The Writing Process

UNIT 1 THE WRITING PROCESS

Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The Writing Process: Main Components
1.2.1 Planning and Generating Ideas
1.2.2 Organization of Ideas
1.2.3 Articulating Ideas (Writing the First Draft)
1.2.4 Body/Content (Subject Matter of the Topic in Question)
1.3 The Writing Process
1.4 Let Us Sum Up
1.5 Key Words
1.6 Suggested Readings
1.7 Answers

1.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit we shall look at the ways of working at a range of more complex
writing tasks and writing forms through process writing classes at the upper
primary level. After you have completed this unit you should be able to:
help children select topics which are suitable for their level.
help children select appropriate forms of writing for the particular writing
tasks they are taking up.
provide suitable pre-writing support, to equip the children with the
requirements of the particular writing tasks they are working on.
help children to provide peer-group support and feedback whenever
necessary.
equip the children with suitable skills of reflection and self evaluation.
help children develop the social skills required for effective peer
conferencing and offering constructive feedback and suggestions to each
other.
help children become active participants in the writing process.
accept the child’s ideas and views, even though these may not be in
agreement with your own.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
What does ‘writing’ or ‘composing’ actually mean? Within the classroom, it may
appear to be a set of rules and models for the correct arrangement of pre-existing
ideas or it may be regarded as “productive generation of sentences” (Raimes
1985), but the act of writing itself is a highly complex, cognitive skill in which a
variety of mental procedures are used to process information, articulate ideas

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Teaching-Learning Writing and intentions (Hayes 1980b). It is highly goal oriented with intellectual
and Grammar
performance, involving both, thinking and strategic action.

Recent research on writing has provided us insights into the process of writing.
Earlier the act of writing was considered linear involving series of stages (Rohman
1965), separated in time and characterized by the gradual development of the
written product. But now it is considered non-linear, exploratory and generative
through which writers discover and reformulate their ideas as they attempt
to approximate meanings (Zamel 1983). Earlier, when the meaning of ‘writing’
would be discussed, it meant the written piece the student had produced (the
product). The emphasis was always on the product, i.e. what the child had written.
However, in recent years, research insights have helped the focus to shift from
the product to the “process”, that is, how the child writes; the processes that are
involved when the student uses a particular word or a particular grammatical
construction to convey his/her thoughts. ‘Process’ means how the student
undertakes a writing activity.

1.2 THE WRITING PROCESS: MAIN

COMPONENTS
All writing aims at clear and efficient communication. But what goes into clear
and efficient communication? If one considers writing as a process, then
immediately the diagrammatic representation of producing a piece of writing of
Ann Raimes (1983) comes to our mind.

Producing a Piece of Writing

SYNTAX
CONTENTS
Sentence structure and
Relevance, clarity, THE WRITING PRO-
boundaries stylistic choices
originality, logic etc. CESS
Getting ideas, getting
started, writing drafts,
GRAMMAR
revising
Rules for verb agreement,
articles, pronouns etc.
AUDIENCE
The reader(s)

MECHANICS
Handwriting, spelling, PURPOSE
punctuation etc. The reason for writing

ORGANIZATION WORD CHOICE

Paragraphs, topic and Vocabulary, idiom, tone
support, cohesion and unity

Ann Raimes 1983

The diagram above clearly illustrates the complex group of sub-skills that go to
make a piece of writing coherent, effective and communicative. The importance
of knowledge of mechanics like, handwriting, spelling, punctuation or, producing
correct grammatical sentences cannot be undermined, but equally important is
generation of ideas, their organization, articulation and having once articulated
them, re-visioning of what has been written. Therefore, we can say that to
undertake any writing activity, whether it is writing a message, a letter, an answer,
a paragraph or an essay, each learner needs to undergo the processes of
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1) planning and generating ideas, The Writing Process

2) organizing ideas,
3) articulating ideas and
4) revising the written text.
The above stages seem to be linear but are not. These do not follow one after
the other. Each stage overlaps the other to such an extent that the process of
writing becomes cyclical. Let me further clarify this.

