Writing

“Writing is its own reward."

- Henry Miller
Objectives:
At the end of the discussion, I can:
 Describe writing and its purpose/s; and
 List down the writing activities I typically do;
 Why do you write?
Understanding the need and importance to write.
The status quo:
It is common for students in today's educational system to dislike
and/or avoid the writing process. Many students feel writing takes too
long. For some, writing is a very laborious task because there are so many
sub-components which need to be pulled together. (Richards Educational
Therapy Center, Inc. - Riverside, CA 92507 - 909-787-0408 - May 1999)

Students with learning problems, even those who read well,

frequently submit written work which is brief and/or difficult to read.
Such students can be victims of misunderstandings, a problem which
becomes much more pronounced at the secondary level. "Accusations of
laziness, poor motivation, and a reprehensible attitude are often directed
toward deficit writers." (Levine 1998, 363).
Moreover,
One reason why students struggle with writing is that it can often be
challenging to foster a love of writing or deeply engage students in the
writing and revision process. Why?
 Students do not see the point or the relevance of the topic they are
writing about.
 Students feel pressure to write perfectly from the start of their writing
process, which slows them down.
 Feedback is important for student learning, and when students receive
bad feedback, slow feedback, or no feedback at all, this is deeply
demotivating.
Defining Writing
 Writing may be defined as any conventional system of marks or signs
that represents the utterances of a language. Writing renders language
visible.
 It involves putting words on paper via a computer, pen, pencil or
crayon. But writing is more than mere doodling.
 When you write, you communicate a message to reader.
Communicating in writing means sending a message that has a
destination.
Understanding the Purposes of Writing
Purpose is the goal or aim of a piece of writing.
As a writer, understanding your purposes can help you in
identifying every aspect of your writing process. Knowing what you want
to accomplish will help you select your topic, consider your readers'
needs and interests, and choose appropriate evidence to support your
points. It will also help you with decisions regarding tone, style, and
document design.
Generally, an author writes with one of four general purposes in
mind: to narrate, to describe, to persuade, and/or to inform.
Importance of Writing According to Researchers
Writing is essential and it brings about a lot of advantages. It helps to
(Chappell, 2011):
 express one’s personality;
 foster communication;
 develop thinking skills;
 make logical and persuasive arguments;
 give a person a chance to later on his/her ideas and re-evaluate them;
 provide and receive feedback; and
 prepare for school and employment.
Furthermore,
 Walsh (2010) says that writing is important because it is used
extensively in higher education and in workplace. If students don’t
know how to express themselves in writing, they won’t be able to
communicate well with professors, employers, and peers.
 Creative writing can play a crucial role in the development of writing
skills. There is a dramatic increase in self-confidence and self-esteem
which creative writing tends to develop among learners. They also tend
to discover things for themselves about the language… and about
themselves too, thus promoting personal as well as linguistic growth.
Inevitably, these gains are reflected in a corresponding growth in
positive motivation.