or functions of grammatical structures in discoursecontexts. These exercises should help students to der-e1op not only their writing

TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 181

but also their: reac.rr-..i::.-,-.. As foliow-up activities, either writing or editingpractice related to th.' ir.rr:L:'Lrfical focus can be assigned.

7 ,2.,2- Guided Writing Practice

Perhaps the most ob\ roLr: f-rlrpose for guided writing with focus on a particulargrammatical structtrre rs ttr address grarrunar problems of learners as diagnosedin their writing. In fact, sr)ne discussions of the role of grammar in writing fornative English speakers sugeest that grammar study be limited to the eliminationof error (D'Eloia, 1975; Kean, 1981). However, for ESL /EFL students, at least,another benefit of guided n'riting exercises requiring the use of certaingramrnaticai constructions, is that such practice can buiid writers' confidence intheir ability to use English grammar and slmtax and thus encourage them todevelop syntactic compiexity in their writing. Schachter and Celce-Murcia (7977)

point out that ESL learners may avoid using constructions they find difficult;they cite evidence from Schachter (1974) that Chinese and Japanese learnersavoid producing Engiish relative clauses and from Kleinmann (1977) that nativespeakers of Arabic avoid using passives in English. Avoidance strategies may be

especially common in writing contexts where students' work is graded; these

students may avoid constructions they think will produce errors affecting theirgrades on writing assignments. As a result, the learners may end up using iess

effective or less appropriate ways of communic#ing their ideas, as u'el1 as failingto make much progress in developing syntactic maturity.

Many of the following guided writing activities described were used long beforeprocess centred approaches to writing became widespread (e.g., see Paulston,7972; Ross, 1968). However, in the past, these exercises were sometimespresented either in no contextual framework or in the context of a grammaticalh-organised syllabus. Here, they are suggested as components of prert'riting,fevising, or editing stages in the writing process. In other words, the activitiesshould have a purpose other than simply grammar practice; thc grammaticalfocus should be subordinated to a communicative goal. Decisions as to whattypes of exercises wili be most helpful shouid be based on the parameters of thelearning context, including the demands of major writing tasks and learner needsassessment.

t1l

,1

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iiliitu

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,&

at is the purpose of guioed writing practice?

182 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION CF SI(ILLS

7 .2.3 Dictation

American high schooi and college teachers of ESL immigrants who have lived inthe United States for a number of years, are fjnding thal some of their studentshave native-like fluency but that their writing exlibits frequent omissions ofbo_und morphemes such as +plural, -3posr"rrirr", cthird p"rron singular, and _

/ for regular past Participles. These errors are very cofiunon to native speakerbasic writers (Shaughnessy, 7977). Omissions of some articles and prepositionsmay also result to some extent from the fact that these words aie generallyunstressed in spoken English. In addition, the writing of these student, *uyinclude words or phrases that are incorrect or unidiomatic, but phonologicallysimilar to correct forms (e.g., "firsteval" for "ftrst of all,- -wou]d of- for '*ouiah.1y'5," "under contrary" for -on th9 contrary!. Dictations can help students todiagnose and correct these kinds of errors as well as others. Their usefulness isnot, however, limited to error detection and correction; they may also providepractice in slmtactic constructions that appear to, be inirequently used bystudents but are appropriate for writing taski and p6frciency levels of the class.

In the most common procedure for dictation, the instructor reads aloud a shorttext several times. If the class is working on a composition unit, the text shouldbe reiated to the theme of the unit. The fiist time, the text is read at a normal pacewith the students just listening. For the second reading, the teach", pu.rr", lft",each phrase to allow studenfs to write. During this reading, care shouid be takennot to put undue emphasis on word endings or function words that are notnormally stressed. The third reading, done af a nor*al pace, gives students theopportunity to read over their texts and make corrections. The instructor thenshows students the passage visually so that they can check their version with theoriginai and edit it. If the activity's main objective is error detection/ correction,the instructor could give more specific directions, such as to circle all missed -sthird person singular or ed endings. If the goal is to familiarise writers with aparticular grammatical feature, such as participial ciauses or past perfect verbs,the students could be asked to underline them; discussion bf tf,"ir meaningsand/or functions could follow.

TOPIC 7 INTEGR,:,- ]', :: SKILLS 183

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7 "2,4 Text Elicitation

D'Eloia (1975. 9) advises that the study of the grammaticalconcept be integrated as much as possible into the process of rvritingso that the student's understanding of a gramrnatical principle istransferred to correct production.

One of her suggestions is to have studerrts develop a topic sentence thatestablishes a time frame. An example is the following sentence with a present

perfect frame: "My parents have (not) had a lot of intTuence on my beliefs andvalLres."

As Celcc-Murcia and Hilles (197.8, p:160) note, teachers can take advantage of the

fact that -certain writing topics or tasks seem naturally to elicit certain

structures." They give as an exampie a rnriting task in which students are

instructed to use the hypothetical conditional (i.e., the subjunctive) in explaining

, what they would do if they won a million dollars in the lottery.

In text elicitation with a grammatical focus, the instructor specifies both a topic orwriting objective and a grammatical construcpn (or constructioirs) to be ttsed.

Moreover, surveys and graphs/charts on vaiious topics are good sources foreliciting summaries that utilises comparison/contrast transitions; even adr atrce.l

ESL writers often have difficulty using sentence connectors and clause

connectors in appropriate syntactic contexts. For exampie, thet, ina) ntrt

understand how "in contr ast," a sentence connector, is used differentiv fronr"whereas," a clause corlnector. Summaries of surveys, graphs, and charts can also

provide good text-based practice of passive verbs and, depending on the time.frarne, verb tenses such as simple past or present perfect.

Prewriting exercises such as brainstorming or outlining could inrrolve lists thatuse paraliel structures such as phrases or infinitives. For example, as a

brainstorming exercise to begin a composition unit on education issues, studentsin a university writing class were asked to list all the purposes of highereducation that they could think of, using infinitive of purpose phrases (e.g., "tcr

prepare tar a career"). The grammatical objective here u'as not so tnuch onpracticing infinitive phrases as it was on using parailelism as a systematic way oforganising information in prewriting.

Studerrts then read an article on the purposes of education, aftcr -n'hich thevcoinparc'J the purposcs on their Iists with those ir', ihe article'.

