How to teach writing

Why write? • To communicate over distances• To communicate across time• To participate in society• To remember and record• To “make thought visible” and express your

inner self

Grading the writing skills and Activities

• Writing word• Writing sentence• Writing paragraph• Writing a

composition

• Copying• Dictation• Rearranging• Gap filling• Composing

Is writing difficult ?Problems found

• Problems in generating ideas• Problems in organizing ideas• Problems in coherence• Problems in language competence

Notes emails letters essays stories

Signs advertisements subtitles articles

Diaries/journals magazines plays recipes

Labels/brands brochures maps textbooks

How we write

These are the steps in

the writing process

.

What are the steps?

PrewritingDrafting

Editing / Revising

Presenting

#1 Prewriting Planning and Thinking

Getting yourthoughts down on paper.

Free-write, outline, notesDiscuss, think

EXAMPLES

• Brainstorming / Vocabulary • Surveying / forms• Researching / Discussion

Authors must think about….

• The purpose of their writing• The audience they are writing for• The content (structure / sequence) ( genre / register)

#2 Writing First Draft

Putting your ideas and thoughts

togetherForming sentences

and paragraphs

#3 – Editing

Revising and Reflecting

Rewriting or rearranging sentences.

Getting feedbackProofreading

# 4 Presenting

Final Draft

Sharing your work

publishing, speaking

The whole process

Conclusions? What are the BENEFITS

AND DRAWBACKS of using the Writing

Process in our classrooms?

DRAWBACKS

• Takes too much time • Loss of student focus / interest• Not suited to some personalities• Students need to be taught it

(peer editing / planning / stages)• Restricts spontaneity and range of

writing activities.

Benefits• The creation of a product• Writing seen as a communicative and

purposeful activity• Teaches students to plan and research• Student collaboration is developed.• Feedback and response given.

• “Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted.” -- Jules Renard

• Isn't it surprising how many things, if not said immediately, seem not worth saying ten minutes from now? ~Arnot L. Sheppard, Jr.

Speaking Vs Writing

Speaking Vs Writing

Impermanent Permanent

Immediate (unplanned) Delayed (planned)

Variation / Casual Conventional / Stylized

Low lexical density High lexical density

High Paralinguistics Low Paralinguistics

Communal activity Solitary Activity

Universal LearnedWe have produced a Venn Diagram object. Each part is a separate PowerPoint object, so you can colour them as you please

Speaking Vs Writing

Simple sentences Complex sentencesVoiced Thought / Read

Pronounce SpellFeedback No feedback

Pause / Intonation Punctuation

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