Think for a moment that you are writing a letter to your friend describing an
event you have organized in your school. You have planned and thought what
you are going to write. While you are in the process of writing, another idea/
point/thought comes to your mind, which you would also like to share with your
friend. At this stage, you have three options: either you write the new idea in a
separate paragraph, or you merge it with another idea that you have written or
are going to write, or you could write it as a complement to another idea. The
very fact that you are planning while you are writing, or articulating,
confirms the cyclical process of writing. Any stage can overlap any other stage,
at any point of time, which makes the writing process non-linear, generative, in
which the main objective of the writer is meaning making. The writer encodes
the abstract thoughts/ideas/points in language to communicate the intent / message
/ information to the readers.

Before one starts writing, it is important to ask oneself certain questions and
answer them.
1) Why am I writing?
2) Whom am I writing for?
This means that we need to have a sense of the purpose of writing and of the
audience who are going to read it. These two aspects are very important because
together they form the writing context. If these aspects are not kept in mind
then our writing remains an egocentric activity. It means that the piece of writing
produced is not reader friendly, not directed towards the reader. As teachers, we
need to make our students understand the importance of writing for an audience.
We know that they are writing to secure marks and pass in the exam but if they
are taken through the process of writing and are taught how to write, their
writing would certainly become more effective.
Check Your Progress 1
1) What is the basic philosophy of the process based approach to teaching
writing?
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Teaching-Learning Writing 2) Undertake the following writing activity.
and Grammar
Write a letter to your friend telling him/her about the study tour you took
with your students. Note down your actual experiences while going through
the process of writing. Write the sub-skills that you found easy and the ones
you found difficult.
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3) Looking at the diagram given, according to you, in which areas do you

think your learners would need your help the most?
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4) Can you list some techniques, which you can use in the classroom to develop
the sub skills in the writing of your students?
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Let us now turn our attention and understand the actual writing process.

1.2.1 Planning and Generating Ideas

Before we begin writing, the first step is to generate ideas of what we want to
write drawing on personal knowledge, experience and feelings. We can take the
help of different techniques to generate ideas, for example: brainstorming, mind
maps/brain patterns, pyramid patterns, listing, journal, loop writing, working
outlines etc. A few techniques that can be undertaken in class are explained below.

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Brainstorming The Writing Process

It is a spontaneous verbal activity excellent for generating content or for expanding

ideas and perceptions about the topic. As a group activity, it is an ice breaker
which helps students relax and also see that each of them has something to
contribute to the topic. Because of its unstructured format, students can speak
whatever the brainstorming activity triggers in their minds. For ESL students
this technique helps learners to:
gain insights into others points of view
reinforces conversation and listening skills
develops the practice of note taking
relaxes and develops rapport within the classroom
We teachers should keep in mind that the topic for discussion should be
established, discussion should be moderated and facilitated to be ‘on track’ and
all learners should be encouraged to participate.

Brain patterns / Mind maps

It is a free association technique by which the writers, group or individuals,
quickly record for 5 minutes whatever they know and feel about the topic in
question using single words stemming from a central idea. It usually results in
rough notes which require additional limiting and expansion. The advantage of
this method is that writers quickly focus on main ideas and levels of importance;
space permits easy addition of information and key propositions are easily linked.
An example given below will enable you to understand it better.

Lighting
Diyas

Diagram of a mind map

Listing

Listing is a free association technique that can also be controlled. An individual

or a group can use it and in this the ideas can be listed very quickly. It helps
writers to discover what is in their minds and what they know about the subject.
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Teaching-Learning Writing Loop Writing
and Grammar
It is a more complex technique and involves that students write whatever comes
to their mind. It is a semi-structured individual activity that requires writing for
a certain period of time without stopping, changing or correcting. The writer
then reads what he/she has written and draws the central idea from it, which
becomes the starting point of the next loop. The advantages of this exercise are
that writers learn by writing. It forces them to discover thesis statements (key
sentence/s) as concepts begin to emerge from each loop. Probably this activity
would be better for students at the plus two level because one, they are mature
enough to understand what they wish to write on a given topic and two, they
have developed a fairly good command of the language, here, English.

Teachers should remember that it is a fairly exhaustive exercise hence the time
given to students to undertake this activity would depend upon the level and type
of students in the classroom.