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184 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS

In summary, text elicitation which includes the use of certain grammaticalstrucfures can serve a number of purposes:

r to develop syntactic maturity;r to familiarise students with grammaticaily based discourse conventions (e.g.,

the use of passive in survey reports);

r to provide strategies for organising and displaying information; and

o to focus on diagnosed structural problems.

7 .2.5 Text Conversion

In text conversion exercises, students are given paragraphs or short texts whichthey must rewrite, changing some feature of the grammatical structure, such as

present tense to past tense or direct speech to indirect speech. Exercises of thistlpe were comrnonly used aS "controlled composition" techniques inaudioLingual methodologies; they were also used to apPly principles oftransformational generative granunar in ESL writing instruction (e.g., Arapoff,7969).

As with text elicitation, text conversion exercises for the compositionclass should reflect iearner needs, including diagnosed grarunar/slmtaxproblems and writing objectives. Since, as CelCe-Murcia and Hilles(1988, p. 156) point out, these exercises do not involve actualcomposing but rather provide practice in making structure discoursematches, they should be as relevant as possible to writing problemsand/or actual writing assignments.

For e4ample, if students have frequent subject-verb agreement errors in theirwriting, as a pre-editing exercise they could be instructed to change all thirdperson present plural forms in a text to singular, and to make necessary verbchanges. To give students practice using the appropriate register of English forscience and technology or research reports, thev could be asked to re-writesentences in a text, changing all sentences with first-person subject pronouns tothe passive voice, deleting the agent.

The following is a brief examPle:

I analysed the results of the values stln/er- 2-; spli6tr+-s. First I totalled the

responses for each of the four categories. I then ranked the ten vafues inorder of importance.

-/_____ _ <aiffi

TOPIC 7 INTEGRATIoI'l oF :[]!LS 185

. .,,'-les survey were analysed as follows' First' the

- , :he iour categories *'"'" totalled' The ten values

irrit'i i--'f importance-

lf an actuai text is *sttl, the teacher may find that not a1l parts of it can be

iransformed. EVcn ir, tcrts created for exercises, rewriting every sentence might

produce an au.kh'aLt-i or Verv artificial text- For example, science texts do not

usually have all sentcnces in passive voice. To solr'e this problem' the instructor

can simpiy m.rrk thc sentences to be rewritten, using numbers or underlining'

Afterwards, the class might be asked to identify contextuar factors that influence

use of the Passive.

Sentence CombiningOne type of text Jonversion that has been the focus of much research and

discussion in the fieid of composition for over 20 years is sentence combining' in

, its early stages, this technique, developed by John Mellon (7969)' often involved

, exercises in combining a sei of kernel sentences such as the following

Sentence combining can be very useful for practice of a particulal grammatical

Structure, such as relative ciauses ot pt"po/ttional phrases'- to. help rt'riters

become aware of and develof a ,ung" 'of strategi'es {o.t highlighting kt}-

information, subordinating less importan"t information, and improving svntactic

fluency. However, recent"discussitns of this technique caution against ttsing

unnatural examples sttch as the one above'

De Beaugrande (1985, recommends that writing samples used for sentence

combining shouli resemble naturally occurring linguage; otherwise' as he so

'aptly puts it, "the whole exetcise wili be treatei as Some gratuitous venture into

a bizarre domain of communication where people regard each other v'ith inate

kernal sentences"(p.72).DeBeaugrande furineicautions that students should be

taught to avoid 'excessive, ^ridl"d complexity" (P' 74)' Most teachers rt"ho

have used sentence combining with ESL siude.,it ui" probably aware that this

technique sometimes resultJ in students' producing confusing or even

incomprehensible sentences'

Perhaps the most useful appiication of sentence combining theory for advanced

ESL r.t,riters involrres actual revisiorL or editing of thei.r drafts. Students, with help

frcim peers and the instructor, can identify Passages in their writing where

sentence conlbining couid achier.,e a better tlow of information or greater clarity'

Combining couli "incir-ide

aciciing transitions to express-logical relationships'

,,incither tcchilqr^r la-.t,.i. tln sr:ntcircc conibi;iiirg t}^rtor-,', although it r'a;"' resnlt in

The results c,: :,-.responses foi .':.' '-'were then ranke.i u'

4

186 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILI-S

shortening rather than lengthening sentences, is proposed by Elbow (1985). First,the students identify a passage in their writing that is problematic. They then"decombine" the sentence, breaking it into sirnpler sentences. (Elbow stresses

that the sentences "needn't be pulverized into pure Chomskyan kemels" fpg2371).In recombining, the students attempt to solr'e whatever the problem was.

Although Elbow's technique is not limited to gramrnar problems, itprovides a good approach to rephrasing ideas that are difficult tounderstand because of sentence structure errors without having to resortto grammatical terminologY.

This technique could also be used for small group revision tasks, with writingsamples selected by the teacher from students' drafts. The teacher could thenfocus on grammaticai problems corninon to a number of students or could even

divide the class into groups according to particular problems and give each

group different samples of texts to revise.

7.2.6 Text Completion

Two of the most corunon types of text compietion exercise/tasks are the cloze

passage and the gapped text. In the cloze passage, each blank represents a single

*ord to fill in, in the gapped text, the blanks may require one or more words. Ina third type of text completion, sentences with similar meanings coded indifferent *uys are presented and the student uses the discourse context to select

the most appropriate grammatical coding of the information.

CIoze passages can be created either by random deletion of words (e.9., every

seventh word is deleted) or by deletion of a specific item (e.g., articles). The

second kind of cloze passage is most suitable for grammatical focus (Celce-

Murcia & Hilles, 7988, p:152)-

The foilowing is an example of a cloze passage; it requires students to select

appropriate prepositions.

What is the difference between text elicitation anditext conversion?

TOPIC INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 187

(1) :'r, -itl(jn mav be defined as (2)

deterioratior-L t-ri I l;(4\ pt,l'uiitrn\-t

-

L

affected (6) quality of (7)

r,atural resources.problem that has

water we drink.(5)

everyday life'sgiobal

air n'e breathe and (9) land we use.

scientific solutions to overcome

problem have increased (12)

destruction.

Source : Ross, 1984

The text mentioned illustrates the advantage of presenting a passage for practice

in article usage rather than a group of unrelated sentences. In the iast sentence,

the definite article "the" is needed before both nouns because of second mention;

"probiem" IS a partial repetition of "g1oba1 problem," and "destruction" may be

interpreted as eithe, u rynorlym for 'ldeterioration" or a suPerordinate term for

the effects mentioned in the second sentence.

