07 Chapter3

CHAPTER III
WRITING SKILLS AN OVERVIEW
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CHAPTER III
WRITING SKILLS: AN OVERVIEW
3.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter begins with a note on writing followed by the importance of writing,
writing as a complex skill, nature of writing and its characteristics are stated followed by
a discussion on different approach to writing and different kinds of writing. A brief note
on teaching writing to ESL learners is also discussed. Writing is primarily a learned art,
with students being taught all the formal and technical aspects but relying primarily on
their own creativity to create. Teaching writing skill can be difficult for any teacher, since
the approach will be different for almost every student. A few will learn quickly, while
others will need some encouragement and more attention to ensure learners understand
what students are being taught. There is a general learning arc that most students will go
through, regardless of their age.
3.1 WRITING SKILLS
Writing is a visual representation of speech. In writing and speaking the

language learner is engaged in communicating his ideas and feelings. In the case of
speaking, a kind of give and take situation exists between the listener and the
speaker. But, in the case of writing the message communicated is higher and to be
effective. Writing is an act of forming letters or characters and artfully putting them
together so as to express ideas; an essential component of any language learning.
To learn written mode of second language, in addition to L1, one requires an additional
ability and time. For learning writing of L1, one need not learn words and their meaning
without any kind of hindrance if he/she has literacy skill in L1, to correlate the sounds
with graphemes and to sequence the graphemes into words and words into sentences,
cohering the sentences with meaning and ability to organize them in a readable manner.
But, to learning writing of L2 one requires learning deliberately and consciously each and
every linguistic element through instruction or proper guidance.
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Since writing is an essential component of language learning. Earlier, ‘writing’
skills were emphasizing on the correct use of grammatical forms. Students used to copy
sentences, making discrete changes in person or tense. This philosophy grew as a result
of audio-lingual method, where error was prevented and accuracy was expected to arise
out of practice with structure. Subsequently, teachers were more aware of current
practices in English composition and there was a shift from strictly controlled writing to
guided writing. Writing was limited to structuring sentences often in direct answers to
questions or by combining sentences - the result of which looked like a short piece of
discourse. Like speaking, writing is a productive skill. It involves producing language
rather than receiving it. Writing involves communicating a message. In order to write,
learners need to form letters and words, join these together to make words, sentences or
a series of sentences that link together to communicate a message.
Learning to write in a second language is not merely learning to put down on

paper the conventional symbols of the writing system that represents the utterances
one has in mind, but it is also purposeful section and organization of ideas, facts and
experiences. In order words aims at compactness and precision in expression as
well as grammatical, idiomatic and orthographic accuracy. Therefore, learning to
write involves learning to use grammar with ease and present fact in a sequential
order. Writing is required to communicate with other people, to understand them,
talk to them, read what others have written and to write to them. The sub- skills of
writing are planning, forming letter, punctuate correctly, linking, using the
appropriate layout, paragraphing and so on.
Writing involves going through a number of stages, some of which are given
below:
Brainstorming (thinking of everything about the topic).

Making notes.
Writing a draft (a piece of writing that is not yet finished, and may be changed).
Editing (correcting and improving the text).
Producing another draft.
Proof reading (checking for mistakes).
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It is important to have a message and the ability to communicate writing
successfully to other people, in writing. In order to do this, one should have enough
ideas, process the ability to organize them well and express them in an appropriate
manner.
Process of Writing Skills
(Fig 3.1)
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3.2 DEFINING WRITING
There are a number of scholars who have different views and thoughts on
writing and writing skill. Some of the important scholars’ views on writing and
writing skill are mentioned here for the better understanding of the writing skill.
Peter T. Daniels (1996) defines writing as a system of more or less

permanent marks used to represent an utterance in such a way that it can be
recovered more or less exactly without the intervention of the utterer. According to
Sampon (1985:26) writing is a system for representing utterances of spoken language
by means of permanent visible marks. Steven Roger (2001) stressed that no one
definition of writing can cover all the writing system that exist and have ever existed.
However, he says that the writing should fulfil some of the following criteria viz.,
i. Writing must fulfil its purpose of communication.
ii. Writing relates conventionally to articulate speech (the systematic

arrangement of significant vocal sounds) or electronic programming in such
a way that communication is achieved.
Lado (1971:272) says writing is a graphic representation of a language and

information is conveyed through the written medium by the use of conventional
graphemes. Elbow (181:369) thinks of “writing as a kind of ‘magic’ that can be
performed by anyone who is involved in and believes in his tale”. So, the process of
translating the abstract ideas into a concrete form is the art of writing.
3.2.1 Aim of writing
Writing skill must be interpreted broadly as the ability to represent words by

means of recorded signs. The aim may be restricted or extended to cover all of the
following progressive abilities:
Ability to transcribe correctly i.e. without errors and in neat characters.

