Solokik 2003 states three definitions of writing. First, writing is the physical and mental act. Writing is the physical act because of the activities, whether
writing or typing ideas. Furthermore, writing is the mental act because the activities of writing are to develop ideas and how to arrange into sentences that
the reader can catch easily. Second, the purpose of writing is how to express and impress ideas from the writer to the reader. Third, writing is a process and
product. Hibbard and Wagner 2013: 56 define writing as a process of learning
through constructing complete thoughts on the paper. Writing is the process of the thinking about what is read and then translate into the process of writing.
In conclusion, writing is one of the productive skills. Writing is an act in the graphic signal language to express the ideas into sentences to inform the readers.
b. Characteristics of Writing
There are some characteristics of written language according to Brown 2001: 341. They are:
a. Permanence
Written language is permanent because it can be read in many times. To increase students’ confidence in writing, the teacher can help them to revise their
product.
b. Production time
Written language needs more times to achieve the final product. The problem is in educational context, students only have limited time. In addition, the teacher
should train students to be a good writer in dealing with the limited times. c.
Distance One of the problems from written language is the distance between the
writers and the readers. Each people have different interpretations so the writers need to read their own text from the readers’ perspective.
d. Orthography
There are various mechanics used in written language from simple to the complex.
e. Complexity
The complexity of written language is students have to learn how to make a clear illustration. They have to learn how to avoid redundancy, how to arrange
sentences and how to revise a text. f.
Vocabulary Written language has richer vocabulary than spoken language. Students have to
choose the appropriate words to make a certain text. g.
Formality There are some rules that students have to follow in writing texts, especially
in academic writing. It is the most difficult activity for students because they have to follow more complex rules than the other types.