Students usually enjoy exercises that involve their own writing cloze Passages

which are based or, rtrd.t-tt texts can serve as a;.r error corection technique if the

writer has produced errors in the grammafical item deleted. Whatever the

source, this iype of cloze passage can prorride an excellent context for discussing

extra-sententiat syntactic, semintic, or pragmatic features that may influence

writers'selections of such grammatical items as articles and pronouns.

Since gapped text completion exercises do not specify the number of words

requirJd^ior each blarik, they can be used to elicit deleted verbs that include

forms with more than one word, such as passives, Progressive aspect, and

present perfect. Other grammatical items that could be deieted for gapped

exercises are comparatlves and superlatives, phrasal verbs, and logical

connectors.

The third type of text completion, as described by Rutherford (1988), asks the

student to consider severai syntactic arrangements that realise essentially the

same propositional content, and to choose the most appropriate rendering of the

informatibn based on the preceding discciurse context. The following exercise,

modelied after Rutherford'J @.240) and based on information from Filosa (1988),

is an exampie. The appropriate choices have been indicated.

Clin:ratologists har.e preCicted that the ccntinual rvarming of the earth's surface,

knOwn as the "greei-,irouse eifect," could have'Lramatic COnSeqLlflrlces:

(B)

(i0)(1 1)

188 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS

(a) (b)

(1) The melting of the polar ice caps

polar ice could be one result.

(2) This melting would, in turn cause

caused by a rise of the sea level.

(3) Coastal flooding would occur as

would the sea level rises.

(4) Such disastrous effects might be

such degree lessened to some bycloud reactions.

One result could be the melting of the caps.

A rise of the sea level would, in turn, be

this melting.

As the sea level rises, coastal floodingoccur.

Cloud reacfions might lessen to some

degree disastrou's effects.

As the example shows, this activity emphasises the importance of context inmaking grammatical choices. It also demonstrates the significant role of wordorder in presenting "given" and "new" information in English (Chafe, 7976).Thistwe of exercise can help advanced ESL students to gain native-like competencyin written English. Such writers employ a sophisticated range of syntacticstruc'fures but need to develop greater awareness of how grarunar is used tofocus information and to achieve cohesion across sentence boundaries. Also, incourses concerned with writing for academic purposes, this technique can

familiarise students with grammatically based discor.r3e conventions such as the

use of passive voice in describing research procedures.

7,3 GUIDED WRITING ACTIVITIES

Lets's take a look at guided writing activities in the following paragraphs.

7 .3.1 Editing

Many of the guided writing activities mentioned can, of course, be incorporatedinto the editing process of writing. However, the techniques discussed here,

unlike the guided writing exercises, have a single focus: to develop student'sabilities to detect and correct errors so thht they will become effective self-editorsof their writing.

7 ,3.2 Error Detectionl(orrection Exercises

Text-based exercises which involve identifying and correcti.ng the kinds of errors

students frequently make in their writing can help intermediate and advanced

writers to deveiop systematic strategies for editine. It is, of course, important forthe inslructor to analyse students' errors, at ieasi in:r.',rmallY, so that the exercises

TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 189

are relevant tc tt-... i problems. Obviously not all students in a class willproduce the sai:tt -:,

Thus, whenever i-.''i>,r.c.:rrd appropriate, the writing of students in the class

should be useo irlr C\cicises; in this way, if a few students do not have the

particular error p:-.,'r-en-r, they can contribute via peer correction.

The follou'ing arc SOitt€ r.ariations of error detection/correction techniques, withan example gir er, ior each; it should be assumed that the examples are excerptedfrom a text (a prar.rgraph or composition). Usually an authentic text rrLust be

adapted in sorne tva\. to make it appropriate for instructional purposes.

(a) A text is constructed with one error in each sentence, and r,r,ith the errorsrepresenting a range of types. Each sentence is divided into three or fourparts. The student must identify the section with the error and correct it.Although this task could involve identification only, the teacher shouldkeep in mind that students might choose the section with the error for thewrong reason; therefore, when possibie it is best to have them correct the

perceived error also.

Example:

C

In a text with different typeseach kind of error to identify

of errors, students are told the total number oiand correct.

Example:

The foilowing text has the following errors:

1 incorrect preposition, 1 verb tense, 1 subject-verb agreement, 1 missingarticle.

(c) To focus on just one error type, students are given a text r.vith numberediines.-fhey are told all of the iine numbers which have a certain fpe of error.

Example:

Iden'iifv inLl ,-,.,ri'i.:i .iil of the verb forrn ciror: in ihe follorvirrq icxi

DA

(b)

I

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This paper report on survey about values. Our English ciass take thesurvev iast week in UCLA.

190 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKI;-LS

(a) The Olympics were hold in Seoul, Korea in 1988.

&) Athletes from all over the worid participated.

(c) The Olympics have inspire many )'oung people to excel in athletics.

For any editing exercise, the teacher should consider carefuily how much

guidance students may need to complete the task successfully. All of the

variations above provide some direction either by identifying to some extent

error location or by indicating numbers of errors and error fPes. Editing tasks

which are not guided in any way can overwhelm students, unless they are quite

advanced, especially if the text is a composition; they are also difficult for

sfudents or the teacher to correct.

How much guidanceduring editing?

should the teacher provide for students

7 .3.3 Read'Aloud Technique

In this procedure, the students simply read their paPers aloud, listening for

errors u.td .ot."cting as they proceed. A variation of this is to have students workin pairs, with each student reading aloud his/her partner's PaPer; the writer can

urk th" reader to stop at any time to make corrections. The rationale for this

technique is that some students are better able to hear their errors than to see

them; ihir .u.r be a helpfui activity for editing the last draft before the finalversion of a composition.

7 .3.4 Algorithms

Raimes (1988), developed flow charts, or algorithms, to guide students in editing

their grammatical choices. In this procedure, the student responds to a series of

questtns about a grammatical item; each answer leads to a narrowing of choices,

until at the end a single choice remains. The follorving exampie, from Raimes'

(1988: 54) textbook, "Grammar Troublespots: An Editing Guide for ESL

Students," is the first part of an algorithm for editing article usage:

TOPIC INTEGRATION CF SKILLS 191

Yes No

Does the corLll-Io:. nounspecific, unique re;erentwriter and the reader?