Working Outlines
Working outlines are pictures of writing or graphics, which help writers, to see
the basic skeleton or form of what they plan to write. It is somewhat similar to
the mind maps, which have been explained. With this form writers can tie up
ideas, see whether main points need further explanation and/or supporting
information is adequately presented. These outlines are structured yet flexible
for they can easily be revised or reworked completely. These are advantageous
for writers, groups as well individuals, in the early stages of the development of
writing skills because they involve the conventional ways of organizing ideas,
including development of thesis, beginning, middle and an end. The graphic or
the picture form helps the students to visualize the parts of the writing more
easily. A sample outline is given below:

SPACE

RACE SHIPS GOALS

Diagram of Working Outline

Check Your Progress 2
Complete the following table
Diagram Method Used for Characteristics
Finding a subject and Unstructured, free
relating propositions form, quick, group
and individual
Listing Finding and limiting a
subject
Unstructured group
Loop writing Semi structured,
individual, time
consuming
Working Finding focus, relating
10 outlines and ordering ideas
1.2.2 Organization of Ideas The Writing Process

Once these ideas are generated, it is important to prioritize them, that is, which
idea is to be developed and written first and which second. Prioritization generally
depends upon every individual/learner because each learner has a different method
of processing information. But at times there are certain topics in which certain
ideas have to be written first. For example, if you are writing about the production
of oil, then you have to write in the beginning how oil is brought to the surface of
the earth. You cannot start writing directly how it is purified and distilled.

1.2.3 Articulating Ideas (Writing the First Draft)

Once you have generated and prioritized ideas, the next stage is to encode these
ideas in language. Generally any piece of writing has three parts:
1) Introduction
2) Body or Content
3) Conclusion
Introduction
The opening paragraph of any writing introduces us to the subject or the content.
In an answer to a question it could be the first two lines/sentences, which sets the
tone of what is to follow. The purpose of introduction is to attract the readers’
attention and motivate them to read on. The introduction could begin with a
definition, a question, a proverb, an anecdote, an example or a universal truth
etc. Look at the following sample introductions:

1) Definition:
Education is the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially
at a school or university.” Another definition could be:
The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the
powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others
intellectually for mature life.
2) Question:
Why don’t learners learn what teachers teach? This is a question that worries
every committed teacher. Who is to be blamed? The teacher? The student? or
both?
3) Proverb:
A rolling stone gathers no moss. A man who has no fixed goal, keeps shifting
from one thing to another, never achieving anything significant in life.
4) Anecdote:
Last week I was coming out of a lift when a young man said to the lift operator,
“Seventh floor”. The lift operator said, “Sorry, this won’t go”. The young man
was furious, “What do you mean?” he roared. The liftman calmly said, “You
must say ‘Please’ if you want me to take you up.”

1.2.4 Body/Content (Subject Matter of the Topic in Question)

Each idea generated and prioritized has to be developed and written in separate
paragraphs. The separate paragraphs written form the body/content /subject matter
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Teaching-Learning Writing of the writing piece. This content is developed in various ways some of which
and Grammar
are given below:
Description
In order to write a good description, you need to collect as many details as possible
of the object/thing/idea you are going to describe. The more detailed your
description, the better it would be. While describing, decide on the focus of your
description and delete all the irrelevant details. An important rule for descriptions
is “show your readers don’t just tell them”. This means that you need to inject
life into the description so that it becomes interesting to the readers. An example
of this could be the description of the Diwali festival using the details given
above in the discussion of the mind map.
Narration
The technique of narration is used to develop the content when we need to talk
about something that has happened within a definite time span. Narrative writing
relates an event, usually in a simple chronological order. In other words, it tells
a story. Hacker & Renshaw (1989:175) present the following rules for narrative
writing:
a) Puts readers on the scene immediately
b) Selects details for a specific effect
c) Keeps the story moving
Use of dialogues and avoiding irrelevant details adds to the tempo of the narrative.
In the classroom, different tasks could be devised to teach narrative writing to
the students. For example:
i) Narrating events in order: Jumbled up story could be presented and learners
could be asked to put it in the right order.
ii) Narrating story from different perspectives – as told by different characters.
iii) Using flashback techniques.
Reporting
A report usually presents information in a logical, orderly and a precise manner.
What characterizes a good report? The purpose of the report is to inform the
reader about things that they do not know hence all details need to be included.
But at the same time unnecessary details need to be avoided. This ensures
completeness of the report.

