Rwandz Private Technical Institute

English Department

Subject: (Writing Skills)

Title

(HOW TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILLS?)

Prepared by

)Maliha Abdul-Aziz Hajo(

First Year Student

Lecturer

(Naznaz Shawqi Malla )

Submission Date

30/06/2020

1
Abstract
During the academic year one of the most effective and important subjects we studied was
writing skills, It is really interesting and inspiring course curriculum subject, that pushed me to
choose as a topic to write about in my report research, but to give you a clear vision of writing,
first I'd better describe (writing), which is form of communication that allows people or students
to put their feelings and ideas on paper, to organize their knowledge and beliefs into convincing
arguments, and to convey meaning through well-constructed text. In its most advanced form,
written expression can be as bright as a work of art. As students learn the steps of writing, and as
they build new skills upon old, writing changes from the first simple sentences to elaborate
stories and essays. Spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and organization come together and grow
together to help the student demonstrate more advanced writing skills each year. So to let you
know what is meant by writing skills, we can simply say that writing is an art that every writer
loves doing in different ways. A good way to express own thoughts, ideas, opinions, facts and
stories also to share information with reader. Thus writing skills means the ability to convert
thoughts into words is that it means, with proper standards and punctuation, grammar and other
important aspects of writing.
Written communication is a fundamental element of expression. It is the ability to express
oneself through the composed word gives one the chance to share their insight in a significant
and successful way. Learning how to compose brief passages and papers is one of the terrible
experiences for studies in school, institutes and colleges this is one of the most important skill
.needed for students

2
 Table of Contents
Abstract or (2 …………………………………………………………………

)Summary

List (3……………………………………………………………………………

)of Content

Introduction or (4…………………………………………………………

)Background

..……………………………..………………………………………………

)Main Body(5,6,7

,8..…….….………………………………………………………………………

)Discussion(9

.…………………………………………………………………………………

)Conclusion(10

( 11..………………………………………………………………………………

)References

3
 Introduction

As we know that writing is one of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) in
language learning. It is the system of written symbols, representing the sounds, syllables or
words of language, with different mechanisms - capitalization, spelling and punctuation, word
.form and function
Nunan says, “Writing is an extremely complex cognitive activity in which the writer is required to
demonstrate control of variables simultaneously. At the sentence level, these include control of
contents, format, sentence structure, vocabulary, spelling and letter formation. Beyond the
sentence, the writer must be able to structure and integrate information into cohesive and
”.coherent paragraph and text
Strong writing skills may enhance students' chances for success (Alexander). In discussing the
significance of writing to learning, Suleiman also stresses that writing is an essential factor of
language. Any reading and language curriculum must think about the multidimensional nature of
writing in instructional practices, evaluation procedures, and language development. Writing is an
extremely complex cognitive activity in which the writer is required to demonstrate control of
variables simultaneously. Strong writing skills may enhance students' chances for success. Writing
is an essential factor of language. Good writing skills are needed for all the students in order to
accomplish their educational and employable requirements. Process Approach stresses
writing activities which move learners from the generation of ideas and the
collection of data through to the publication of a finished text. Process approach is
learner-centered in which learners’ needs, expectations, goals, learning styles, skills and
.knowledge are taken into consideration
Generally, writing is very important that communication is transmitted more through
writing than any other type of media. So, Students need effective writing skills to meet their
.academic needs and workplace requirements
Students should improve their writing skills, for which teachers have to motivate them to have
good writing skills, by providing instruction in writing processes and rules of writing, such
as grammar rules and writing practice.

4
Main Body

As a matter of fact writing has been widely regarded as a crucially essential skill in the
teaching and learning of English as a Second Language (ESL) as it is a comprehensive skill that
helps reinforce vocabulary, grammar, thinking, planning, editing, revising, and other elements.
Writing also helps to improve all the other skills of listening, speaking and reading as they are all
interrelated. Writing does not only stimulate thinking, induce students to concentrate and organize
their ideas, and cultivate their abilities to summarize, analyze, and criticize. At the same time, it
also emphasizes constant learning in, thinking in, and doing reflection in the English language.
Hence, in some countries, English writing skill is a skill that not only is tested in every valid
language examination at different levels of education, but also a skill that learners should possess
and demonstrate in academic contexts. So you see the importance of writing skills as 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. 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

