Date post: | 21-Feb-2017 |
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DEVELOPING WRITING SKILLS:THE PROCESS APPROACHM. S. Xavier Pradheep SinghEmail: [email protected]
Writing
• Writing can be thought of as thinking made visible.
• A process which involves several identifiable steps.
• Writing is a complex cognitive behavior and a nonlinear process of discovery
Writing Process
• Writing process refers to a broad range of strategies that include pre-writing activities, such as defining audience, using a variety of resources, planning the writing, as well as drafting and revising. These activities, collectively referred to as process-oriented instruction, approach writing as problem-solving.
Writing
• emphasis on end product• Individual• one draft• Structure as the starting point
Product Approa
ch
• emphasis on creative process• Collaborative• more than one draft• ideas as starting point
Process Approa
ch
The Writing Process
1Prewritin
g
2Drafting
3Reviewin
g
4Editing
5Proofreadin
g
6Sharing
1. Prewriting
• Topic–Narrow your topic down to a specific
angle.– Research and analyze information
sources.• Audience• My students / colleagues / parents / any
other?• Do they have any background knowledge
of my topic?
1. Prewriting
• Purpose• To provide information?• To persuade?• To find out information?• To tell a story?
• Format• Am I writing a letter, creating a book or
PowerPoint, an essay• What graphic organizer will I use?
1. Prewriting
• Brainstorm ideas on a piece of paper using mind-mapping.
• Organize your preliminary arguments into an outline following a logical order that would suit the general essay structure of opening, body, and ending.
• Put ideas in sub-groups that will later develop into paragraphs.
2. Drafting
• Focus on content and structure only and forget about language and mechanical aspects such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Write freely and try to find the best way to communicate your ideas.
2. Drafting• Remember the Structure of your writing:
– The opening paragraph (introduction)• Presents the text’s topic.• Begins with a challenging question, a quotation, an illustrative
story, a description or present interesting facts.– The body (discussion)
• Presents one idea per paragraph• Begins with a topic sentence• Provides enough examples, explanations, facts, opinions, and
quotes.• Uses connecting words (conjunctions and discourse markers)
– The ending (conclusion) • Presents summative remarks and repeat the text’s key idea in
other words.• Finishes with a strong statement
3. Reviewing
• Reread your writing to avoid any mistakes
• Evaluate your content and make sure you actually wrote what you planned.
3. Reviewing• Ask yourself:
– Did I actually write on the required topic and used relevant arguments and examples?
– Is each piece of information relevant to the paragraph?– Should I delete or move anything in the writing?– Does each paragraph and sentence logically follow and
relate to what’s written before it?– Did I use suitable connectors to present the logical relations
between sentences?– Did I use a variety of sentence types and lengths (from
simple to complex, short and concise to long and elaborate)?– Did I repeat the same ideas and words?– Did I use adjectives and adverbs for text enrichment?
4. Editing• Judge your writing for language and
technicalities rather than content.• Your sentences should adhere to proper word order
rules, each containing a subject and a predicate.• Use a variety of verb tenses correctly and
appropriately.• Use a dictionary or spell checker when not sure
about spelling.• Use a variety of punctuation marks accurately.• Edit for text mechanics: capitalization, numbering,
italics, and abbreviations.
5. Proofreading
• Trace out all small mistakes.• For a second proofread, try and
pinpoint mistakes reading the text backwards.
6. Sharing
• Share it with your audience and look for any feedback
Finally
• The writing process may seem long and tiresome, but it is a guaranteed path to success.
• The more you use it, the sooner you will realize how you couldn’t do without it.
Thank You