The report should be accurate. Hence any false information should be avoided.

There should be clarity in the report. It should be clear enough for the reader to
understand and take action if necessary. The language should be simple; jargon
and technical language should be avoided.

Arguing
The most important thing in this type of writing is that you have to convince the
reader of your point of view. An argumentative writing will be effective if the
following guidelines are followed:
i) Decide on the precise issue to be addressed
12 ii) Select evidence to support your arguments
iii) Anticipate the arguments of the other side The Writing Process

iv) Avoid fallacies, sweeping statements, emotional language and beating about
the bush
Conclusion
Once you have developed the content of the topic, it is important to summarize
what you have written. Like the introduction, conclusion could be of various
types. It could be simple restating of the main points, or you could even write
the limitations, constraints or even your own pint of view. A proverb, an anecdote
or a rhetorical question could also be used.

Revision
This is a post-writing stage though it occurs while the writer is writing, making
it a non-linear in nature. It means to ‘re-vision’ or ‘relook’ of what has been
written. After the first draft is written, the writer needs to read it, make necessary
changes and rewrite the draft again. Look at the following diagram depicting
the cyclical model of writing and the role ‘revision’ plays in it:

Cyclical Process of Writing

Vanikar and Mujumdar, 1995

Revision is a cyclical process and as teachers we need to undertake this activity

in the classroom; we need to teach students the process of revising one’s own
piece of writing. The writer needs to undertake critical reading of the written
text and diagnose / find out the mistakes he/she has made. Then he/she needs to
apply meaning making strategies (cognitive) and reader based strategies
(affective) to the text. Meaning making/Cognitive strategies are those strategies
when used, solves some intellectual task. The learner has to determine the problem
and then reorder materials or combine it with ideas. The strategies vary from
simple recall of material to highly original and creative ways of combining,
synthesizing and segmenting. These are used to develop the content/body/subject
matter of the piece of writing. Some of the strategies useful for students and
which should be taught to the students are:
Adding/Deleting/Combining/Segmenting sentences
Restructuring/substituting sentences
Expansion of clauses/phrases
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Teaching-Learning Writing Use of similes and metaphors
and Grammar
Order shift of sentences
Addition of verbal visuals/pictures
Reader oriented strategies (Affective Level Strategies) are those strategies
when used helps writers to reorient and recreate their text to suit reader needs.
Applying these strategies helps the reader to understand the writer’s point of
view. Some of the strategies that students can use to revise their text are:
Adding/deleting of paragraphs
Order/shift of paragraphs
Combining paragraphs
Addition of a concluding paragraph / sentence
Addition of question tags
Use of proverbs / quotes
Addition/deletion of examples
Addition of personal experiences/facts/background knowledge
Clarifying concepts
Editing and Proofreading
When the learner is satisfied that the content is completely developed, that is he/
she has written everything that he/she intended, then only the activity of editing
and proof reading needs to be undertaken. This means that the time has come
to relook at the draft for spelling errors and incorrect grammatical constructions.
If editing is done immediately after writing of the first draft then the focus of the
writer shifts from meaning making to language correction. This undue focus on
language at an early stage of writing is likely to result in the written piece not
being communicative. Once the content is fully developed, the focus can then
shift to the grammatical aspect of the written piece of text.

Many students do not revise their written work because they assume that whatever
they have written is clear to the reader as well. Some are lazy to revise their
work, while a majority of them do not revise their written work because they
do not know how to do it. The duty of the teacher therefore, is to teach
students how to revise their written work. If this is undertaken as a classroom
activity, it will help learners to write in a communicative manner, which at present
is lacking in their writing.

1.3 THE WRITING PROCESS

We shall take up an example of report-writing with class 9th/11th students. We
shall go through the entire process within a classroom context.