Ability to co-ordinate hand and ear i.e. to write down correctly (with regard
to orthography and punctuation) and fairly rapidly whatever is heard within
the range of the active vocabulary.
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Ability to use writing as a means of indicating the understanding of reading
matter and in the application of grammatical forms.
Ability to set out correctly a sequential series of ideas i.e. composition.
High level translation.
Learning basic sentence structure.
Increasing vocabulary and spelling.
Increased knowledge of grammatical rules.
Introduction of new forms of writing.
Perfecting the language used in each of these new forms.
3.2.2 Functions of Writing
In any linguistic analysis a sharp distinction has got to be maintained between

speech and writing, because written communication is distinct from the spoken one in
spite of the fact that the relationships between speech and writing are close and
intimate. Though the term language in linguistic context is reserved exclusively for
spoken language, and speech is the linguists’ primary concern. Its interests in writing
for some special reason as the written records survive longer than the spoken forms.
The written form of a language changes more slowly than the spoken form.
Moreover, the written form is often more homogeneous than the spoken one as it is
the language of education and it tends to be the same all over the country. On the
other hand speech differs as it is represented by many dialects. Writing is more
grammatical, in the sense that it often indicates grammatical relationship more
clearly, and the writer is generally more careful about grammar than the speaker.
3.2.3 Purposes of writing
The different purposes of writing may be
to give information (for example articles, text-books, notices, brochures)

to entertain (short stories, novels, drama)
to persuade (advertisements)
to give opinions (editorials, review)
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The target reader may also be different. The text written for them may also
be different.
3.2.4 Process of writing
The process of writing method is a valuable tool for any ESL teacher who
wants to improve the writing of their students. Heald – Taylor (1986) describes his
method, “Process of writing is an approach which encourages ESL youngsters to
communicate their own written messages while simultaneously developing their
literacy skills in speaking and reading rather than delaying involvement in the writing
process, as advocated in the past, until students have perfected their abilities in
handwriting, reading, phonetics, spelling, grammar and punctuation. In process writing
the communication of the message is paramount and therefore the developing, but
inaccurate, attempts at handwriting, spelling and grammar are accepted. These skills
are further developed in individual and small group conference interviews”.
3.2.5 Sub skills in writing
The writing skills incorporate a number of sub skills. The sub skills are
classified under 7 seven categories.
According to Sobana, (2003:26) writing has the following types of sub skills.
Mechanics – Handwriting, spelling and punctuation

Organization – Vocabulary, Idioms
Organization - Paragraphs, topic and support cohesion and unit
Syntax – Sentence structure, sentence boundaries, stylings, etc.
Grammar – Rules of verbs, agreement, articles, pronouns etc.
Contents – Relevance, clarity, originality, logic etc.
The writing process-getting ideas, getting started writing drafts, revising, etc.
3.2.6 Micro skills in writing
Here are some of the micro-skills involved in writing. The writer needs to use the
orthography correctly, including the script, and spelling and punctuation convention. One
should use the correct forms of words. This may mean using forms that express the right
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tense, or case or gender and put words together in correct word order and make the
main sentence constituents, such as subject, verb and object clear to the reader. The
learner should make the main ideas distinct from supporting ideas or information and
make the text coherent, so that other people can follow the development of the ideas.
3.2.7 The writing ability

The values of the writing ability are as follows:
Writing is an ability, which enables the learner to represent words “by means
of written sign”.
Writing enables the pupil to take down notes, dictation etc. at later stage; it
helps free expression of thoughts.
Writing serves as a mental discipline because of the development of standards
of correctness for written forms.
Essay writing at present is regarded as the highest test of all “Language
training” because of the value of writing ability or skill.
3.3 THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITING

Bacon (1989) rightly said, “Reading makes a full man, conference a ready man,
and writing an exact man”. Writing is an important medium and it is used for different
purposes. Writing performs many functions in a person’s day to day life in different areas
like academic, official, media, social, cultural and personal settings. Communication is the
medium of writing personal correspondence, telegrams, circulars, reports, memos,
minutes of meetings, instructions, email messages, assessment reports, projects etc.
knowledge of writing is important to access journals, magazines, books, bills, letters, etc.
The need to learn to write in English for academic and occupational purposes
is increasing. In the field of education, writing plays a dominant role for writing
projects, assignments, examinations etc. in the Indian educational system, assessing
academic abilities is closely linked with proficiency in writing. In fact, writing is the
only medium through which learners are assessed formally in Schools, Colleges and
Universities. Written tests are administrated, even for job placements. Writing
virtually has become the tool for survival today. Certain jobs related to writing
(content writing, technical writing, editing, etc) are the highly paid in India today.
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Skills involved in writing
Syntax sentence Contents Relevance,
Structure, Sentence Clarity Originality,
boundaries stylistic logic etc.,
choices
Grammar Rules for The Writing Process

Clear, fluent and
verb agreement, Getting ideas getting
effective written
Articles, Pronouns, communication
started writing drafts
etc revising
Mechanics Audience
punctuation, Spelling The readers
& handwriting
Organisation Word choice Purpose the reason

Paragraphs, topic Vocabulary, for writing
and support, idiom tone
cohesion and unity
Fig. 3.2 (Nagaraj 2008)
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Students Influence on Writing Skills
Students Language
Education Disorder
and Listening
Backgrou
nd
Socio
Economic
Speaking
Backgrou
nd
Lack of
Reading
Practice
WRITING SKILLS
L1
Lack of
Grammer
Grammar
Influence
Lack of Lake of
Vogabula Interest
ry
Spoken Mother
English Tangue
Varity influence
(Fig 3.3)
Writing also involves the reinforcement of other language skills like reading,
grammar, vocabulary as students are employed in the act of writing. Reading for
additional information strengthens writing skills. Reading for specific purposes
strengthens vocabulary. Focusing on teaching writing skills are important to
facilitate all the needs of the learners inside the classroom as well as in students
day-to-day life. Hence, writing is an important linguistic skill.
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To demonstrate the point, Mr. Yaffe's recently published book, The Gettysburg
Approach to Writing & Speaking like a Professional, addresses the challenge head on.
Inspired by Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address, the book examines the
handful of underlying principles and practices that make this miniature masterpiece
(only 272 words) perhaps the greatest single piece of prose and oratory in history.
3.4 WRITING AS A COMPLEX SKILL
A child with a learning difficulty experiences significant delays in one or