With a proper noun, do not use

a/an. Make sure the noun has a

capital letter. Add "the" to Pluralfoims. Some singular names ofplaces also ueed "the". Check in a

dictionary or ask Your instructor

have a

for the

Ilaimes' chart continues with features of countability and number to guide

correct selection of an article in context. As can be seen from the example, the

algorithmic procedure may be best for more advanced writers who are familiar

*ith gru*-utical terminology. It provides a step-by-step Process for self-editing,

whicf, makes it more effective than simply a list of grammatical rules'

7 .3 "5 Teacher Correction and Feedback on Errors

Recent research suggests that direct correction of surface errors does not produce

significantly betteilesults in EFL student wqiting than less_time-consuming

correction measures such as underlining or nig(ligniing errors (Robb et a1., 1986)'

Since students often do not pav much attention to corrections on their final,

graded compositions, instructor feedback on errors seems most helpful 1n tfte

Ealti"g stages of composing. Even before this, however, the teacher should help

indiviluah identify fiequent error patterns and discuss goals for reducing error

frequency. in this "

*uy) a writer, with instructor guidance, -can

set reasonable

.objectiver fot improvement. A frequent cornplaint of students during short'.olrr", (e.g., a 1 week term) is that they do not notice their writing getting any

better. Especialiy for writers who have numerous grammatical problems, limiting

intensive work on errors to some of the most frequent or serious ones can build

students' confidence and reduce anxiety about grammar problems by giving

them a better chance to observe improvement over a short period of time.

Although instructors will n.ant to refer to students' writing to identify and

discuss grarnnrar problems, they should be careful that grammar focus does not

contradiit other types of teacher feedback. When teachers point out errors to be

edited on drafts at the same time that they suggest meaning-levei changes, such

as further developing a topic, students may be confused as to how they should

revise (Zamel,19B5).

192 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS

One method of charting progress in reducing error frequency during a course, isfor each student to keep a chronological record of the errors being focused on,with the teacher helping by either coding or underiining them on selected

writing assignments, such as final drafts before a paPer is due.

Another method of individualising error correction, recommended by Celce-

Murcia and Hilles (1988), is the "blue sheet." In this technique, the teacher

attaches a blue sheet to each student's paragraph or essay, on which two obviousstructural errors are listed. Again, this could be done with drafts preceding finalrevision. The teacher also refers each lrrriter to exercises in the class grammar textor provides handouts relevant to these errors. (Some ESL textbooks, such as

Graham & Curtis, 1986; Raimes, 1988, include text-based exercises.) The teacher

then corrects the practice exercises before the writing assignment is revised bythe student.

Writing conferences can provide opportunities for more individualised help withgranunar problems in writing. Even if this is not possible, the teacher may be

able to hold "miniconferences" with individuals or small groups of students inthe cl3ssroom. In conferences, teachers can demonstrate directly the difficuities a

readef might have as a result of gramrnatical errors in the student's writing. Thissetting allows the teacher to act as a collaborator rather than as an error detector

or corrector; he/she can help students to identify errors that create reader

confusion or misinterpretation of ideas, to develolstrategies for systematicediting of frequent errors, to set goals for improvement, and to assess progress inthese goais. In conferences, teachers and students can also discuss possiblereasons for errors. The Cohen and Robbns (L976) case studies of writers based onthis technique indicate that writers' attitudes about the importance ofgrammatical accuracy may affect error frequency. Although, as Cohen andRobbins note, students may la'ck metalanguage to describe reasons for structuralprobiems, they can often provide insight into sources of error that a teacher

might hot have considered.

-

TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 193

(1)

(2)

Is $Tc1i)1Jt-,ii lrrstructionr,,'ritinql l:r erpl;ining"gramr-Lar.

Discr-rss hon- learner variables of age, proficiency leve1, educational

backgror-rncl, and/or course objectives might influence the role of

giammar rnstruction in writing for Malaysian ESL stuCents.

W]-ty is it important for grammar exercises to be:

(a) text-based rather than a series of unrelated sentences;

(b) developed from authentic discourse; and

compatible withyour opinion,

a process aPProach to

include a definition of

(3)

(c) presentedpractice in

in a comrnunicative context rather than only as

grammatical structures?

(4) Yor,r are teaching a class of advanced ESL/EFL students whose

writing generalllihas only minor grarnmatical errors. What types of

gru**utically focused writing activities might be most appropriate

lo help them further develop their writing abilities?

(5) If one of your students expressed dlappointment that you did not

correct all of the errors in her final dlafts, how would yor-r respond?

(6) What are Some of the advantages of teacher-student c()nference\ ln

helping students with grammaticai problems in writing?

l. Evaiuate onecompositioncriteria:

lVhat appears to be the PurPosethink it is pedagogicallY sound?

Is the exercise text-based? If not,

appropriate for its purPose?

or more grammar-oriented exercises in an ESL

textbook or workbook according to the following

(a)

(b)

of the exercise? Do You

1i

I

(c) Does the language seem authentic?

do you think is stiii

194 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SK:LiS

(d)

(e)

(0

If the exercise is included in a content-based or rhetoricalframework (".g., as part of a unit on cause/effect), is itclearly and appropriately related to the larger context?

If the exercise is not part of a larger context, for what aspect ofwriting instruction do you think it would be appropriate?

Does the level of difficulty seem appropriate for the

intended learners?

Select a text that you think iilustrates well the use of a particulargrammatical structure (e.g., agentless passives, present perfectverbs, presentative "thefe" to introduce information). Develop an

exercise to accompany the text that students could complete in small

groups as a classroom assignment or individually for homework.Explain the objective of the exercise and the writing context in which itmight be used.

Examine several ESL/EFL compositions that have numerous and

varied grammatical errors. For each, identify two of the most frequent

or serious errors. Develop sets of exercises or activities that would help

the writer to address these grammatical problCms-

Make a list of grammatical elrors you observe in your students'writingthat seem to be influenced by spoken English patterns. Create shortdictation exercises to focus on these errors or find authentic texts

that would be appropriate for dictation.

Interview ESL writing teachers about the techniques, both oral and

written, that they have used to provide feedback on grammatical errors

in their students' writing.

(a) During what stages of composing processes do they address

errors?

&) Which error feedback and/or correction techniques have they

found to be most effective?

(c) What student variables have affected the success of techniques

used?

(d) Compare your findings with those oi recent research on the

effectiveness of error correction anLl ice!-1back methods.

2.

3.,

+.

5.

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196 TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS

. setting.

' Symbols.

r lronl.. Theme.