Introduce report writing by drawing the children’s attention to the difference

between fact and opinion, which the children have already been exposed to. Tell
the children that when they write a description or a story, they include their own
ideas, feelings and experiences. However to write a report they should only write
facts about the topic. They should not include their own ideas or experiences.
The children would need to decide the purpose of the report, namely, who is it
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for. This purpose will influence the choice of organisation and the choice of The Writing Process
language.
Introduce the steps of report writing:
Step 1 Choose a topic
Step 2 Plan the report
Step 3 Write the report
Step 4 Revise the report
Step 5 Proof read
Step 6 Make a final copy to share
We shall now look at all the stages in detail.
Step 1: Choose a Topic
Discuss what subjects make a good report. Tell the children there are many good
topics for reports. The best topic however is the one that interests the child. If a
child chooses a boring topic, then the report will probably be boring too. It’s
important to make the children realise that all topics are not suitable. Have the
children suggest topics for reports, try and confine these to a general subject
area. List each suggestion on the board. Stop when you have five or six
suggestions. Now discuss the suitability of each. For example:
1) My red bicycle
2) Tandem bicycles
3) New kinds of bicycles
4) Making a toy bicycle
5) My favourite bicycle
6) Tricycles
Sample discussion:
Topic 1 might be a better topic for a description than for a report. Topic 2 is a
good report topic, since it is unusual and therefore interesting. We could find
interesting fact as well as pictures. Topic 3 seems too broad. Topic 4 would be
giving us instructions and not facts. Topic 5 would give us opinions and not
facts. Topic 6 is a good topic but it is about a common object. We are likely to
find the most interesting information on topic 2. Therefore this would be
considered the best choice.

After this discussion ask the children to suggest other suitable topics for a report.
Let the class finally select a topic. If necessary this could be done through a vote.

Step two: Plan the Report

Explain to the children that they usually begin writing their first drafts after they
choose their topics, because the ideas for writing come from experiences and
observations. A report, however, is different. For their reports they will be using
facts; so before they begin writing, they must find the facts about their topics in
books, encyclopaedias or on the Internet. They would need to make their notes
and plan their outlines. The planning step is the most important step in writing a
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Teaching-Learning Writing report. Assure the children that if they do their research and note-taking carefully,
and Grammar
they would have little difficulty in writing their reports.

It’s a good idea to divide the class into small groups of three or four children. Let
each group do their independent referencing, note-taking and preparing of outlines.
Give the children a suggested list of reference material and where to find it. It
would be useful for each group to share their outlines. Those children who have
had problems will learn from the discussion of other children’s outlines and the
process they underwent. The children need to know that the most important part
of planning a report is to decide on what facts to include. Point out that different
people may have different ideas about what facts to include or what order makes
the best sense. As they write their outlines they should think about the order of
the details and arrange their subtopics logically. Depending upon the needs of
the class you may need to do a quick review of how to take notes or how to
prepare an outline. Some children would need help with their research and
reference work. Teach the children to write the source of their information at the
bottom of the page.

Step three: Write the Report

Tell the children that writing the first draft of the report is not the same as writing
other drafts. Point out that because they have their facts organised in their outlines,
much of the work is already done. Ask the students to use their outlines to write
the first drafts of their reports. They could work in small groups or in pairs.
Explain to the children that in this step they should concentrate on getting their
facts and ideas from their outlines into paragraphs. Remind students not to worry
about errors in spelling, capital letters, punctuation and grammatical usage. There
will be time to make these corrections later on. Right now they need to focus on
getting the facts into a logical sequence in a clear way. It may be useful to put up
some guidelines such as:
1) Write a topic sentence for each paragraph. Use the main topics from the
outline.
2) Write the subtopics as complete sentences
3) Write only facts in your report.
4) Write the names of the books/encyclopaedias, Internet sources where you
found your facts. Write them at the end of your report.
You may want to go through the first draft process as a whole class activity.

It is important to remember that at this stage we are introducing the format of a

report in its simplest form. At a later stage the children would be writing one or
two paragraphs on each sub-topic. This would be done in an older class. Children
must keep the first drafts in their folders.

Step four: Revise the Report

Tell the children that the purpose of reading a report is to present information
about a particular subject in a clear and interesting way. Then others can enjoy
reading the report and learn about the topic. Children will read out their reports
to their peers in small groups. They will respond to each other’s reports by asking
questions such as:

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 How did you decide on these facts? The Writing Process

Could you add more detail? How did you choose the order of the subtopics?
Could you give more information about....?
They could also add some positive suggestions.
Tell the children not to look for errors in spelling, capital letters or punctuation at
this stage.

