Module 7: Teaching Writing Skills

7.1 Introduction to Writing

When preparing a learner to write, it is important for teachers to think about the concepts of…

1. Communicative Achievement - Does the text convey a message clearly? Even if there are minor
errors, the whole purpose of a text is to communicate a message, so it is essential that learners focus on
this.

2. Accuracy - Does the learner use the language accurately and consistently?

3. Range - Are the learners using the same language and same structures again and again or is there an
attempt to use some variety in their production?

4. What is ‘good writing’ - This is related to reader's expectations, the use of relevant aspects of the
language system, and knowledge of the context of writing.

A teacher needs to not only focus on encouraging the learner to create an acceptable written text, but
also look at the bigger picture in terms of helping to make them an effective communicator in written
English. What does an effective communicator need to be able to do?

a. Knowledge of genre

Understand the layout and language used in a particular context

Understand content appropriate to the genre

Understand the purpose of the genre

Demonstrate knowledge of the organization and structure of the genre

b. Knowledge of Language Systems

Consistently use language appropriate to the genre

Understand potential areas of confusion or inappropriacy in the genre

Understand certain formulaic features and things like paragraphing and punctuation

Knowledge of their own process of preparing and writing in this context, including a specific focus on
planning, drafting, and editing

Task 1

What types of writing have you done in the past 6 months? Think about the features of the genre of the
text and the type of language you used.

7.2 Teaching Writing

Writing is a consistent part of a language lesson, but not always the explicit focus. For example, when
we focus on a grammar point of a vocabulary item, we often assess learner comprehension by asking
them to write a sentence using the language in context. This, in a way, is part of the process of teaching
writing. Teaching writing ability at a sentence level like this is important in the learners’ ability to gain
the confidence to use this language accurately. Typically, the process of grammar and vocabulary
knowledge may follow a pattern like this:

‘I know’: This is where the learners have a general understanding of the rules, the meaning, and the
function of the language in question. This is a process and not a permanent state. Indeed, it may be
abstract and often decontextualized knowledge, but it is a start!
‘I can use’: This would ideally be the part of the learner’s journey where they are able to use the
language point in a closed context, such as a gap fill or matching exercise. This is usually heavily
scaffolded and supported by the teacher, but is also not a fixed state. Learners may have a wide variety
of competency in this stage depending on factors such as language complexity and learner ability.

‘I use’: This is the further end of the continuum begun in point 2. There is a degree more of
independence in the language use here with it being less heavily scaffolded and obvious. This is often
the case of freer practice tasks that are undertaken at the end of lessons to assess the learner’s ability to
use the language in question.

Automaticity: This is when the language is part of the learner’s automatic language and they use it
spontaneously with little effort.

In terms of writing at the sentence level, we would obviously be looking for a different degree of success
in language production at each of these stages.

Writing compositions focused on a particular theme is another common focus in language lessons with
popular course books usually highlighting:

Essays: With a focus on the learner’s ability to discuss and elaborate on advantages and disadvantages,
make conclusions, signpost appropriately, and be mindful of coherence and cohesion.

Correspondence: With a focus on the audience and context at hand, and the ability to be mindful of
whether the text is formal or informal, for example.

Reports: Often as an assessment of the learner’s ability to write clear, factual information in a formal
context.

Creative Writing: Perhaps done to assess the learner’s ability to utilize their creativity and language
knowledge to express a coherent narrative.

Course Access Expires In: 53 days

My Overall Progress: 61%

See Details
My Overall Score: 97.78%

See Details

My Course

120 Hour TESOL Certificate

Module 7: Teaching Writing Skills

The practicalities of teaching learners how to write any of the previously listed compositions involves
the appropriate choice of approach from the teacher:

The Product Approach

This approach is based around the use of a sample model text. This text can then be deconstructed and
utilized for a variety of tasks, for example:

Analysis of structure and coherence

Gap fill exercises on things like signposting language

Genre analysis

Analysis of features of writer’s point of view and how it is expressed

The end goal of this analysis would be to encourage the learners to notice features and language in the
model text which they will need to reproduce. There is a clear and explicit focus on guided discovery for
the learners towards this end goal of ‘copying’ the product they are analyzing. The journey from
familiarization through task-based discovery onto freer production should be clearly signposted and
guided by the teacher.

This type of approach is appropriate at all levels and for all types of text. Teachers can even use
authentic material, especially at a higher level.
The Process Approach

The emphasis in this approach is not on working back from a finished product but rather in provoking
and shaping the creativity and unpredictability of writing through a number of clear stages, often
including:

Generating ideas: This involves thinking of content and key topic lexis.

Planning text: This would involve identifying the key ideas in the text, thinking about the reader and the
purpose, as well as things like appropriacy of language use. This stage would also look at pre-planning
things like coherence and cohesion.