more academic or developmental areas. Learning difficulties are often the result of
an intellectual disability, physical and sensory disabilities, emotional difficulties,
lack of educational opportunities, an illness or disruption to schooling, and/or
inadequate environmental experiences, which may be overcome with early
intervention & efforts. When learning difficulty is due to specific developmental
delays, most of the workers in the area of the scholastic difficulties ascribe such
backwardness to learning difficulties caused by a maturational lag. The problem
may be wholly or partly due to factors in the child such as sensory motor,
Handicaps, Temperamental traits, psychological problems which are associated
with learning difficulties. Environmental factors such as poor educational system,
psycho social stress in the context of the family or the school and the inherent
nature of scripts in different languages also contribute to learning difficulties.
3.4.1 Learning disabilities
Learning disability is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of

disorders manifested by difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking,
reading, writing, reasoning and mathematical skills. Language disorder results of
factors such as cerebral dysfunction is intrinsic to the individual and occur across
lifespan. Problems in self- regulatory behaviour, social perception may exist but
does not constitute the disorder by themselves.
3.4.2 Academic achievement
According to Crow & Crow (1964), academic achievement means the extent
to which a learner is profiting from the instructions in a given area of learning i.e.,
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achievement is reflected by the extent to which a skill or knowledge has been
acquired by a person from the training imparted to him.
3.4.3 Writing disability
Dysgraphia: Deficits in writing, which may include lack of organization,

clarity, unity, fragmentation of written concepts, mechanical errors, reversals,
transpositions, and omissions of letters or words. Spelling may be poor, handwriting
may be illegible, and written ideas may be disorganized and incomprehensible.
A child with a learning difficulty experiences significant delays in one or more
academic or developmental areas. Because of the complex nature of writing skills
and applications, writing can be a challenging task for students with difficulties.
Children with specific learning difficulties may have difficulties with both the
mechanical and process oriented aspects of writing.
 Emotional Problems
Thought/Behaviour Disorder Individuals may appear confused and

disoriented with the environment. It is also associated with self reports of feeling
jumpy, agitated, or out of control.
 Verbal Aggression
Individuals who are perceived as loud and boisterous, argumentative etc.
 Physical Aggression
Individuals who bully or physically provoke others, typical of this behaviour

bumping, pushing, and hitting other people.
 Non- Compliance
Individuals are likely to display rebellious, stubborn, uncooperative

behaviour, little respect for authority and disobedient.
 Hyperactivity
Individuals who appear impatient, impulsive and easily excitable. They are
restless and fidgety and may jump from one activity to another.
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 Distractibility
Poor concentration and a short attention span, difficulty in listening to

others, following directions and staying on task are characteristics of individuals
who have this problem.
 Anxiety
Difficulty in relaxing and staying calm as evidenced by trembling, shaking or

other nervous habits & problems with self-esteem may be common characteristics
displayed by individuals possessing this problem.
 Somatic Concerns
Frequent health complaints & excessive requests to see a nurse or a doctor,

tendency over react & become dramatic about minor aches, pains, illnesses & injuries,
which may be perceive by other complaints as a way to avoid participating in tasks or
activities.
 Withdrawal
Individuals who appear aloof, disoriented with others, appear socially

isolated & spend much of their time alone, they describe themselves as quiet and
unhappy.
 Depression
Individuals appear sad, gloomy, and unhappy to others, hopelessness, loss of

interest in previous pleasurable activities and a general dissatisfaction with life are
commonly reported by individuals with high depression scores.
 Low Self-Esteem
Insecurity and excessive dependence on other people are the hallmark of

individuals with this problem. Links between academic under achievement and
difficulties in behavioural adjustment have long been established (McGee et al, 1988).
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Prevalence of learning disabilities
Psychological Problems
 Spelling
 Vocabulary
 Grammar
 Dyslexia
 Dilexia
 Syntax
 Environment
 Lack of Productivity
Writing Skills Problem  Mother tongue
Linguistics Problems influence
 Reputation
 Environmental
affection
 Subject knowledge
 Basic fear
 Socio- Economic
back ground
Reflection
 Lack of Interest
Cognitive Problems
(Fig 3.4)
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Omotosho (2001) examined the type of learning problems identified by the
parent and teachers among elementary school in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria.
The findings for 407 parents and teachers showed that a significantly large
proportion identified various learning disability problems among their students/
pupils. The learning disabilities are identified with the largest population. Lall (1996)
studied perceived peer relations parenting and social competence in children’s with
academic skill difficulties. A sample of twenty children aged 7 to 12 years with
academic skill difficulties described as specific developmental disorders of scholastic
skills by ICD-10 and twenty children without academic skill difficulties were taken.
Results indicated that, children with academic skill difficulties perceived their
relationship with peers cordial. However teachers found these children are poor in social
competence. Significant negative association was found between perceived peer relations
and perception of mother in dimension of warmth. The problems in L2 learning can be
listed as follows
i) Psychological
ii) Linguistic and
iii) Cognitive problems
3.4.4 Psychological problems
Speaking can be taught through some group activities, writing is viewed as a

solitary activity. The major problems that could be listed are:
Lack of motivation
Lack of right aptitude
Negative attitude of learning and
Lack of confidence
The problems manifest themselves at every stage. Harris, J. (1993) reiterates:

Writing is a process that occurs over a period of time, particularly if we take into
account sometimes the extended periods of thinking that precede the creation of an
initial draft. Even in the more immediately focused stage of constructing a text,
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writers pause, think, write and revise and so on. This somewhat halting progress
reveals the number of decisions that have to be made by the writer alone and also the
extent to which reflection is an essential port of the process. (p 98)
Since it is stated earlier in the chapter that writing is a skill to be taught and
practiced under continuous monitoring, the responsibility of taking necessary
initiatives and employing necessary suitable strategies to overcome the problems
rest heavily on the shoulders of the teachers.
3.4.5 Linguistic problems
Most of our students lack expressionistic skills in L2. Their inadequacy in

vocabulary and poor knowledge of grammar makes it very difficult for them to
express their ideas in L2.
Commenting on this, Hyland (2003) adds……most of us have a vocabulary of

several thousand words and an intuitive ability to handle the grammar of the
language when we begin to write in out L1 but L2 writers often carry the burden of
learning to write and learning English at the same time. Written competency needs a
higher level of language proficiency in terms of grammar, vocabulary and format etc.,
Byrne (1979) remarks: Oral communication is sustained though a process of

interaction except in special circumstances such as a lecture. The participants help
to keep it going. Because speech is spontaneous, we have little time to pay attention
either to organizing our sentence structure or to connecting our sentences.
In writing we have to compensate for the absence of these features. We have to
keep the channel of communication open through our choice of sentences structure
and by the way our sentences are linked together and sequenced. When learning to
practice the writing skills the learner has to be careful in the choice of structures,
sentences and above all the organizations of the text.
3.4.6 Cognitive problems
The term ‘Cognitive’ is used by the psychologists to refer to the processing of

information or invoking of knowledge, concussion as well as unconscious, deliberate
and automatic.
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Richards et al (1985) used the term cognitive variable (p:14) to denote the
relative processes. Learners are individuals and their perceptions are also individualized.
Talking about students, Runin (1981) comments, “when they come to the class, they
come with their own individual perceptions and ways of learning”. (p:124)
Hence, a teacher has to bear in mind all the problems that may arise while
teaching writing skills and concentrate on the remedial measures. We either
produce or reproduce the language, when we speak or write. Receptive skill is used,
when we listen to someone speaking and while we read something, both are
important. The two oral skills viz., listening and speaking develop fairly, rapidly, and
effortlessly in the course of acquiring the first language. But to communicate
effectively in the written language, one needs mastery of the two skills of literacy
namely reading and writing.
Listening and reading skills are called Receptive skills, because when
listening and reading, the person is at the receiving end of the communication
channel. Speaking and writing, on the other hand, are active or productive skills.
Here the person, being at the transmitting end of the channel, has to take the
initiative. These two skills are known as “productive skills”. When a person is
engaged in conversation he has to listen and to speak almost at the same time, so is
the case with reading and writing. The common factor involved in all these skills are
the ‘language code’, the different system of the language. This means the learning of
language code will equally facilitate the learning of the skills. The basic problem in
learning a language therefore is one of internalizing the language code.
3.5 CHARACTERISTICS OF WRITNG
The following are the characteristics of a good piece of writing;
Explanation: The purpose of writing should be made clear. The title should be
explained clearly. So writing should be informative.
Order: A good piece of writing should be broken into separate steps, with each step
distinct and arranged in the right order. Ideas should follow in an order to help the
reader to comprehend the text.
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Relevance: Material relevant to title or question should be included.
Simplicity: Unnecessary words and bombastic language could be confusing.

Therefore simplicity in writing is essential.
Completeness: If an essential idea is omitted, meaning- making becomes difficult.

Careful attention is necessary to produce a clear and complete piece of writing.
Accuracy: A good piece of writing should help the reader by conveying information
and ideas clearly and pleasurably, without mistakes. Sufficient explanation, the
orderly presentation, simplicity and completeness contribute to accuracy should be
there in writing
3.6 APPROACHES TO TEACHING WRITING
Writing is a motor mechanical skill. It is similar to the skill of learning to hold

a pencil, but requires a conscious effort. In the mid 1970’s various approaches have
developed in teaching writing skills. They are the control-to-free approach, the free
writing approach, the paragraph pattern approach, the communicative approach
and the grammar-syntax-organization approach. They are discussed in detail below.
3.6.1 THE CONTROL- TO – FREE APPROACH
The Control- to- Free Approach to writing is sequential. In this approach,

learners firstly given sentence exercises, then paragraph to copy. Learners work on
the given material and perform strictly prescribed operations. So learners’ writing is
controlled to a great extent in this approach leading to limited opportunity to make
mistakes. High intermediate or advanced levels of proficiency learners are given
free compositions, where they express their own ideas.
3.6.2 THE FREE WRITING APPROACH
This approach emphasizes learners to put fluency and content first, rather
than worrying about the form. According to this approach, ones’ ideas are down on
the page, grammatical accuracy, organization and the rest will gradually follow.
This approach is useful to emphasize fluency in the ESL classroom.
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3.6.3 THE PARAGRAPH PATTERN APPROACH
The paragraph pattern approach stressed on organization Instead of