It is useful to put up some sample questions that children need to look into as a
guideline:
1) What is the topic sentence for each paragraph? Does it state the main idea?
Could it be better?
2) Do the other sentences keep to the main idea? Does each sentence tell a
fact?
3) Are the sentences interesting? Can details be added?
You may if you like take the whole class through a process of revising one piece
of writing as a whole class activity. If the children are revising on their own in
small groups, the teacher needs to go around and spend a little time with each
group to see that they are on the right track. Tell the children not to get up and
come to you, as this creates chaos, but instead to raise their hands whenever they
have a problem. Remind children to speak clearly and listen attentively. Tell
them that it is a good idea to say something nice about their partners’ report
before they politely ask questions or make useful suggestions. Encourage children
to make notes during these discussions or conferences with their peers, so that
they will remember their listeners’ suggestions. Also encourage children to be
open and receptive to these suggestions. It is however ultimately up to the writers
to adopt or reject the suggestions, since they have the ownership of the piece of
writing.

Step Five: Proofread

Tell the students that they have worked very hard to make their reports interesting
and informative, now it is time to proofread the reports and look for errors that
would get in the readers’ way. Explain to the children that when people read
something that is written correctly, they enjoy it more. It’s a good idea to display
a piece of incorrect writing on the board. Let this not be any one child’s work.
Try and put in the common errors you noticed while you went around. Ask the
children to look for errors in capitalisation, punctuation, spelling and some
particular type of grammatical usage. Have volunteers come up to the board and
mark corrections. You could teach children some simple signs and symbols which
would help them mark errors while proofreading. It is a good idea to check the
children’s proofread drafts before they make their final copies.

Step six: Make a Final Copy

Ask children to make neat copies of their reports so that others can read and
enjoy them and learn something new! They could draw or paste pictures if they
want to. Encourage them to be creative and original. They could if they like
make posters, models or collages to go with their reports. The reports could then
be shared with other children either through bulletin boards or at a sharing time.
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Teaching-Learning Writing Check Your Progress 3
and Grammar
1) How does the writing process help the children to evaluate their writing?
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Undertake the following activities and identify the technique used.

2) The following sentences are not linked with each other. How can you link
them together to form a coherent whole?
It is an uphill task of finding the cause of circus becoming a dying form of
entertainment. The film industry in our country is developed to a large
extent. Every year a lot of films are released. So nowadays people prefer to
go for other entertainment.
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3) Too much of information is crammed in one sentence. Can you separate the
information and write in different sentences?
Some enjoy with playing or reading, or watching TV or traveling or dancing
or singing a song to see a movie, drama, circus etc.
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4) Certain concepts present in the text can be elaborated. Can you identify and
elaborate them?
Watching circus is a one type of entertainment. People go to see circus. It
is a family enjoyment. In circus there are many people. Everyone is master
of these arts, “Kalakar”. There are some Jokers also…..There are skilled
acrobats……There is a big ring of fire….Some artists show their art on
cycle or motor or horse. They make a big jump without afraid of any accident.
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5) Addition of examples would make this text clearer. Can you develop the The Writing Process
content by adding examples and making necessary changes?
You come home after school and attend tuitions, and feel tired; under such
condition a song may probably entertain you and make you feel better. Music,
games sports like football, cricket etc. form many forms of entertainment.
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6) The following is a paragraph on the impact of human activities on nature.
But the concluding sentence is missing. Write one / two /three concluding
sentence(s) so that the paragraph comes to a logical close.
Nature has been very kind to us. But we have given nothing at all. Instead
of giving anything people had cut trees without thinking that the trees are
also part of nature. They also help us in many ways. Without trees we will
not get many things like rubber, gum etc. We will also not get oxygen.
Many people will die without pure air.
(All tasks are developed from original writings of students)

1.4 LET US SUM UP

We have primarily touched upon the following aspects:
While teaching writing, the process of writing should be emphasized rather
than the product.
The major components of the writing process are — idea generation,
organization, articulating ideas and revision.
The purpose of writing and audience should be borne in mind before writing.
Various techniques can be used to generate ideas.
Ideas should be prioritized before writing.
Abstract ideas are encoded in language in the articulation stage.
A piece of writing usually has introductory, supportive and concluding
paragraphs.
Tools like narration, description, reporting and arguing can be used to develop
the content/subject matter of the piece of writing.
While revising a written piece, meaning making strategies can be applied
to develop content.
Language can be corrected while editing and proof reading, which is the
last stage.

