Module 3 1

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 Module 3 2

In Module 2, we developed some theoretical concepts related to the process of writing

and we looked at a possible method to help students become more effective writers. In
this module we shall be considering some specific techniques that can be used to
enhance our students' abilities to work on different writing genres.

As may have become clear from our previous discussion, one key element in this
process is to ensure that the students are well aware of their strengths and
weaknesses and that they consciously work on the specific strategies that will help
them improve. For this reason, as an integral part of our writing curriculum, it may be
interesting to ask them to reflect on their writing skills through an initial self assessment
questionnaire like the one below.

Directions to the Student: This self-assessment is designed to help you recall the types
of writing you have done, consider your strengths and weaknesses, and set goals for
yourself. Answer each question or complete each statement honestly and keep it for future
reference. At the end of the year, you can review this assessment and set new goals.
1. I have experience writing the following types of papers:
Personal Expression Expressing your thoughts, feelings, or experiences
Description Creating a picture of how something looks, sounds, feels, smells, or tastes
Narration Telling a true or fictional story
Exposition: Giving Information Providing information or explaining something
Exposition: Making Connections Comparing and contrasting, offering solutions to a
problem, or explaining an opinion
Persuasion Trying to convince a reader to agree with you
Reports Summarising the results of research
Creative Writing Expressing your personal views through imaginative writing like poetry
Responses to Literature Presenting your ideas and feelings about something you have
read
2. Of the types of writing I have done, the type I am best at is ____________________
3. The reasons I am good at this type of writing are ____________________________
4. Of the types of writing I have done, the type I have the most trouble with is ________
5. The reason I have trouble with this type of writing is __________________________
6. I would like to try more of the following types of writing: ________________________
7. I perform the following steps when I write (circle the word that applies):
Use a journal, brainstorming, or a similar method for deciding on a topic N O A
Think carefully about the audience for which I am writing N O A
Write down my purpose for writing before beginning a first draft N O A
Write a draft without stopping to correct spelling and mechanical problems N O A
Ask someone else to read my draft before revising N O A
Proofread and correct mechanical spelling errors after the draft has been revised N O A
Try to make my final copy neat and attractive N O A
8. The step in the writing process I do best is
9. The reason I am particularly good at this is
10. The best thing about my writing is
11. The step in the writing process I most need to improve is
12. I need to work on this because
(N stands for never, O stands for occasionally, A stands for always)

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 Module 3 3

Of course, you can choose to share the answers with the students and discuss with
them anything that you consider worthwhile. However, this would depend on the
characteristics of the students themselves and on the degree of mutual trust and
respect that they have for each other. If the group is particularly competitive, it might be
wiser to tell the students to keep their answers to themselves and only go back to them
at the end of the year when they have had a chance to work on different tasks and
have already gained confidence on their writing skills.

Having asked the students to reflect on their writing skills, we can start to work on the
characteristics of different writing genres. We shall start with description and narration.
We shall be following the same steps that we described in Module 2 through concrete
examples of writing tasks set by a teacher in an intermediate class.

Teaching students to write an effective description

Brainstorming: we started by asking the students to complete and idea web like the
following:
Directions: write the thing you will describe on the line in the topic circle. Then organise
details about this by writing them in the details circles.

Details Details
_________________ _________________
_________________ _________________
_________________ _________________
_________________ _________________

Topic
_________________________
_________________________

Details
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________

This is an example of a completed idea web:

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 Module 3 4

Details Details

flat head middle like

eyes crumpled paper
shedding skin

Topic

snake

Details

skin comes off tail

new skin shiny green

Prewriting: the following paragraph is a student's first draft based on the previous
web:
A New Snake Suit
The wierdest thing happened at a barbecue last summer. I saw a snake
undressing. When I sat down to eat, I heard the snake in the leafs. First
came its flat head and eyes then I noticed something that looked like
paper crumpled around its middle. This was shedding skin that had
caught like on a stick and was sliding down its body.
The new skin was shiny green. The skin cam off its tail just like pulling
off a sock.

Drafting and revising: these are the corrections the teacher suggested so that the
student would work on an improved draft:
Revising Marks
Move →
Add Λ
Take out Χ

A New Snake Suit

garter
The wierdest thing happened at a barbecue last summer. I saw a Λ

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 Module 3 5

slithering
snake undressing. When I sat down to eat, I heard the snake Λ in the
tiny, bright
leafs. First came its flat head and Λ eyes then I noticed something that
thin, brown
looked like Λ paper crumpled around its middle. This was shedding skin

that had caught liΧke on a stick and was sliding down its body.

with a diamond pattern

The new skin was shiny green Λ. The skin came off its tail just like

pulling off a sock.

I wonder if the snake knew that mother nature had given her a

brand new suit.