accuracy of grammar or fluency of content. In this approach, learners are given task
like putting scrambled sentences into paragraph order, identifying general and
specific statements and choosing an appropriate topic sentence. This approach is
based on the principle that in different cultures people construct and organize their
communication with each other in different ways.
3.6.4 THE GRAMMAR- SYNTAX- ORGANIZATION APPROACH
This approach stressed the need to work simultaneously on more than one of
the features. This approach believes that writing is not composed of separate skills
which are learned one by one. So, this approach focuses on devising writing tasks
that lead students to pay attention to organization, while they also work on the
necessary grammar and syntax. Hence, in this approach the purpose of writing is to
convey the message through written symbols.
3.6.5 THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH
This approach stresses the purpose of a piece of writing. This approach is a

vast improvement on the previous method. According to this approach writing
should be taught as a real communicative act with the writer purportedly writing
for a real audience. This approach involves the setting of purposeful, meaningful
task. Activities in this approach include information gap exercises though language
games, role play, group work, pair work, etc.
3.6.6 THE PRODUCT APPROACH
The product approach gives importance to writing as a finished product.

According to this approach, the ends have to be laid out with great care because this
approach believes that ends have a great bearing on the means. Objectives are
realized in the form of content in this approach. The end product is given more
importance rather than the number of stages involved in the thinking process of
producing the text.
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3.6.7 THE PROCESS APPROACH
This approach gives emphasis to the process of writing. According to this

approach, learners explore a topic through writing, showing the teacher and each other
their draft and using what they write to read over, think about new ideas.
This approach believes that good education should be open-ended and experimental as
each classroom is a laboratory. It encourages teachers to try out different approaches.
The cognitive act involved in the process of writing is emphasized in this approach.
3.6.8 THE GENRE APPROACH
The genre approach is used to teach writing. In term of writing in a second

language, the genre approach has defined as “a framework instruction”. The term
‘genre’ has been defined as a communicative event and members of each subclass
share some communicative functions such as, film reviews analyze movies; editorial
columns give ideas about content of a book, journal or magazine and product
manuals describe the mode of operation and a set of trouble shooting strategies acts
that writers should know and use to fulfil the expectations of imagined community
of readers of that genre. Therefore, each genre is made up of communicative
features, organizational structure and linguistic features.
3.7 KINDS OF WRITING
The different kinds or types of writing are as follows:
Descriptive - of objectives, people, events, processes,

institutions, arguments, etc.
Narrative - sequencing of events and happenings
Expository - giving an expose of a subject out
For view- with definition, classification,
examples etc.
Argumentative - taking a point of view and supporting it
Reflective - looking back on issues, events, activities and
People and seeing how your opinions change.
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Persuasive - getting readers to change their views
Imperative - giving the writer’s perspective on an issue
3.8 FORMS OF WRITING
The different types of writing are letter writing, essay writing, summary
writing, paragraph writing, journal writing, story writing and picture writing, etc.
 Summary Writing
A summary is a brief account that contains the main point of a text. In a

summary, first, the most important ideas are applied, and then all the main ideas
come in a logical order.
 Essay Writing
An essay is a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject

usually in prose and generally analytic.
 Paragraph Writing
A paragraph is a write-up on a short subject. It is a group of sentences that

tell about one idea. A good paragraph includes sentence and detail sentences in a
logical order.
 Journal Writing
Journal writing involves keeping a record of things that happened in your life.
A journal can also have poems and stories that are collected or written.
 Poetry Writing
Poetry is formed by sounds and syllables combined in distinctive and

sometimes rhythmic ways.
 Letter Writing
Letter writing is an art. A well written letter is clear, simple and short. Letters
are directly addressed to readers.
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 Story Writing
Story writing is a narration of an incident, a place, an imaginary character etc.

A good story has a clear theme, characters, short time span, word count, a narrow
subject line etc. Therefore, in order to involve learners in the process of learning and
to give them hands on experience of learning, materials/ resources like pictures,
charts, maps etc should be in the classroom. Hence, pictures are of great use in the
language learning classroom.
 Picture Writing
Pictures are valuable resources in the ESL classroom. Drawing, photographs,

posters, slides, cartoons, magazine advertisements, diagrams, graphs, tables, charts
and maps contribute a lot to learning, especially writing in the ESL classroom.
3.9 TEACHING WRITING IN THE ESL CLASSROOM
The most important factor in writing exercises is that students need to be