Some of these will be more significant than

(a) Plot Factors

the others, depending on the work.

Plot can be identifiednarrative along.

as the sequence of events that

A conventional plot during the opening of a story presents importantcharacters and sets the stage for what happens. Then one or morecontroversies develop, some persons set as rivals, others setting characters

igainst society, nature, fate, or even themselves. Progressively, actionincreases to a climax, where events take a decisive or turning point. The

ending can do plenty of things; skaighten up thgunanswered questions ofthe fufure, state a theme, or reinstate some sort df relationship between tworivals.

Writers use a number of techniques to arrange plots. For instance, inforeshadowing, the writer hints at later developments, thus creating

attraction and developilg suspense. When using another organisationaltechnique, called the flashback, the writer disturbs the flow of events to linkane or more happenings that happened before the point of interruption. Inbnef, flashbacks provide necessary information and either craft or work outsuspense.

In clear stages, not every plot develops. In recent times, many modern

stories focus on psychological, not physical conflicts, and lack distinct plotdivisions. In some extreme cases, writers may actually leave behind the

traditional plot structure and portray events in a disorganised sequence

that helps accomplish some literary purpose, like reflecting a character's

disturbed state of mind.

Sometimes, a poem comprises a series of actions and events, but most

poems, however, make a philosophical point rather than tell a

conventionally plotted story by portraying a series of images and buildingstatements.

TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS .q 197

Writing about PlotIn writing abo:.r: r,-ot, assist your reaCer to comprehend what is unique

about the plot arC hou it serves, rather than sirnply repeat what occurs inthe storv, Expialn to 'u'our reader whether it develops susPense, reflects a

character's contusion, form a conflict, or illustrate how different lives can

crisscross or e\-en heip uncover a theme.

Answer the folion'ing questions before you start to write:

. What are the main events of the story?

o Do they expand in typical fashion or differ from it?

What did the writer use, foreshadoin"ing or flashback?

For what purpose?

. Is the plot believahle and successfirl, or does it display some sort ofwealcness?

. Does it include any unique appearance?

c ls it parallel to the plot of another story or any type of story?

What plot features could I write about?

. What examples from the story would support my opinion?

During investigative research, find out the important events and theirrelation to your topic. Then, organise the events if the story is disorganised

or illogical so that they make sense and ask yourself why that seqtlence \\'as

chosen by the writer. Likewise, consider the reason for any use of

foreshadowing or flashback.

Compare the plot with one in another story to show how both expand some

main approach by describing anything uniqtre about the plot. To plan a

paper on plot, you can either present a thesis backed with examples takenfrom the text or write a comparison.

(b) Point-of-viewFactors

The pointwriter of

of view is the rrantagea literary rrvork looks at

point from which theits events, and he/she

may use either a first'pelson or a third-person perspective.

198 TOPIC ;

In first-person:.i::.:.- : >,:'il'.eone in the work tells u'hat occurs and is

recognised bi,,...:-:: ,-...., - ire, mine, and my. Howerrer, a third-person

narrator star-s t--:,.,., '-.::- tile story and is never stated in any rvay' The

most frequeni it'::. .- :l:--i-person narration features a narrator who takes

part in tlie stc.r' -r, -,'. r.-r this technique puts the reader completely on the

Scene ancl is €rrr€--.'l'.t for tracing the progress or deterioration of a

character. The r.:::AiLri may observe it from the sidelines instead of

participating r:.. r.he action, an approach that Preserves on-the-scene

dir".t-t.r, *,d.-.lo',',s ihe narrator to comment on the characters and the

issues. Houe,,-er, the narrator cannot enter the'mind and expose the

unspoken thinking of anYone else.

Third-person nalrators do not participate in the action but can examine the

whole literary landscape and directly report events that first-person

narrators would know only by word of mouth. Most third-person narrators

expose the thoughts of just one character. Others, with limited omniscience,

can enter the h"eads of ,"rr.rul characters, while stil1 others display fuilomniscience and knor.t, everything in the literary work, including all

,thoughts and feelings of all characters. Omniscience drau' general

'conciusion by allowing the narrator to contrast tr,vo or more sets of

thoughts and feelings.

Dramatic narration, another type of third-persor{narration, has appeared in

contemporary fiction. A dramatic narrator moves about recording th'e

characters' actions and words but without revealing anyone's thoughts, just

like motion picture camera. This technique is often used in stories withsurprise endings.

Writing about Point-of-View

Answer these questions for a paper about point-of-view:

" What point of view is used? Why is it used?

o fu it suitable for the situation? Why or why not?

c {f the story uses first-person narration, is the narrator reliable? What

textual evidence suPPorts my answer?

o What focus would produce an effective paper? What textual evidence

could support its discussion?

Various reasons might rnduce the choice of a particuiar point of view. For

instance, to show a iharacter's mental deterioration, a writer might use the

first-person. In crder to increase the emotional impact of a storv's climax, a

third:persorr might enier tvro miucls to conirast opposing attitudes tor'r'ard

som{-'incidcni ur t'ilic: lr() lirinds at rll.

]: SKILLS

t

-:,iC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 199

Sometimes, first-person narrators are inaccurate because they offer thereader a twisted view of things. Compare the narrator's version of the factswith what the work othent'ise rer-eals, in order to determine reliability.

Papers on point of rriew mainly foliow a cause-and-effect format, whichidentify the point of view used and then demonstrating its effect on thestory and reader with examples. A sense of approaching conflict are builtby shifting scenes, which would be difficult to produce with a first-personnarrator, who could not move about in this fashion.

(c) Character FactorsIn a literary work, the characters sen'e in various ways. Some are centres ofphysical and mentai action. Others provide humour, act as narrators,provide needed information, act as foils who emphasise more importantcharacters by contrast, serve as symbols, or simply popuiate thesurroundings.

Writers tend to portray characters in severai ways. In point-black, somewriters notify the reader that the person is cowardly, clever, bad etc.

However, mostly writers take an indirect approach by stating how theircharacters look and act, what they say and think, how they live and howother characters view them. In some way,-some characters stay unchanged;others mature, obtain insight or even deidiorate.

Writing about CharacterAnswer these questions as you start the process of writing about characters:

. What characters show the potential for a paper?

. What are thdir most important features, and where in the story arethese features exposed?

. Do the characters erperience any changes? If so, how and why do thechanges take place?

. Are the characters believable, true to life? If not, why?

n What focus would produce an effective paper?