This procedure can also be carried out by students working in pairs or small groups so
that they get used to helping each other visualize conflicting or erroneous points in their
writings. Besides, the students can make use of a chart like the following to keep the
focus of their writing:
Revising Checklist
Questions yes no Not sure

Does my description give interesting information about a ...?

Have I used enough details to help readers picture this ...?
Did I keep my audience and purpose in mind?
Have I organised my ideas?
Is my writing clear?

Editing and proofreading: As a result, the student proofread the description and,
using the code on the right suggested the following changes:
Proofreading Marks
Spelling ≡
Take out Χ
New paragraph #

A New Snake Suit

weirdest garter
The wierdest thing happened at a barbecue last summer. I saw a Λ
≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡ slithering
snake undressing. # When I sat down to eat, I heard the snake Λ in the
leaves tiny, bright Then
leafs. First came its flat head and Λ eyes. Λ then I noticed something that
≡≡≡≡ thin, brown ≡≡≡≡
looked like Λ paper crumpled around its middle. This was shedding skin

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 Module 3 6

that had caught liΧke on a stick and was sliding down its body.

with a diamond pattern

The new skin was shiny green Λ. The skin came off its tail just like

pulling off a sock.

I wonder if the snake knew that mother nature had given her a

brand new suit.

Publishing: the whole process finally rendered the following version, which became
the student's final draft:
A New Snake Suit

The weirdest thing happened at a barbecue last summer. I saw a garter

snake undressing.
When I sat down to eat, I heard the snake slithering in the leaves. First
came its flat head and tiny, bright eyes. Then I noticed something that
looked like thin, brown paper crumpled around its middle. This was
shedding skin that had caught on a stick and was sliding down its body.
The skin came off its tail just like pulling off a sock. The new skin was
shiny green with a diamond pattern.
I wonder if the snake knew that mother nature had given her a brand
new suit.

In fact, since the instructions for this writing task were fairly free, different students
produced different descriptions of animals which were then shared in a classroom
noticeboard. The students then took a vote on the ones they liked best and these were
published in the school magazine.

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 Module 3 7

Teaching students to write an effective narration

A similar process can be used to help students develop narratives.

Brainstorming: we started by asking the students to complete a time line to help him
organise the text chronologically:

Time Line
Instructions: write the main events of your personal narrative in time order on the
slanted lines. Identify the date or time each event happened. Add more lines if you
need them.

Date or time

This is an example of how the time line was completed by one student:

Of course, the same process could have been carried out through the use of another
tool such as the following story organiser:

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 Module 3 8

Story Organiser

What happened first?

What happened next?

What happened last?

Prewriting: the following text is a student's first draft based on the time line:

Too Good to be True

Believe it or not. The best adventure of my life started with a homework
assignement. To write to a pen pal. In September I wrote to a girl in San
Antonio, Texas named Lupe Ayala. I told her that I liked playing soccer
and collecting comic books. I checked the mail every day. I finally got a
reply in October. Guess what Lupe plays soccer and collects comic
books too. Every time we wrote each other. We found out something
else that we both liked to do. Then I got a big surprise in june. Lupe
invited me to visit her in Texas.
My visit with Lupe was better than I even dreamed it would be. It seemd

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 Module 3 9

we had known each other forever. We rode horses. We swapped comic

books. We played in pick up soccer games. I’m really glad I did my
homework.

Drafting and revising: these are the corrections the teacher suggested so that the
student would work on an improved draft:
Revising Marks
Move →
Add Λ
Take out Χ
Too Good to be True

Believe it or not Λ. The best adventure of my life started with a

homework assignement. To write to a pen pal. In September I wrote to a

girl in San Antonio, Texas named Lupe Ayala. I told her that I liked playing
and
soccer and collecting comic books. I checked the mail every day Λ. I finally

got a reply in October. Guess what Lupe plays soccer and collects comic

books too. Every time we wrote each other Λ. WΧe found out something

else that we both liked to do.

Then I got a big surprise in june. Lupe invited me to visit her in Texas.

My visit with Lupe was better than I even dreamed it would be. It seemd

we had known each other forever. We rode horses Λ. W Χe swapped

and
comic books Λ. W Χe played in pick up soccer games. I’m really glad I did

my homework.

Before going on to the editing step, the student answer the questions in the following
checklist to ensure that all the elements in the narrative were present:

Revising checklist yes no not sure

Does my story tell what happened in order?
Have I told how I felt?
Did I include details to make my story interesting?
Is there anything I want to change?

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 Module 3 10

Editing and proofreading: As a result, the student proofread the narrative and, using
the code on the right suggested the following changes:
Proofreading Marks
Spelling ≡
Take out Χ
Add Λ
New paragraph #

Too Good to be True

Believe it or not Λ. The best adventure of my life started with a

homework assignement. To write to a pen pal. In September I wrote to a

≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡
girl in San Antonio, TexasΛ named Lupe Ayala. I told her that I liked playing
and
soccer and collecting comic books. # I checked the mail every day Λ. I

finally got a reply in October. Guess what Λ Lupe plays soccer and

collects comic books too. Every time we wrote each other Λ. WΧe found

out something else that we both liked to do.

