Process Writing

JoAnn Miller, Macmillan Publishers joannmillerj@gmail.com

Differences between speech and writing
Speech
Universal
Dialect variations
Voices and body language
Pauses and intonation
Spontaneous and unplanned
Pronunciation
Listener is present, feedback
Informal and repetitive
Compound sentences (ands and buts)
Writing
Not universal
Standard forms
Only page for expression
Punctuation
Usually planned
Spelling
Only one chance to communicate
More formal and compact
Complex sentences common
History
Shift in emphasis from the product of
writing activities (the finished text) to
ways in which text can be developed
from what have you written?', what
grade is it worth?
to how will you write it?', how can it
be improved?
Beginning at the end of the 1960s and
continuing through the 70s and 80s,
composition was investigated as a
cognitive process
began to be reflected in L1 freshman
composition
filtered eventually into ESL writing
textbooks.
ESL began investigations of L2 writing
informed by the insights of L1

What is process writing?
All writing is a creative act
requires time and positive feedback to
be done well
Teacher doesnt just assign a writing topic
and receive the finished product for
correction with no intervention in the
writing process itself.
Why use process writing?
To address the needs of our changing
society,
teachers must prepare students for
the challenges of today's world.
Writing is a powerful tool
can influence others and clarify one's
own thoughts.
Teaching the writing process can give
students the key to unlocking this
powerful tool.
Teacher / Student Roles
Teacher
Move away from being a marker to a
reader
Respond to content more than form.
Students
encouraged to think about audience
realize what they put down on paper
can be changed
The role of grammar
Grammar is importantbut as a tool, a
means, and not as an end in itself.
Assumptions about writing
Writing is a thinking process
Writing is a form of problem-solving
Ideas are revealed during the act of
writing itself.
Process Writing
JoAnn Miller, Macmillan Publishers joannmillerj@gmail.com

The stages of the process
Pre-writing
Focusing ideas
First Draft
Revision
Editing
Publishing
Stage One: Pre-writing
Stimulate students' creativity
get them thinking how to approach a
writing topic.
Most important
flow of ideas
not always necessary to produce much
(if any) written work.
magazines/newspapers/periodicals/CD-ROM
conduct an interview based on your topic
media-radio, TV, internet
experiences
movies and documentaries
music
visual art
dreams
memories
discussion and brainstorming
responding to literature
role playing
research
imagination
personal interest inventories
class interest inventory
Pre-writing activities
free writing
journalling
image streaming
transplant yourself
to another place or time and describe
from a first person point of view)
lists
visualization
brainstorming
individually or as a group
webbing / mapping / clustering
graphic organizers
topic or word chart
Stage Two: Focusing
Students write without much attention to
the accuracy of their work or the
organization.
Most important feature is meaning.
Concentrate on the content of the
writing.
Is it coherent?
Is there anything missing?
-- Anything extra?
Focusing activities
Fast writing
students write quickly for five to ten
minutes without worrying about correct
language or punctuation.
Later this text is revised.
Group compositions
Working together in groups, sharing ideas.
involves other skills (speaking in
particular.)
Changing Viewpoints
follow a role-play or storytelling activity.
students choose different points of view
discuss what character would write in a
diary, witness statement, etc.
Varying form
different text types are selected.
how would the text be different as a
letter, or a newspaper article, etc.
Stage Three: First Draft
Ideas are composed on paper.
focus on the content, not the
mechanics.
ideas should flow easily and the words
be written quickly.
Questions for writers
What is my purpose for writing this
piece?
Process Writing
JoAnn Miller, Macmillan Publishers joannmillerj@gmail.com

What will my audience want to know about
my topic?
How can I best arrange my information?
What are the main ideas I want to
present?
What details can I add to support my
main ideas?
What will make a good lead to catch the
reader's attention?
How can I end the piece effectively?
Stage Four: Revision
Revising is . . .
Making decisions about how
to improve writing
Looking at writing from a different point
of view
Picking places where writing could be
clearer, more interesting, more
informative and more convincing.
It's important to note that revision is not
editing for mechanics and spelling.
A cultivation of a sense of responsibility
for being ones own critic
Writer must realize he/she will be read
by other people, not just graded
Conferencing
Conferencing can be with another student
or with the teacher.
The conferencing will involve each person
rereading and sharing ideas that will
enhance and clarify the writing.
Students should be taught to conference
effectively.
Stages
First reading:
Put your pen down and read the
composition for content
Comment on content
Second reading
Pick up pen
Comment on writing, communication,
not picky details
Revising Activities
A.R.R.R. - four types of changes.
Adding: What else does the reader need to
know?
Rearranging: Is the information in the most
logical order?
Removing: What extra details are in this piece
of writing?
Replacing: What words could be replaced by
clearer or stronger expressions?
R.A.G. - Read Around Group (3-5 writers / group
Anonymous compositions
Everyone reads each paper once to get a general
idea. Nothing is written on papers.
On separate paper, graded on a scale of 1-4 and
write comments for later discussion
Same group: second reading. More detail.
Stage Five: Editing
Proofread for mechanics and grammar.
beginning stages of writing, focus on
one area at a time to edit
More advanced students can focus on
more areas.
can conference with other
students and provide proofreading
support for each other
Editing Activities
Self Edit
Read your own work backwards.
Read the last sentence, then the
second
last sentence, etc.
Does each sentence make sense when
you read it on it's own?
Do you see or hear any errors in the
sentence?
Peer Edit
Checklist for students