. What textual evidence could support the discussion?

You often lvrite about the main character, but sometimes you might choose

the chief adversary or some minor character. Point out how that personinteracts witir the main one for a lesser character.

Most main characters change ancl lesst'i ones normally do not. But in somecases, a main character rernains firrrtn, .rllowing the rt'riter to make an

important point. A writer mighi crt'...ii .r rrrdin character that begins and

200 ts TOPIC 7

ends weak and lit-:.::--:, t.. show that a certain social grouP suffers from

the paralysis oi ih.-- ,.. --- \., matter what, just tell the reader whenever you

tind out what i-Li::- ::. '.'L-,Lrr character serves. Ask yourself about your

character credibi,r:-, -r he she is true to life. The stereotyped figures *merciless witch, k-r-.; ,::ln.ess, smart detectives - do not square r't'ith real

life peopie n.ht-r e.re : c.rmplex combination of many personalities. A fuli-dress creation is ntrr appropriate to every character, but all require enough

development io strargh,ten up their roles.

To start vor-rr paper, distinguish your characteris role on personality,

support it n'ith illustrations and if possible, foilow the sequence presented

bythe writer. Say, tell why and point out the result if a character changes

using supporting examples. Typically, it is a cause-and-effect analysis.

(d) S"ttiog Factors

The importance of setting is that it estabiishes characters in a time,

place, and culfure so that they can think, feel, and act against this

background. By describing settings, writers can produce feelings

and moods.

,/Sunny landscapes indicate faith or joy, dark is forbidden, and thunder

suggests carnage. Mainly, setting is used in poetry to create mood. Besides

that, setting can also help in revealing a character's personality. Sometimes,

settings function as symbois to strengthen the workings of the ctl-ter

components. A broad slowly flowing river may stand for time or fate, a

rocky cliff for strength of a character, a cyclone-swept plain for the

overwhelming power of nature.

Setting provides a hint to some study about life at times. Lastly, shifts insetting often cause shifts in a character's emotional or psychological state.

Writing about S.tti*gTo begin, search for a topic by identifying the settings in the story. Then

answer each question:

What are its main features?

* What does it achieve? Create a mood? Expose a character? Function as a

symbol? Strengthen the story's point? How does it accomplish the:{e

things?

u, ln v,'hat wa\rs docs it supploit or get involr'ed r't'ith the story?

* L)oes the seiiing su-'.:ilr. r'ealistic? trf not, r.r'hv nor?I

iI

iI

II

I

t'.*i:.*-

11t

(e)

-3FiC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 2A1

' \.Alhat focus would produce an effective paper? \{hat textual evidencewould support it?

The impact of setting on mood can be checked by seeing how well the twocorrespond for each setting. Establish relations between settings andcharacters. You can predict that a n'riter is using a setting to conveycharacter if an emotionally harsh individual always appears againstbackdrops of depressingly furnished rooms, duil bars, and rotting slums.Look for links between changes in characters and changes in settings. Pointout any shifts in the way the character views the setting if it remains thesame.

Describe the setting and discuss its impact on the story's other componentwhen you write about it, and then support your statement with detailedexamples.

Symbol FactorsWriters use symbols - names, persons, objects, places, colours, or actionsthat have significance beyond their surface meaning in order to strengthenand deepen their messages. A symbol may be very apparent - as a namelike Mr. Murky, suggesting the person's character - or quite subtle, as anobject representing a universal human emotion.

Certain symbols are private and some cJ^rrentional. A private symbol hasspecial significance within a iiterary work but not outside it. Almosteveryone knows what conventional symbols represent; they are deeplyrooted in most cultures.

Writing about SyglbolsThink and answer the following questions when you examine the symbolsin a iiterary work:

o What symbols are used and where do they come out?

. Are they private or conventional?

o What do they appear to mean?

. Do any of them undergo a change in meaning? If so, how and why?

. Which symbol (s) could I discuss effectively?

e What textual evidence would support my understandirg andexplanation?

\44ren you discuss each symbol, state rvhat you think it means and thensupport your position with suitable tertual evidence.

?l

I:

l

:

- - )\lLL):02 TOPIC 7

Irony FactorsIrony features .1-r11''! -i'--

realitY, exPectano:-' ': - -r.

it actuallY mealls sc:l-

In some cases, Lrtri''\ .'.->

something ?S rfi-IPt-rr :i:''i- :L'slllts rvhen the reader or a character recognises

but another character otherwise'

In searching for irony, check for statements that say one thing but actuallv

mean sonrething else, situations in which one chaiacter knows something

that another does not, and contrasts between the ways characters should do

and behave. To see whether the outcome harmonises with the expectations'

review the Plot-

\{riting aboui IronvStart by ansn-erinq ti''ese tluestrons:

Where does ironY take Place?

. What does it btittg about?

What could my thesis be, and how could I support it?

Examine the context

prove that ironY isachieves.

in which the words are spolen or the events occur to

intended besides notifying the reader what the irony

also be someof living, eventhe r,r'orsening

* What are

Are thel'

o)o/ Theme factorsihe th"me of a literary work is its controlling idea. lt can

observation or insignt iUout life or the conditions and terms

as the occurrenc" o"f *i.k"dness, the wisdom of humility, or

ptrwer of hatred.

Many}iteraryrt,orkssuggestsseveralthemes.Sometimesthereisoneprimary motif and ,.rr"irl related ones, and sometimes a number of

unrelated motifs. As the centre of a literary work, theme is reguiarly

sufported anci developed by all of the other components

Writing about Theme

Beforeieginning to write, ask and answer these questioirs:

thethemesofthisrvork?Vrhichoftheseshouldlwriteabout?stateC or unsiated?

III

iIr

'III

i$

--dk&

* If unstated, lvhat comPonents suppclrt thern?

ICPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 203

. If unstated, what components create them?

e \\rhat, rf any, thematic weaknesses are present?

To see whether the themes are stated directly, check the comments of thecharacters and the narrator. If they are not, to verify them, assess theinteraction of characters, events, settings, symbols, and other components.

Basically, a paper on theme is an argument, so, after presenting yourinterpretation, support it with textual evidence.

7.4,2 Writing a Paper on Literature

Success in a literature paper depends on the procedure:

. focusing;

. gatheringinformation;

. organising;

. writingi

. revising; and

. editing. ,/

You can start off by writing on plot, point of view, character, setting, symbols,irony, or theme. Next, decide upon a suitable topic. For literature papers, rereadthe work carefully and do a reflection on it.