Then I got a big surprise in june. Lupe invited me to visit her in Texas.
≡≡≡≡
My visit with Lupe was better than I even dreamed it would be. It seemd
≡≡≡≡≡≡≡
we had known each other forever. We rode horses Λ. W Χe swapped
and
comic books Λ. W Χe played in pick up soccer games. I’m really glad I did

my homework.

Publishing: the whole process finally rendered the following version, which became
the student's final draft:

Too Good to be True

Believe it or not the best adventure of my life started with a homework
assignement to write to a pen pal. In September I wrote to a girl in San
Antonio, Texas, named Lupe Ayala. I told her that I liked playing soccer
and collecting comic books.
I checked the mail every day and I finally got a reply in October. Guess
what? Lupe plays soccer and collects comic books too! Every time we
wrote each other we found out something else that we both liked to do.
Then I got a big surprise in June. Lupe invited me to visit her in Texas
that summer.

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 Module 3 11

My visit with Lupe was better than I even dreamed it would be. It
seemed we had known each other forever. We rode horses, swapped
comic books, and played in pick up soccer games. I’m really glad I did my
homework.

Teaching students to write a persuasive argument

In an argumentative paper, the writer needs to make a claim about a topic and justify
this claim with reasons and evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal,
an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. However, the writer
needs to understand that the claim must be a statement that people could possibly
disagree with, because the goal of his piece is to convince the audience that the claim
is true based on his presentation of reasons and evidence. An argumentative thesis
statement will tell the audience:
• what the claim is
• the reasons or evidence that support this claim
• the order in which the writer will be presenting his reasons and evidence

Let’s have a look now at the application of process writing to the production of

persuasive arguments.

Brainstorming: we started by asking the students to complete the following organiser:

Instructions to students: complete the entire organiser. In each box write a reason that
supports the arguing statement. Next to each box, write three sentences that support
the reason.

Title: _____________________________________________________________________

Arguing statement: _________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

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 Module 3 12

Concluding statement: _________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

And this is the completed organiser after a whole class discussion and brainstorming
process guided by the teacher.

Title: Morning break for the fifth form

Arguing statement: It’s a good idea to have morning break in this form

We definitely need We would be less jittery in class.

a break We would concentrate better.
We would learn more.
Teachers would They deserve a break.
benefit too. They work hard. They should be able to relax.

Our health would Exercise is necessary for good health.

greatly improve We don’t get enough.
We would get more exercise.

Concluding statement: Don’t you think that having morning break in the fifth form is a

great idea? It certainly is!

The rest of the process was carried out in the same way as was exemplified with
description and narrative using the same correction code. The final draft was then used
as a springboard for a persuasive letter to the School Head for which the following tools
(an idea web and a checklist) were used at the brainstorming and revising stages
respectively:

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What is the problem?

_______________________________________________________________
Who gets our letter?
_______________________________________________________________
What changes are needed?
_______________________________________________________________
How can we fix the problem?
_______________________________________________________________

Revising checklist yes no not sure

Have I clearly stated the problem?
Do I tell how the problem can be fixed?
Do I give supporting details?
Have I used persuasive words and phrases?
Have I used the correct letter format?

The above examples show how the writing process was dealt with in a class of young
intermediate students.

In Appendixes 1 and 2 you can see an example of how different process writing
lessons may be carried out with older students to develop other writing genres.

Since this module has been packed with examples, it seems a good time for you to
decide on the way in which you would develop a lesson of this kind yourselves. For this
purpose, go to the activities section and do Task 1 (and only!!!!). However, before
attempting the task itself, it might be a good idea to use the following checklist to plan a
writing lesson since all these features will have to be addressed at one point or another
with the students:
Communicative purpose (What does the writer hope to communicate /
achieve?)
Expected audience (Who will read it?)
Layout (general format – e.g. does it have a title? What

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 Module 3 14

appears where on the page?)

Overall organisation (e.g. what type of information is included in each
paragraph?)
Level of formality (formal / informal / semi-formal? Give examples
from the text)
Sentence structure (e.g. complex or simple)
Specific grammatical structures (e.g. do any specific tenses predominate?)
Specific vocabulary (Are there any words / expressions that appear
frequently in this type of text? In general, is
everyday or more specific vocabulary used?)

Having looked at how the process of writing may be staged to develop the students’
ability to write different genres, in Module 4 we shall be dealing with general writing
strategies that can be used for all genres as well as for creative writing and subject
oriented papers.

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