Drafting: This is the writing part. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a full text, it may only be a section of
text, such as an introduction paragraph in an essay.

Editing: Here the learners are supported through the process of evaluating their own writing and
perhaps in engaging in a comparative exercise with a classmate’s text. This stage typically provides a
number of teachable moments and can be exploited in a number of ways by the teacher. The teacher
will often give feedback on the text at this point in the form of either evaluative feedback commenting
on the success of the task or formative feedback offering advice on how to make it better. There are
certain correction codes typical at this stage where teachers want to guide the learner towards any error
made, rather than provide the answer outright. For example, if the learner has made a grammar
mistake, then the teacher may underline the word and write ‘g’ beside it. Similarly, ‘ww’ for using the
wrong word, ‘wo’ for word order issues or ‘p’ for punctuation errors. The correction code can be
decided by the teacher beforehand and communicated with the class.

Redrafting: This will assess the learner’s ability to take the feedback from the previous stage on board
and modify their text appropriately.

There is no preconception of what the outcome will look like from the beginning as the learners will only
be focused on the developmental process of their writing.

The Genre Approach

Genre in writing refers to the type of text that the learner is expected to produce, and all the
accompanying language peculiarities and stylistic considerations which are involved. The Genre
Approach is not as common in ELT as the Process and Product Approaches but bears minor
consideration here. The structure typically involves exposure to a text in a particular genre, an analysis
of said text, and some sort of guided production within the genre in question. For example, in class you
might read a poem, look at the key features of a poem, and then guide the learners towards the
production of a poem. Obviously, there are a number of different ways that a lesson like this can be
staged and there are additional stages which can be included within the general lesson structure. This
approach is often grouped with the Product Approach, and it is in many ways very similar to it. The
difference often lies in the fact that there is support through the process of production, often with
drafting and editing stages.

Task 2

Think of a positive and a negative for each of the approaches mentioned

Are certain approaches better suited to certain types of writing texts? Explain

Course Access Expires In: 53 days

My Overall Progress: 62%

See Details

My Overall Score: 97.78%

See Details

My Course

120 Hour TESOL Certificate

Module 7: Teaching Writing Skills

7.3 What are the essential writing skills?

The essential writing skills that the teacher will need to focus on developing in learners can be grouped
into three general categories: Focusing on communication, focusing on composition, and focusing on
writing style.

In terms of communication, it is crucial that the writer is aware of the potential audience before they
create a text. They must also focus on the aim of actually achieving communication consistently in their
text. This clarity of presentation must be reflected in not only accurate language but also in appropriate
choices of language, register, and text structure.

With composition, the learner will often need support in staying within the parameters of the genre and
the needs of the context. This may involve language choice, in terms of items such as signposting
language, or it may be related to choice of formulaic expressions in texts such as writing compositions.

Finally, the issue of learner training in style will often require the most acute focus. Learners typically
need training and support writing in the four major styles: descriptive, argumentative, narrative, and
expository. Each of these styles have their own distinct features and language that the learners will need
to learn to recognize them.

Task 3

What writing skills do you think you might need to work on?

7.4 Writing Sub-skills

There are a huge amount of writing subskills which could make up learning outcomes at different levels,
for example:

Understanding and following conventions of genre

Presenting and linking text together logically

Planning appropriate content

Punctuation and spelling

Register

Considering the reader consistently

Drafting and redrafting

Communicating purpose clearly

Expressing emotion clearly

Avoid repetition where necessary

Task 4

Write 3 more subskills you think are important in writing.

7.4 Writing Sub-skills

There are a huge amount of writing subskills which could make up learning outcomes at different levels,
for example:

Understanding and following conventions of genre

Presenting and linking text together logically

Planning appropriate content

Punctuation and spelling

Register

Considering the reader consistently

Drafting and redrafting

Communicating purpose clearly

Expressing emotion clearly

Avoid repetition where necessary

Task 4
Write 3 7.5 Learner Issues

Cultural

There may be issues with certain writing conventions across cultures that needs to be considered. For
example, the structure of an essay and how it is linked together is not always clearly transferable across
cultures and languages. This is most evident when you follow a process approach.

Learner writing

A lot of learners nowadays are more used to typing than writing with an actual pen and paper and so
there can be issues with the clear and consistent formation of letters in the Roman Alphabet. This is
something which may require remedial work.

Motivation

Writing can be laborious and actually seeing tangible evidence of progress can be difficult for some. This
tends to affect learner motivation in a negative way. In addition, some of the texts which learners are
asked to produce in English class may bear no relevance to their real-world context.

World Knowledge

This is often an issue with younger learners. In order to write an effective essay arguing the advantages
of a certain topic, one does need a clear understanding of the topic at hand and some of the nuances
involved. This lack of world knowledge can often hold back writers from completing texts appropriate to
their language level.

