28 forwards between these various stages as cited in Harmer, 2007b, p. 326. The
cycle of the writing process is illustrated in Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1 The Writing Process Wheel
d. Principles for Teaching Writing
According to Nunan 2003, p. 92, there are four considerations in teaching writing:
1 Understand the students‟ reasons for writing
The greatest dissatisfaction with writing instruction comes when the teacher‟s goals do not match the student‟s, or when the teacher‟s goals do not
match those of the school or institution in which the student works. It is important to understand both and to convey goals to students in ways that make sense to
them. 2
Provide many opportunities for students to write Writing almost always improves with practice. Practice writing should
provide students with different types of writing such as short responses to a reading, journal reading, letter writing, summaries, poetry, or any type of writing
that is useful should be practiced in class. Planning
Drafting
Final version? Editing
Final version
29 3
Make feedback helpful and meaningful Feedback should not entail “correcting” a student‟s writing. In order to
foster independent writers, the teacher can provide summary comments that instruct students to look for problems and correct them on their own.
4 Clarification for the teacher and the students how the writing product will be
evaluated Students often feel that the evaluation of their writing is completely
subjective, thus the teachers should develop a statement what is valued in students‟ writing. The teachers can develop a rubric to help evaluating the
students‟ writing. It should outline the weight of grammar and mechanics in relationship to content and ideas, as well as other important features of writing.
e. Types of Writing
According to Brown 2004, p. 220, there are four categories of written performance that capture the range of written production, they are:
1 Imitative
To produce written language, the learner must attain skills in the fundamental, basic tasks of writing letter, words, punctuation, and very brief
sentences. At this stage, form is the primary if not exclusive focus, while context and meaning are of secondary concern.
2 Intensive controlled
Beyond the fundamental of imitative writing are skills in producing appropriate vocabulary within a context, collocations and idioms, and correct
grammatical features up to the length of a sentence.