In gathering information, reread the story again and at the same time, list ailrelevant information that might help develop a character analysis. Prepare a

. formal topic outline to reflect your discovery.

Then, in developing a thesis statement, you might encounter a few difficulties.Based on your notes and following your outline, write a first draft of your essay

and proceed with the necessary revising and editing. To add, review the storyand verifit your interpretation.

Handling Procedure

Quotations should be used when necessary, but not to excess. Do not quotemassive blocks of material; just point out brief and relevant passages to supportkey ideas. Place short quotations, about five lines long, within quotation markand run them into the text.

Leave out the quotation mark and indent the material ten spaces from the left-hand margin for ionger passages.

TOPIC 7 INT:'-=:- l '. l'- SKILLS:'t4

_ens€

rite your essay in the pi€St:.i :aiher than the past tense.

How does writing a

guidelines?

iiterature paper enable student to appiy the writing

7.5 MODEI- LESSOru PLAF.E FOR THE TEACI'IINGOF GRAMMAR IN WRITING

Class

Level

Iime

Theme

fopic

Skitls

Language aspect

Objectives

Previousknowledge

l'{oral values

Ihinking skills

Teaching aids

&

40 minutes

Tom the Banker (Jazz Chant)

1. Responding to questions orally.

2. Listen and read to aiazz chant.

3. Describing about one's job.

WFl-questions (\A4ry, Where, When) and the simple present

tense answers.

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. write down 6 WH-question sentences using why, where,

and when, with simple present tense answers correctly

based on the given words in the brackets with at least 90 %

accuracy.

Students have learnt about other WH-questions (What, Who,

Which, Whose) and the simple past and future tense from their

previous lesson.

Respect one's job.

Identifying the main ideas.

Pictnre strips, imager, jazz chant texi, rt'orksheets'

IOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS

Time / Stages Teachels Activities Studen/s Activities AVA

1. Set induction

(3 minutes)

Rationale:

To stimulatestudent'sinterest in thetopic.

1. Teacher conductsoccupation quiz n ith thestudents.

2. Teacher shows shador.n'

pictures of occupations andinstructs students to nameand spell the job of theperson in the shadowpictures. The pictures areshown on picture sbripsone by one on the imager.

3. Teacher introducestoday's lesson.

Ouestion

1. \4il-rat job does the personin the picture do? Speli thename of the job.

Refer to Appendix A

1. Students study+L^ '-i^+,,-^lr rE PrLtuIEshown.

Students answerthe quizquestions.

Suggbsted answers

1. He's a milkman

Spelling -milkman

2. She's a nurse.

Spelling - nurse

2.

Picture strips

imager

1.

l.

2. Explanation

(B minutes)

Rationale:

1. To enablestudents tounderstandand read thejazz chantwiththe correcttune.

2. To enablestudents tounderstandthe messagefromtheiazzchant.

3. To ensurestudentsunderstand thegrammar asPect.

WH-questions andthe simplepresent tensefrom the jazzchant.

Teacher distributes textsof jazz chant entitled'Tom the Banker'to thestudents.

Teacher instructs studentsto read silentiy andunderstand the jazzchants for 1 minute.

Teacher then instructsstudents to listen carefullyto teacher reciting andtune making (on the table)of the jazz chants.

Teacher instructs studentsto read the jazz chanttogether aloud with theright tune shown by theteacher earlier,

Teacher explains the

content from the jazz.

1. Students read the

4azzchantsilently.

2. Students listen tothe tune ofteacher recitingthe jazz chant.

3. Studentsread aloudthe jazz

chant withthe rightfune.

4. Students Iisten toteacher'sexplanationabout thecontent of thejazz chant.

5. Students listencarefully toteacher'sexplanation of the!-r,-lmnl2r:CnPata''."""* *"r'-'in the lazz chant.

T^-., -1-^^r)aLL Ulilar

text entitle

'Tom the Banker'

Imager2.

206 TOPIC 7 - _ )KILLS

j. Practice andmetacogr,ition

(10 minutes)

Rationale:

To enablestudents to workcoilaboratively.

a -r--- __i - 1i

f-'-r'-- -r-- ": -

-- -.-:+L-!1-.1--a -1,- -, ;--,i-Ul

.:itr t- .. - . - : -:-.*

iie i:,: :-- ::- -: : :s:e.-it-.-_-- : -,:;-rli:--1,,. -.::!--!-Ll.'',.i .l'--i,=l

t't.f L !'ii-fli.

Ft;ntnls

Crour n tll n-rile about

1 a doctor

2 a soldier

? r nrrcFmrn

4 a teacher

5 a shop-keeper

6 a saiior

3. Once completed,teacher instructs everygroup to read theiriqzz ehanlj",-" -' '"' ' ''

Exampie of parallel jazz

chant: Refer to AppendixC. l

Students get intotheir groups.

Each group writestheir parallel jazz

chant with the same

tune using thegraflunar aspectlearnt to describeother differentoccupations

Students discuss

with their friends intheir group.

Each group presentby reading aloudtheir completedjazz chant.

Students work inpairs to do the taskin worksheet 1.

A representative ofeach group presentstheir answer.

1.

Application | 1. Teacherdistributes

(7 minutes) Worksheet 1 to students

students to write downTo enable r.t'hai a person doesstuclerrts to I based on theirapply the I o..r,pution by using theknorvleige in I simple present tensethe gir'en task. I verbs. No. 1 is done as an

Worksheet 1

I and instructs them to do

I the task in pairs.

I

Rationale: I Z. Teacher instructs

i example.t'i

I Reter to l4iorksheet 1

TOPiC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS zo7

5. Evaluation('10 minutes)

Rationale:

To evaluatestudent'sunderstanding.

Worksheet 2

Closure(2 minutes )

Rationale:

To instill the vaiue ofrespect towardsone's job.

IAZZ CHANTTom the Banker

Where does Tom live?,

He lives near the bank. Where does he work?He works in the bank. When does he work?He works all day, allnight, alI day, all night,in the bank, in the bank, in the great big bank.

Where does he sleep?

He sleeps in the bank.Why does he sleep all day, all night, all day,', all night, in the bank, in the bank, inthe great big bank? Because he loves his monev more than his life, And he loves his

bank more than his wife.