personally involved in order to make the learning experience of lasting value.
Encouraging student participation in the exercise, while at the same time refining
and expanding writing skills, requires a certain pragmatic approach. The teacher
should be clear on what skills he/she is trying to develop. Next, the teacher needs to
decide on which means (or type of exercise) can facilitate learning of the target area.
Once the target skill areas and means of implementation are defined, the teacher can
proceed to focus on what topic can be employed to ensure student participation.
By pragmatically combing these objectives, the teacher can expect both enthusiasm
and effective learning.
Choosing the target area depends on many factors: What level are the
students?, What is the average age of the students?, Why are the students learning
English. Are there any specific future intentions for the writing (i.e. school tests or
job application letters etc.). Other important questions to ask oneself are: What
should the students be able to produce at the end of this exercise? (a well written
letter, basic communication of ideas, etc.) What is the focus of the exercise?
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(structure, tense usage, creative writing). Once these factors are clear in the mind of
the teacher, the teacher can begin to focus on how to involve the students in the
activity thus promoting a positive, long-term learning experience.
Having decided on the target area, the teacher can focus on the means to
achieve this type of learning. As in correction, the teacher must choose the most
appropriate manner for the specified writing area. If formal business letter English
is required, it is of little use to employ a free expression type of exercise. Likewise, when
working on descriptive language writing skills, a formal letter is equally out of place.
With both the target area and means of production, clear in the teachers mind, the
teacher can begin to consider how to involve the students by considering what type of
activities are interesting to the students. Are they preparing for something specific such
as a holiday or test?, Will they need any of the skills pragmatically? What has been
effective in the past? A good way to approach this is by class feedback, or brainstorming
sessions. By choosing a topic that involves the students, the teacher is providing a context
within which effective learning on the target area can be undertaken. Finally, the
question of which type of correction will facilitate a useful writing exercise is of
utmost importance. Here the teacher needs to once again think about the overall
target area of the exercise. If there is an immediate task at hand, such as taking a
test, perhaps teacher guided correction is the most effective solution.
Quizzes
Listening Quizzes
Vocabulary Quizzes
Printable Quizzes
Writing Help
Intermediate Level Writing
Upper Intermediate Level Writing
Advanced Level Writing
Related Articles
Teaching Writing - ESL EFL TEFL Teachers Guide and Introduction to Teaching...
Elementary Educators - Online Project Centre - Writing Round Robin
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Write Shop - An Incremental Writing Program
A Part of Your Community - New Teacher
Creating an Academic Environment
Once, it was believed that teaching of ‘formal grammar’ would pave the way for
writing skill or help to have writing ability. Hence, grammatical analysis was taught.
Research done in educational domain would say that effects of teaching of formal
grammar would be in vain. It was concluded, It seems safe to infer that the study of
English grammar had a negligible or even harmful effect upon the correctness of
children’s writing in the early part of the five secondary schools (Hatnis 1962). Studies
done in the 60s and 70s got a ‘classic support’. According to this view, grammar teaching
does nothing. In the 60s, it was believed that most children cannot learn grammar and….
even to those who can it is of little value.
Richard Hudson says that the earliest research questioned the value of
grammar teaching and the research found that it was simply a waste of time in the
sense that most children would not apply any of the categories even after many
years of teaching (Lawlay 1957; Hudson 1987 Macuvely 1947). In most research has
found that, when well taught; any kind of grammar (traditional or modern) can be
learned by most school children at least of secondary level.
It is also interesting to remember that grammar was one of the few subjects
that teachers taught purely on the basis of what they themselves learned at school,
without any kind of ‘boost’ at university. Teaching writing is often about teaching
grammar. If grammar comes up anywhere in EFL, it is in the writing classroom.
Most EFL students will have some writing skills when get them. But they will often
have an idea that their writing is quite good and generally it will be quite poor.
Many EFL students will have had some experience in paragraph and essay
writing, but, in fact, they often will have quite poor writing skills at the sentence
level. Therefore, teacher will need to take them back to sentence level and begin to
teach them very basic structure and how to write simple. Run-on and fragmented
sentences will be very common until learners correct those errors. Once a good
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foundation is built, learners can move on to basic paragraph writing and then to
essays. These skills take time to develop though and every one will find that most
textbooks will move students forward too quickly.
Expanded Concepts
Read and review
General Writing Concerns
Sentence Writing Skills
3.9.1 Beginning Writing
At the beginning the focus falls on learning the alphabet, the left-to-right
direction of English writing, printing, cursive writing, upper and lower case letters,
alphabetizing, basic spelling patterns of English, rules for capitalization, and word
and sentence punctuation. The basic skills include writing letters, numbers, words,
phrases, and sentences correctly.
All these should be accomplished by providing writing exercises which use

real words (and phrases and sentences). Students may begin with copying what is
given to them, but soon they should begin to write from memory, items words,
phrases, or sentences. In such “free writing” they may be given non-linguistic visual
image in the form of picture of objects themselves. They will see the pictures or
objects, recollect from their memory the words for such pictures or objects, and
write these words. In other words, right from the beginning some form of free
writing is encouraged, even as they go on mastering the mechanics of writing.
3.9.2 Teaching Writing Strategies
When writing, one has no audience present to react to the message as it is being
formulated; the readers wait somewhere in future. Indeed, the lack of an immediate
audience is one reason why writing is sometimes more demand than speaking.
One way of taking learner’s behind the scene of the production of piece of writing is
to use the technique of ‘decomposition’ (Widdowson, 1979) which requires the
learners to recognize a written text into the separate speaking turns of the dialogue
that underlies it.
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The students should receive feedback and advice from the teacher during the
writing process, instead of waiting until they have completed their text, for
psychological reasons. The doubts and problems that arise during the activity of
writing are good opportunities for learning from someone else how to overcome
them. Feedback from fellow learners and the teacher helps to sensitize the learner
writer to the importance of bearing in mind the reader’s knowledge, interest and needs
when composing a text. Teachers should think writing as a form of communication that
demands interactive skills similar to those of speaking interaction. Before, during and
after writing will make learners more effective writers.
3.9.3 The Relevance of Teaching Writing
Writing helps to solidify the student’s grasp of vocabulary and structure and
complements the other skills. Appropriateness in language learning can be
developed only through writing. The goal of writing is to develop the student’s
ability to write up to the point at which written homework can be given. “The goal in
writing is twofold viz., (i) psychologically students are more impressed by exercises
that are to be written and handed by those that are to be learned and (ii) realistically
the teacher knows that writing homework exercises and other written activities
help the students to acquire the vocabulary and the grammar of the lesson.
Practically the students’ minimum contact with the language in the classroom must
be expanded as much as possible. The overall objective then will be to help the
learners express their ideas in written form” (Kenneth Chastain 1976).
Listing the reasons for teaching writing, Donn Byrne says, that
The introduction and practice of some form of writing enables us to