19
Teaching-Learning Writing
and Grammar 1.5 KEY WORDS
Product : ‘What’ is the outcome of the writing activity.
Process : ‘How’ we write
Planning : The first stage of writing, when we collect our thoughts and
think of an audience and purpose of writing

Revising : That stage of writing when we relook, revise, refine what is

written

Coherence : The relationship which links the meanings of utterances in a

discourse or sentences in a text

Cohesion : Grammatical and /or lexical relationships between the different

elements of the text. This may be the relationship between
different sentences or between different parts of a sentence.

Organization : To write one point after another in order of importance and

logical reasoning

Articulation : The production of graphemes on paper to form words to encode

the intent/thought/idea

1.6 SUGGESTED READINGS

Hackar, D. and Renshaw, R. 1989. Writing with a Voice. Illinois, Scott, Coresman
and Company.
Hayes, J., 1980b. “Writing as problem-solving”. Visible Language 14: 388-399.

Hedge, T. 1988. Writing. ELBS. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mujumdar A. (1999). Mapping Cognition: A Study of Revision Strategies in an

ESL Context. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation submitted to M.S.University of
Baroda, India.

Raimes, A. 1983. Techniques in Teaching Writing. New York. Oxford University

Press.
Rohman, D.G. 1965. “Pre-Writing: The Stage of Discovery in the Writing
Process”. College Composition and Communication 16: 106-112.

Saraswati V. 1979. Organised Writing. Madras, Orient Longman.

Vanikar, R. and Mujumdar, A. 1995. “Materials from Within: Learners as Material

Designers”. The Journal of English Language Teaching (India) Vol.XXX No.6
Nov-Dec., 147-158.

Zamel, V., 1983 “The Composing Processes of advance ESL students: Six case
studies”. TESOL Quarterly 17: 165-187

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 The Writing Process
1.7 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
This approach is based on the philosophy and assumption that if children are to
learn to write they must be active participants in the writing process. They need
to be conversing with each other, raising questions, making decisions and
evaluating themselves. In classrooms in which a writing community develops
everyone is a learner and a teacher. The class teacher needs to facilitate and
support writing by knowing the children’s language needs as well as the language
demands of a particular form of writing. The teacher needs to equip the children
with appropriate styles for different forms of writing. The teacher needs to plan
out systematic ways of assessing the children’s writings as well as evaluating the
writing environment, to ensure that the children are moving from functional
competency, to becoming good communicators and finally independent writers
with their own distinct voices. The teacher however realises that the writing
process is a never ending one.

2-4 Open ended.

Check Your Progress 2
Diagram Method Used for Characteristics
Brain Pattern Finding a subject and Unstructured, free
relating propositions form, quick, group
and individual work
Listing Finding and limiting a Semi structured,
subject group and individual
work
Brain storming Generating ideas, Unstructured group
information, new
perspectives
Loop writing Finding focus for the Semi structured,
subject individual work,
time consuming
Working Finding focus, relating Structured, group
outlines and ordering ideas and individual work
Check Your Progress 3

1) One of the things the teacher does during the process writing classes is to
have children help one another to revise or edit. We have all experienced
the need for outside readers to respond to our writing and through their
feedback, enhance our perspective on what we write or clarify some ideas
that are not clear, or change the order in which we have presented the
ideas. This is a useful natural process for the children to learn. The idea of
the teacher as the sole audience is very limiting. When children find that
their peers do not understand what they have said, they are more actively
involved in finding out what is missing. However, as we have discussed
earlier, children need to be taught how to respond to one another’s work in
a positive way.
2-6 Answers to these activities can be written in many ways; hence the
teacher should monitor the answers. 21