5
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. We have known four skills that
have to be mastered by the learner. Those are speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Speaking
and reading are innate skills, we acquire them naturally. In the meantime the ability to read and
especially to compose a good writing is not naturally acquired skills. Both of them are usually
learned or practiced in formal instructional setting or at education setting. Experts mention that
writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience. Therefore, to make a good
writing, we have to practice a lot. Sometimes, we need writing instructors to help us during our
practices. When working with students, the writing instructors should take into account both
.strategy of learning and language skill development
To make writing, we need to involve composing, that is the ability to tell or retell part of
information in form of description or narratives, or to transform information into new form such
as argumentative or expository writing. However, composing sometimes can create problems for
the students, especially for students who write in a foreign or second language in academic
contexts. Create a new idea could be difficult since it needs to involve reworking and
transforming information, that is more complex than retelling something in form of writing.
Writing is meant for conveying thoughts, ideas, and facts in easy and well-spoken language.
Students have to learn the art of good writing which is essential in order to excel at both
academic and professional levels. Good writing skills are needed for all the students in
order to accomplish their educational and employable requirements. The following are some of
the reasons showing the importance of writing skills:
• To write technical documents, research papers, and put forth the right facts and
information.
• In searching and obtaining a job.
• To make presentations and reports, etc.
• For improving communication skills.
• For improving creativity, exploration, and essential for self-understanding.
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

6
 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 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).
:There are different kinds or types of writing such
 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.
 Persuasive - getting readers to change their views
 Imperative - giving the writer’s perspective on an issue
Also we have different forms of writing which are: letter writing, essay writing, summary writing,
paragraph writing, journal writing, story writing and picture writing, Letter writing, etc.

7
 Discussion

1. To what extent studying this topic is necessary for learning English?

In fact, having such a topic as a subject in our institute's curriculum has great significances
since writing skills have several advantages for the students in academic institutions, because
writing develops the students and learners’ critical thinking and they will be able to store their
ideas. It also helps them recover their ideas by bringing back their old and almost forgotten
memories. It clears their mind and makes them to feel the need to open and speaks their minds in
order to get their point across and it helps them analyze things and look at them from a different
point of view and they will be able to draw parallels between situations and fictional events and
those that happened in their real life. They also improve their verbal as well as written skills and
while writing, they carefully select the right vocabulary and grammatical structure.
The following are the advantages of writing skills for the ESL students or learners:
1- To make use of the active as well as the passive vocabulary in the learners’ writing.
2- It enables the learners to use figures of speech, idioms and phrases appropriately.
3- To improve the learners to learn how to write personal and official letters.
4- To encourage the learners to start writing a topic sentence of a paragraph.
5- To encourage the learners to use idiomatic expressions in their writing.
6- To cultivate the learners to improve their writing for various contexts.
7- To work in groups with their peers to develop their writing skills.
8- To prepare the learners to make summaries of the given text and to understand and
comprehend huge paragraphs and essays, etc.
2-What are the main challenges that learners may face in studying of this topic?

Truly writing is always the last learned skill compared to the three remaining skills of
listening, speaking, and reading. However, writing is considered as the most difficult skill for
learners. In English learning as a foreign language, there is no exception.
Learners often have difficulties in studying or in writing their texts even in their language. For
English writing, those difficulties seem much bigger. This issue has been a widely discussed topic
of linguists and foreign language researchers in the world.
Learners often face many difficulties in developing effective writing skills. In terms of grammar,
understanding and applying the English grammatical rules is not easy for them because verbs are

8
usually formed differently to have subject-verb agreement according to the tenses. Besides, it is
hard for them to learn how to use articles, prepositions, pronouns, and connecting devices
appropriately. Syntactically, learners often find writing the correct sentence structure challenging
because, in English syntax, there are so many different types of sentence structures with strict
requirements on the use of conjunctions and dependent/subordinate clauses. In terms of
vocabulary, learners need to have a large enough vocabulary range to be able to use them flexibly
for each writing topic in order to perform the task well. However, they often have difficulty in
choosing the appropriate vocabulary in context. In terms of skills, writing requires learners to
organize and develop ideas logically, which is also a big challenge for them. Although they own a
broad range of vocabulary and grammar knowledge, they cannot complete the task well due to the
inefficient organization of the writing papers
*But as an ESL learner or as a student haven't you ever asked,what's the purpose or
aim of writing?
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 and fairly rapidly whatever
is heard within the range of the active vocabulary.
 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.

9
Conclusion

Finally we reached that Writing is the most important skill in language teaching. It is one of the
major literary skills and it has to be taught to the students even though it is developed by
individuals. In this report discussed more about writing skills, defining writing, aim of writing,
functions of writing, purposes of writing, process of writing, sub-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. Through reading my report you'll
get appropriate information about this skill and you understand that 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, Institutes, Colleges and Universities.

10
References

 Developing Students' Writing Skills in English-A Process Approach. By: Ms. V Satya Sri
Durga & Dr. C S Rao
 https://www.ipl.org/essay/The-Importance-Of-Writing-Skills-In-Writing
 HOW TO DEVELOP WRITING SKILLSIN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE?. By : Dr. Ali
Ata Al Khaldi & Dr. Tamara Oshchepkova
 WRITING SKILLS AN OVERVIEW. By: Anonymous (PDF book)
 Writing Skills Practice Book for EFL. By: P a t r i c i a W i l c o x P e t e r s o n
 EFL Student’s writing Skills: Challenges and Remedies. By: Dang Thi Ngoc Anh

11