provide for different learning style and needs. Some learners especially
those who do not learn easily through oral practice, feel more secure if
they are allowed to read and write in the language. For such students,
writing is likely to be an aid to retention, if only because they feel more at
ease and relaxed.
Writing is often needed for formal and informal testing.
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Writing also provides variety in classroom activities; serving as a break
from oral work and increases the amount of language contact through
work that can be set out of class.(Donn Byrne, 1979)
3.9.4 Why Writing Difficult
The art of writing becomes difficult because we are required to write without
the possibility of interaction or any feedback. Writing is a solitary activity. Language
itself is highly favourable to oral communication. This means, that there are
opportunities during one’s speech, to repeat, back teach, expand, rephrase or record
and spontaneous. Even ungrammatical sentences will be tolerated. Writing involves the
use of a few structures which we may not normally use while speaking. It is learnt only
through a process of instruction. This includes practice in the organization of our ideas.
3.9.5 Writing - An Individual Effort but More Rule-Bound
Writing is an individual effort. Individuals compose their thoughts often in

privacy and then reduce their thoughts to writing, using the strict conventions
followed in the language. Writing is an individual effort or work, but it must follow
the rules laid down. The development of writing even in native English speaking
children is conscious and is thus non-spontaneous. As it has been discussed
elsewhere in this thesis (Thirumalai 1977), written language differs from oral
language in structure and mode of functioning. The acquisition of oral speech by
itself is the acquisition of signs (symbols). The acquisition of writing is a step further
and the learner must now transfer the symbolization he/she acquired in the process
of speech acquisition to written language. Vygostsky (1962) compares this to the
acquisition of algebra which is harder than arithmetic. Added to this problem is the
fact that writing needs no interlocutor.
In writing, the discrete nature of linguistic signs should be appreciated

consciously. The learner must recognize the sound structure of each word, dissect it
and reproduce it in alphabetical symbols, which he/she must have studied and
memorized before. This same deliberate preparedness is needed to put words in a
certain sequence to form a sentence (Vygostsky 1962; Thirumalai 1977).
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“Writing is more an individual effort than speaking, while at the same time
more rule-bound and therefore more error-prone. . . The speaker does not have to
pronounce each word exactly according to one standard of pronunciation or one
model of structure, while the writer is expected to produce according to one model
of spelling, and usually a reduced range of structures, with 100 percent accuracy”
(Bowen et al. 1985:252). Everyone will agree with Bowen et al. (1985:253) when
they declare that “writing is more rule-bound than speaking. Considering the
control of the orthographic system, the careful organization, and the linguistic
conservatism required, writing is the most demanding of the language skills.”
The writing classes have the potential to help consolidate and improve the
students’ speaking and reading skills. However, it is important for us to remember
that writing is an important skill which can be taught as an end in itself, although
none of the language skills is far removed from the other language skills. Focusing
on writing as an independent skill helps us to identify the specific problems faced by
the learners, and to identify the specific needs of the learners relating to writing.
Mechanics of writing are distinct from the mechanics of other skills such as speaking
and reading. While reading involves seeing and pronouncing, writing involves
association of sounds with mental composition of thoughts and their orderly
presentation, and hand movements.
Writing can be viewed and taught as a developmental process just as reading.

And we can view writing from four perspectives: Mechanics, emphasized in the low
beginner stages (beginning); Extended Use of Language, emphasized in the high
beginner and low intermediate stages (elementary); Writing with Purpose,
emphasized in the high intermediate and low advanced stages (intermediate); and
Full Expository Prose, emphasized in the terminal stage (advanced) (Bowen 1985).
Raimes classifies approaches to teaching writing into five types: controlled to

free, free writing, paragraph pattern, grammar-syntax-organization, communicative,
and process approaches. In the controlled to free approach, “students are first given
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sentence exercises, then paragraphs to copy or manipulate grammatically by, for
instance, changing questions to statements, present to past, or plural to singular.
They might also change words or clauses or combine sentences” (Raimes 1983:6).
In the free writing approach, students are asked to “write freely on any topic
without worrying about grammar and spelling for five or ten minutes. The teachers
do not correct these short pieces of free writing; they simply read them and perhaps
comment on the ideas the writer expressed” (Raimes 1983:7). In the paragraph
pattern approach, “students copy paragraphs, analyze the form of model paragraphs,
and imitate model passages. They put scrambled sentences into paragraph order,
they identify general specific statements, they choose or invent an appropriate topic
sentence, they insert or delete sentences” (Raimes 1983:8). In the communicative
approach to writing, students are asked to assume the role of a writer who is writing
for an audience to read. Whatever is written by a student is modified in some way
by other students for better communicative effect. In the process approach to
writing, students “move away from a concentration on the written product to an
emphasis on the process of writing” (Raimes 1983:10). They ask ‘not only questions
about purpose and audience, but also the crucial questions: How do I write this?
How do I get started?” (Raimes 1983:10).
A proper blend of these approaches to writing will give us best results.