I

L& -J

1. Teacher distributesWorksheet 2 to the students.

2. Teacher instructs students towrite down 6 WH-questionsentences using Why,Where, and When with itsanswers in the simplepresent tense based on thewords given in the brackets.No. 1 is done as an example.

Refer to Worksheet 2

1. Students listen tothe teacher'sexplanation.

2. Students completethe tasks byconstructing 6 WH-question sentenceswith its answersusing thegrammatical aspectlearnt earlier.

'1. Teacher wraps up by statingthe importance of respectingone's job.

Example,

(a) Students should respecttheir school security guardas they look after thesecurity of the school atnight.

(b) Students should respectthe fishermen as they getfood for us to eat.

Students listenattentively to teacherand take note of theextended activity theyshould do.

_ - )\lLL)ffi8

Apperrdix B

(1) Question vroros ^ '.- a )azz cfiant.

Where, when. .'"ll;'

Where - quesi c: i:'e i's to a Place

€.g \"iine:e cc ;'cu live?

When - questicn as<. s about itme'

e.g. \iVhen '"vrli the first bus arrive?

Why - question for an exPlanation'

e.g. WhY are You crYing?

Question words from the jazz chant'

Where does Tom live?

Where does Tom work?

When does Tom work?

Where does Tom sleeP?

' Whv does he sleeP in the bank?t

-(2) SimPle Present Tense ;sent and

It expresses repeated action (includes the past' pre

future). Action that is still happen ing ' '/e.g. lt rains everY daY^

The earth revolves around the sun-

She travels to work bY bus'

Simple Present Tense words in the lazz chanl'

He lives near the bank'

He works in the bank'. He works all day, all night, all day' all night'

l-ie sleePs in the bank'

Becauseheloveshismoneymorethanhislife.And he loves his bank more than his wife'

"../L

TCPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS

Appendix C

Example of parallel Jazz Chant.

John the Soldier

Where does John live?He lives near the camp.

Where does he work?He works in the camp.

When does he work?He works all day, all night, all day, all night,

in the camp, in the camp, in the big army camp.

Where does he sleep?He s/eeps in the camp.

Why does he sleep all day, all night, al{ day, all nigttt,in the camp, in the camp, in the big army camp?

Because he loves his work more than his life,And he /oyes his country more than his wife.

,.. ]F SKILLS210

Wor ksheet 1

NameDate :

lnstruction :

With your partner. t',''iie dolvn what these people do by using the Simple

Present Tense vei'bs The fii'st one is done as an example

What theY do?

3.

',1;t Mechanic

7. Football PlaYer

J 0. Butcher

11. Plumber

TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 211

Teacher's Copy

Worksheet 1

lnstructio n:

With your partner, write down what these people do by using the SimplePresent Tense verbs. The first one is done as an example.

Who? What they do?

1. Baker Bakes cake.

2. Farmer Plants vegetables.

3. Teacher Teaches students.

4. Mechanic Rep airs engine.

5. Musician Plays music.

6. Doctor,/

Treats'sick people.

7. Football player Plays football

B. Pilot Flies aeroplane.

9. Dancer Dances on stage

10. Butcher Sells meat.

11. Plumber Repairs leaking pipe.

12. Barber Cuts hair.

TOPII 7 _ - SKILLS212

Worksheet 2

Name Date:

lnstructton

write doi.,n 6 q-ast c:s and answers in the simple Present Tense

about things tnai a:e gcing on in your school. Use the words in the

brackets to h eiP Ycu

Example: \lJhere (schocl boY. staY)

Question. \rVhere does the schoolbov stav?

Answer : He staYs in the hostel

1. When ( the school cook. work )

Question:

Answer :

2, Why (the school security guard, sleeP )

Question:

Answer

When ( student,

Question.

sing the national anthem )

Answer

Where ( school footballer, practice )

Question:

Answer :

5. When ( school guard, oPen the gate )

Question

Answer

o_ Where ( schoolwarden, live )

Question:

Answer

;CPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 213

Teacher's Copy

Worksheet 2

Name : Date:

Instruction.

write down 6 questions and answers in the simple present renseabout things that are going on in your school. Use the words in thebrackets to help you.

Example: Where (school boy, stay )Question. Where does the schoolbov stav?

Answer : He stavs in the hostel.

1. When ( the school cook, work )

Question. When does the school cook work?

Answer . Thu "ook

*orkr uurruin th" *ornino ,ntir *u"nino.2. Why (the school security guard, sleep)

Question: whv does the schoor niqht quard sreep ail dav?Answer : This is because he works all niqht.

When (student, sing the national anthem )Question:

Answer . Thu rtrd*nt rinor th" NutionulAnth"* drrino th*school assemblv.

Where (schoot footballers, practice )

Question.football?

Answer . Th" u"hool footbull", prr"ti"*r pluvinq footbull ut th"school field.

When ( school guard, open the gate )

Question;

Answer . He opens the school qate earlv in the morninq.

Where (school warden, live )

Question: Where does the schooi v",arden live?

Answer : She lives at the schoci bar-i-ack

TOPIC 7 INTEGMTION OF SKILLS

s 6e € a t t t a 6r ts8*& @6SS&*&4S€Ss&$8e

I

Grammar is indeed an essential aspect of written communication and that

students in the ESL/EFL classroom should be taught to view granlmar as an

aid to shaping effective and appropriate messages'

. As Ponsot and Deen

Like baking Powder,poured into Pans."

r Thus, while concern for grammatical correctness should be integrated with

editing processes, grarrunar in itsin its broader meaning, that is the structural(tor

(1982, p. 133) put it, "grammar is clearly not remedial'

it can'ibe stiried into the cake after the batter has been

patterns of language, plays a role in all phases of composing.

In selecting and developing grammar-oriented activities for the classroom/

the teacher"should aiways U"* i" mind the students' needs and background

as well as the demands of writing tasks.

t

h b & 6 * * *,4 & I & & 4 q & & & 4 & @ d q * I

Analysis

Conversion

Dictation

Elicitation

TOPIC 7 INTEGRATION OF SKILLS 215

1t.

&q4@@4

\Alhat are the six guidelines forinstruction?

integrating grammar

\Mhat do native English speaking teachers recommend?

\Alhat do Celce-Murcia and Hillies (1988) recommend?

Give two kinds of text compietion exercises. '

What do Raimes's algorithms do?

into writing

2.

3.

A

5.

1. Construct a basic level English text basedtechniques.

on one of the text completion

exercise based on Melton'sDevise a basic leveltechnique.

sentence combining