teaching L2 writing, sentence writing, passage writing, and student achievement in writing.
a. The Nature of Writing
All of the four skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing – are
needed by learners in order to perform and communicate well in English. According to Harmer 2007: 265, listening and reading are classified as
“receptive skills”, the skills “where meaning is extracted from the discourse”, and speaking and writing as
“productive skills”, the skills that require students to produce language themselves. The four skills are not done in isolations to employ
meaningful communication Hinkel 2006. In terms of “input and output”
Harmer 2007: 266, for instance, what a learner writes in English is largely influenced by the language input, through what she hears or reads in English. In
other words, writing can reflect what a learner already knows or acquires of English. Correspondingly, in order to fully perform a target language learnt, a
well-develop writing skill should be obtained. Writing is often associated with the other productive skill, which is
speaking. Though both skills are identified as productive skills, they are not fully identical. Raimes 1983 signifies how writing is different from reading in some
ways. First, speech is universal, in the sense that everyone first acquires their L1 through spoken language; not everyone, however, learns how to read and write.
Second, while spoken language has variations in terms of dialect, written language normally tends to require standard forms of grammar, syntax, and
vocabulary. Third, speakers use their voices and bodies to facilitate their ideas conveyed; writers, on the other hand, must rely only on the words on the page to
deliver meaning. Fourth, speakers use pauses and intonation to mark their speech whereas writers use punctuation. Fifth, in terms of production, speakers
pronounce while writers spell. Next, speaking is usually spontaneous and unprepared; conversely, most writing takes time, unplanned, and the writers can
always „revise‟ what they have written. Also, about the audience‟s response, a speaker speaks to a listener who is usually present at the moment of speaking,
giving responses such as nodding or frowning, interrupting or questioning; for the writer, in contrast, the reader‟s response can be delayed or absent. Eighth, spoken
language is usually informal and repetitive; writing, on the other side, is more formal and compact. Last, while speakers often use simple sentences, writers tend
to use more complex sentences with transition words such as „however‟ and „in addition‟.
The term „writing‟ itself is also often related with „literacy‟. As Hyland 2002, as cited in Harmer 2007: 323 mentions, literacy is now seen as a certain
social standard, in that, we often judge people as “literate” if they can read and write in particular situations and for functional purposes, some of which are
considered as more prestigious than others. From here, being skillful in writing becomes necessary in terms of social contexts. Similarly, Hinkel 2006: 124 also
states that achieving proficiency in writing is significant beca use “one‟s linguistic
repertoire and writing skills often determine one‟s social, economic, and political choices”. Accordingly, such practitioners in L2 teaching as Celce-Murcia 2001,
Christie 1998, and Martin 1992, as cited in Hinkel 2006: 124, firmly emphasize the importance of language quality in L2 writing for mainly two
reasons: 1 because grammar and lexis are inextricable from meaning in written
discourse, and 2 because L2 writers are ultimately evaluated based on their control of language and text construction in their written discourse. This also
clarifies how learners‟ L2 writing quality is substantial for it affects their social life and the generalization of their language performance evaluation.
In relation to L2 writing quality, complex skills are involved in order to produce „good‟ writing. In that, L2 writers must “pay attention to higher level of
planning and organizing as well as lower level skills of spelling, punctuation, word choice, and so on” Richards Renandya 2002: 303. Brown 2004: 221
discusses writing skills specifically classified into micro and macro skills of writing as shown in the following table.
Table 2.1 Micro and macro skills of writing Brown 2004: 221
Micro skills Macro skills
Produce grapheme and orthographic patterns of English
Produce writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose;
Produce an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns;
Use acceptable grammatical systems e.g tense, agreement, pluralization
patterns and rules; Express a particular meaning in
different grammatical forms; Use cohesive devices in written
discourse Use the rhetorical forms and
conventions of written discourse; Appropriately accomplish the
communicative function of written texts according to form and purpose;
Convey links and connection between events, and communicate such relation
as main idea, supporting idea, new information, given information,
generalization, and exemplification;
Distinguish between literal and implied meanings when writing;
Correctly convey culturally specific references in the context of the written
text; Develop and use of writing strategies,
such accurately assessing the audience‟s interpretation, using pre-
writing devices, writing the fluency in the first drafts, using paraphrases and
synonyms, soliciting peer and instructor feedback, and using feedback for
revising and editing.
In order to help students improve their L2 writing quality, it is thus important that they should be taught about both micro and macro skills of writing.
Another thing why writing skill is considered important is because “writing helps students learn” Raimes, 1983: 3. In that, writing reinforces the
language features that have been learnt to learners, gives learners opportunities to explore with the language, and practices their use of eye, hand, and brain in
expressing ideas. Here, writing promotes language production and keeps students active physically and cognitively in learning. In brief, in English language
teaching, writing is therefore significant for communication purpose, social acceptance, and promoting students in learning a language.
b. L2 Writing Teaching
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