For example, the controlled to free approach to writing helps us to focus on proper
mechanics in the beginning level, whereas communicative approach to writing will
be very effective one our students have some control over the mechanics and have
acquired a good number of words and sentence structures to help them match these
with their thoughts. All successful texts and teachers have always tried to take the
best and relevant aspects of every method to suit the learner’s level and need.
3.9.6 Testing Writing
Testing is to identify the errors and the mistakes in the writing of the
students. Huges (1989:75) says that the best way to test people’s writing ability is to get
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them to write. In this present study, the researcher asked the students to write in their
own interest in which the researcher has found various errors and mistakes.
3.9.7 Advanced Writing
Students will enter the advanced level with a good knowledge of sentence
structure, vocabulary, and idiom. They already exposed to a variety of forms of
writing. They can meet almost every need at the end of the intermediate level.
However, they may have had not much exposure to the specialized literature.
They may have no skill in writing articles in the format in which these are demanded
for publication in standard journals. They may not have much acquaintance with the
specialist vocabulary in English from their fields of specialization. Thus at the
advanced level of writing in English the focus is more on English for specific
purposes. Different fields require different levels of the knowledge of English.
For example, deeper knowledge in English for specializing in law. Not required for
students of physical sciences, there may not be a high demand on him to have an
excellent control over English. The students will be required to have good skills in
organizing information and ideas in his field of specialization. He will be required to
follow the stylistic and rhetorical conventions adopted in English which apply to his
field of specialization. He should have adequate skills in self-editing his own writing.
The writing conventions of a particular field are usually expressed clearly and
succinctly in the style sheets of major publications in that field.
Scholars are called upon to teach the appropriate rhetoric of the field using
English. Rhetoric and logic play a crucial role than linguistic structures. However, it
is always important and useful to refresh the second/foreign language learner of
English about the spelling, vocabulary and diction, and structure errors he continues
to commit. Students will continue to commit linguistic errors even as students try to
master the rhetorical and logical expressions. There are quite a few books in the
field which focus upon various aspects of advanced writing in English. These
textbooks “treat the writing task as problem solving, and set the prospective writer
the task of identifying characteristics of writing and then using their discoveries
about writing in actually composing new essays” (Bowen 1985).
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3.10 CONCLUSION
Writing is the most important skill in language teaching. Writing is one of the
major literary skills. Writing has to be taught to the students even though it is
developed by individuals. In this chapter discussed more about writing skills,
defining writing, aim of writing, functions of writing, purposes of writing, process of
writing, sub-skills in writing, micro-skills in writing, writing ability, importance of
writing, writing as a complex skill, characteristics of writing, approaches to teaching
writing, kinds of writing, forms of writing, teaching writing in the ESL classroom,
use of writing skills, problems in teaching and learning in writing.
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CHAPTER III

WRITING SKILLS AN OVERVIEW

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WRITING SKILLS: AN OVERVIEW

3.1 WRITING SKILLS

Writing is a visual representation of speech. In writing and speaking the

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Learning to write in a second language is not merely learning to put down on

Brainstorming (thinking of everything about the topic).

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Process of Writing Skills

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Peter T. Daniels (1996) defines writing as a system of more or less

i. Writing must fulfil its purpose of communication.

ii. Writing relates conventionally to articulate speech (the systematic

Lado (1971:272) says writing is a graphic representation of a language and

3.2.1 Aim of writing

Writing skill must be interpreted broadly as the ability to represent words by

Ability to transcribe correctly i.e. without errors and in neat characters.

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3.2.2 Functions of Writing

In any linguistic analysis a sharp distinction has got to be maintained between

3.2.3 Purposes of writing

The different purposes of writing may be

to give information (for example articles, text-books, notices, brochures)

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3.2.4 Process of writing

3.2.5 Sub skills in writing

Mechanics – Handwriting, spelling and punctuation

3.2.6 Micro skills in writing

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3.2.7 The writing ability

3.3 THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITING

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Grammar Rules for The Writing Process

Organisation Word choice Purpose the reason

Fig. 3.2 (Nagaraj 2008)

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3.4 WRITING AS A COMPLEX SKILL

A child with a learning difficulty experiences significant delays in one or

3.4.1 Learning disabilities

Learning disability is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of

3.4.2 Academic achievement

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3.4.3 Writing disability

Dysgraphia: Deficits in writing, which may include lack of organization,

Thought/Behaviour Disorder Individuals may appear confused and

Individuals who are perceived as loud and boisterous, argumentative etc.

Individuals who bully or physically provoke others, typical of this behaviour

Individuals are likely to display rebellious, stubborn, uncooperative

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Poor concentration and a short attention span, difficulty in listening to

Difficulty in relaxing and staying calm as evidenced by trembling, shaking or

Frequent health complaints & excessive requests to see a nurse or a doctor,

Individuals who appear aloof, disoriented with others, appear socially

Individuals appear sad, gloomy, and unhappy to others, hopelessness, loss of

Insecurity and excessive dependence on other people are the hallmark of

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Linguistics Problems influence

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ii) Linguistic and

iii) Cognitive problems