Process Writing
JoAnn Miller, Macmillan Publishers joannmillerj@gmail.com

General Editing Strategies
See errors as friends, not enemies
Use errors in students writing to plan
ahead
Learn to expect errors that regularly
occur at certain stages in a students
learning
Devise a system for indicating some or all
of the errors in the students second or
third drafts.
Stage Six: Publishing
Students prepare final version
Then they need to have response to their
writing.
helps clarify their work, generate new
ideas, and most importantly validate
the piece of writing.
involves sharing a piece of writing with
an audience.
Where to publish?
Author's chair
Students sit on a designated chair for
"authors" and read their writing to an
audience.
On-Line publishing
An on-line magazine
Blogging (see bibliography)
Printed class newspaper
Bulletin Board
Tape oral versions
Process Writing
JoAnn Miller, Macmillan Publishers joannmillerj@gmail.com

Bibliography

Antifaiff, G. Implementing the Writing Process. Glorias Website. Qu'Appelle Valley School Division, Regina, Saskatchewan,
Canada. http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/fiss/ (link not working)
Bello, T. ( 1997) Improving ESL Learners' Writing Skills. ERIC Digest. ERIC Identifier: ED409746.
http://www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed409746.html (link not working)
Campbell, Aaron Patric. Weblogs for Use with ESL Classes, http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html
Furneaux, C. (1998) Process Writing. in Johnson, K & H Johnson (eds.) 1998 Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics.
Oxford: Blackwell, pp 257-260. ISBN 0 631 18089 3.
Jarvis, D. J. The Process Writing Method. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 7, July 2002.
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Jarvis-Writing.html
Lipkewich, A.E., Mazurenko, R. (1999) ABCs of the Writing Process: A Universal Process for any writing task. Edmonton
Public Schools, Canada. http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/
Losh, E., Strenski, E. (2001) Correction Symbols for UCI Writing Programs. UC Irvine's Lower-Division Writing Requirements.
http://eee.uci.edu/faculty/strenski/transfer/symbols.html
Louisiana Department of Education. (2002) Peer Editing. http://206.218.128.2/laintech/peer.htm (link not working)
Myers, S. (1997) Teaching Writing as a Process and Teaching Sentence-Level Syntax: Reformulation as ESL Composition
Feedback TESL-EJ. Vol. 2, No. 4 (June). http://www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej08/a2.html
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Process Writing. Pathways to School Improvement.
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/instrctn/in5lk11.htm
Raimes, A. (1983) Techniques in Teaching Writing. OUP.
Stanley, G. Approaches to process writing. Teaching English. British Council, BBC.
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/write/process_write.shtml
White, R., Arndt, V. (1991) Process Writing. Longman.

Sample Lessons:
Antifaiff, G. Mini-Lessons in Implementing the Writing Process. Glorias Website. Qu'Appelle Valley School Division,
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/fiss/mini-les.htm (link not working)
Peachey, N. Developing writing skills: A news report. Teaching English. British Council, BBC.
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/plans/newsreport/news.shtml


Blogging:
Technorati, http://www.technorati.com/about/
Weblogs for Use with ESL Classes, by Aaron Patric Campbell, http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html
Mr. Hornes ESL Class Blog, http://horne.ws/class
Huffaker, D. (2005). Let Them Blog: Using Weblogs to Promote Listening in K-12 Education. In L. T. W. Hin and R.
Subramaniam (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Literacy in Technology at the K-12 Level. Hershey, PA: Idea Group.
http://www.davehuffaker.com/papers/Huffaker2005_LetThemBlog.pdf
Blogger.com (Google): http://new.blogger.com
Edublogs: http://edublogs.org/
Education & Tech, Learning, Knowledge, Tech, Social Media, TonNet, http://www.miltonramirez.com/2008/10/web-20-
should-be-used-more-often-in.html
Journalism 2 at HCRHS, http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/journ2/
Bloglines: www.bloglines.com