Transferable Writing skills

If learners are good at writing in their own language, it can often help their transition into being a good
writer in a second language. However, if the learner has poor writing skills in their native language, then
the transition to writing in another language can be a difficult one.

Language problems

The most common type of writing problem for learners to have is an issue with their ability to accurately
produce certain grammar structures or lexical items. This issue can be related to spelling, word order,
word choice, or register.

Task 5

For each of the issues raised above, think of an effective teaching solution.more subskills you think are
important in writing.

7.6 Typical Writing Aims

When planning a lesson, you will need to create achievable and appropriate learning outcomes or aims.
Some typical outcomes in a writing lesson may include:

Learners can write straightforward, connected texts on a range of familiar subjects within their field of
interest by linking a series of shorter discrete elements into a linear sequence.

Learners can write straightforward, detailed descriptions on a range of familiar subjects within his/her
field of interest.

Learners can write accounts of experiences, describing feelings and reactions in a simple, connected
text.

Learners can write a brief description of an event or a recent trip – real or imagined.

Learners can write short, simple essays or stories on topics of interest.

Learners can summarize, report, and give his/her opinion about accumulated factual information on
familiar routine and non-routine matters within his/her field with some confidence.
Typical Writing Tasks

The choice of writing task for the lesson will depend upon a number of things:

The learning outcome

The material available

The learner’s needs

The learner level

The constraints of the context

The approach being taken

For example, in a writing class where the teacher is following the Product Approach and focusing on the
learning outcome, learners can write short, simple essays or stories on topics of interest. The tasks may
be as follows:

A session on the key aspects of an essay

A text analysis of a model essay with questions guiding the reader towards some of the key features
(such as structure and linking language)

A focus on some of the language appropriate for the creation of such an essay

Brainstorming topics for production

Correction and Feedback

Another important consideration for writing lessons is how to conduct correction and feedback. This is
obviously dependent, as stated above, on a number of factors, including the task and learning
outcomes. What is most important to consider is whether the correction aims to be evaluative (with a
‘score’ or a grade) or formative (with the intention of guiding the writer in future endeavors).

Task 6
Create a short writing lesson for a group of B1 teenage learners by:

Choosing an appropriate learning outcome.

Selecting some tasks that will help you to achieve that outcome.

Thinking of ways you will correct and give feedback.

7.7 Basic English Sentence Structures

1. Subject-verb (S-V): This is the simplest sentence pattern in the English language, containing only the
information that needs to be there. Here are a few examples of sentences that follow the subject-verb
pattern:

Mark ran.

Maria slept.

The dog plays.

Jimmy fell.

2. Subject-verb-object (S-V-O): Sentences that follow this pattern are very similar to S-V sentences
except that an object has been added to the sentence. In an English sentence, the object is what is being
acted upon by the subject. In other words, the noun (subject) is acting (verb) upon another noun
(object). Here are a few examples of sentences that follow the subject-verb-object pattern:

Mark ran to the store.

Maria slept in bed.

The dog plays outside.

Jimmy fell to the floor.

3. Subject-verb-adjective (S-V-Adj): This sentence pattern is similar to S-V-O except that the object is not
a noun; it is an adjective. Since an object must be a noun or an entity that is being acted upon, when the
verb acts as a state of being to set up a description of the subject, you get an S-V-Adj sentence. Here are
a few examples of sentences that follow the subject-verb-adjective pattern:
Mark is hungry.

Maria was tired.

The dog looks playful.

Jimmy seems clumsy.

4. Subject-verb-adverb (S-V-Adv): To the untrained eye, this sentence pattern is the same as the
previous one, S-V-Adj. The difference between that pattern and this pattern, however, is that while that
structure saw the object turning into an adjective, this one sees it turning into an adverb. In other
words, the verb no longer acts as a state of being to set up a description of the subject, but rather the
words following the verb act as modifiers to the verb. Here are a few examples of sentences that follow
the subject-verb-adverb pattern:

Mark ran quickly.

Maria slept peacefully.

The dog plays loudly.

Jimmy fell disastrously.

5. Subject-verb-noun (S-V-N): As you already know, the object of a pattern has to be a noun. Just
because there is a noun following the verb, however, does not mean that it is the object of the
sentence. In this sentence structure, the noun is not the object because, as with S-V-Adj, the words
following the verb describe the subject. Here are a few examples of sentences that follow the subject-
verb-noun pattern:

Mark is the store owner.

Maria is a doctor.

The dog was a corgi.

Jimmy became a lawyer.

Task 7

Write 5 sentences using the 5 different models provided.

Assessment:

Questions for reflection

What is an accurate text for you? How important is accuracy?

Think about the following in terms of a good written text:

expressing cohesion

using discourse markers

using punctuation accurately

selecting appropriate vocabulary and lexical chunks to express desired language functions