b. The Principles of Teaching Writing
Writing skill is not easy to achieve. This skill can only be achieved by doing much practice. However, being able to write well has far-reaching real
world as well as academic applications. Ellis and Reed 2003 stated that a classroom could be the place to learn and practice writing skill that students need
not only in their school years, but also there after p. 1. Therefore, teachers are required to understand principles for teaching this skill in order to be able to teach
the students well. Sokolik as cited by Nunan 2003, p. 92-95 provided four principles for
teaching writing. The principles are: 1 Understand your students’ reasons for writing
The greatest dissatisfaction with writing instruction comes when the teacher’s goals do not match the student’s goals. It is important to understand the
goals and to convey goals to students in ways that make sense to them. 2 Provide many opportunities for students to write
Since writing is in part of a physical activity, it is like other physical activities – it requires practice, and lots of it. When teachers plan practice writing
as a regular activity, the students will be accustomed to and become more comfortable with this activity. It is better for teachers to provide different types of
writing to be practiced by the students. 3 Make feedback helpful and meaningful
Feedback should not involve “correcting” students’ writing. In order to promote independent writers, teachers can provide summary comments that
instruct students to look for problems and correct them on their own. 4 Clarify for yourself, and for your students, how their writing will be evaluated
Students often feel that the evaluation of their writing is completely subjective. One way to combat that feeling is to first develop a statement about
what is valued in students writing. Teachers can then develop a rubric, a kind of scoring grid that elaborates elements of writing that are to be evaluated. The
rubric should outline the weight of grammar and mechanics in relationship to content and ideas, as well as other features of writing that is important.
c. Types of Writing Activities
Writing is both a process and a product. In process writing, there are activities such as brainstorming, drafting, writing, feedback, revising, and editing
in a cyclical fashion. The activities encourage the idea that learning to write is more than creating a final product; it is the learning of a series skills leading to
that product. The process writing seems complicated and difficult to achieve by beginner students. However, for the beginner or intermediate students, the process
can be practiced in pairs or in groups rather than individually. Therefore, Davies 2000, p. 97 provided three examples of simple writing tasks that will be easily
conducted by Junior High School students. They are parallel compositions, parallel letters, and pictures compositions. The writer will explain the activities
according to Davies’ theory. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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