26 individual experience to more general, abstract state which is eventually required
in academic writing Hilgers, 1980 as cited in Hwang, 2010. Guided freewriting is useful for getting start on the actual writing itself
which is considered to be one of the most difficult parts of the writing process Elbow Belanoff, 2000 as cited in Hwang, 2010. According to Hammond
1991, guided freewriting is used to promote student’s critical thinking.
According to Hammond 1991, students were able to have deeper insights on given topics with the help of guided freewriting because it lets them think
inductively instead of jumping to hasty conclusions as cited in Hwang, 2010. Guided freewriting helped students identify all of the available argument or points
of view and then make conclusion from first thoughts toward new insights Hammond, 1991 as cited in Hwang, 2010.
c. Benefits of Freewriting
According to Elbow, the reflection of the using of freewriting will enrich student’s writing product by getting a lot of important words, phrases, and
sentences 1973. Besides, Elbow stated, “It will make writing less blocked
because words will come more easily” 1973, p.6. According to Sandler, these two kinds of writing helped her students overcome constrains such as worrying
about writing in “the right way” and approach their ideas freely with improved confidence in L2 writing Sandler, 1987 as cited in Hwang, 2010. This focus on
fluency in freewriting makes it possible to help students circumvent avoid the
27 anxiety-related dangers associated with error correction, since it withholds
feedback of any kind Hwang, 2010. Casanave 1995, who is another researcher researching L2 writing
fluency, mentioned that focusing on writing fluency tends to help students explore more in their writing without worrying about grammatical accuracy or pressure
from writing classes. For example, grammar errors or grades Casanave, 1995, which focus on the benefit of using journal writing activities in EFL college-level
classes, she argued that students tend to try out more of their ideas in the “risk- free environment” Casanave, 1995 as cited in Hwang, 2010.
Another benefit is stated, “Through continued practice in freewriting you will develop the habit of thinking as you write” Langan, 2005. Practicing more
freewriting can develop the habit of thinking in writing because the mind is accustomed to think and find the right word.
B. Theoretical Framework
As the framework of the theories, it sums up that freewriting is one of many ways which is considered as the way to overcome students writing anxiety.
The lecturer in Paragraph Writing Class uses freewriting as a method to reduce student’s anxiety. Hence, the researcher would like to find out whether free
writing really reduces students’ writing anxiety by providing some theories about
writing, anxiety, writing anxiety, and freewriting. The researcher uses some the theories to support this study.
