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content, format, sentence structure, vocabulary, punctuation, and spelling, cited in Nunan 1989: 36.
In short, writing can be defined as the activity of using vocabulary to generate text or paragraphs, it can be act or art of forming letters and characters on paper,
wood, or other materials for the purpose of recording ide as which exist in people’s
mind, or communicating them to the others by visible signs.
b. Micro and Macro skills of Writing
Brown 2004 proposes some valuable micro and macro skills of writing which are very important in teaching and learning the language skill.
Micro skills of writing involve: a. Producing graphemes and orthographic patterns of English.
b. Producing writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose. c. Producing an acceptable core of words and using appropriate word
order patterns. d. Using an acceptable grammatical system e.g., tense, agreement, and
pluralization, patterns, and rules. e. Expressing a particular meaning in different grammatical forms.
f. Using cohesive devices in written discourse.
Meanwhile, macro skills of writing involve: g. Using the rhetorical forms and conventions of written discourse.
h. Appropriately accomplishing communicative functions of written texts according to form and purpose.
i. Conveying links
and connections
between events
and communicating such relations as main ideas, supporting idea, new
information, given
information, generalizations,
and exemplification.
j. Distinguishing between literal and implied meanings when writing. k. Correctly conveying culturally specific references in the context of
the written text. l. Developing and using a number of writing strategies, such as
accurately assessing the audience’s interpretation, using prewriting devices, writing with fluency in the first draft, using paraphrases and
synonyms, soliciting peer and instructor feedback, and using feedback for revising and editing.
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One of micro skills focuses on graphemes and orthographic patterns of English. Orthography or writing systems have a commonality that they have been
created in order to provide a visual representation of language Flynn Stainthorp, 2006. Furthermore, orthography allows writers to translate ideas into words on the
page, which creates a degree of permanence to the writing. This means that writers transfer their ideas to communicate with others. To make more acceptable writing,
spelling, letter formation, punctuation and grammar must be correct. One must use the right vocabulary and layout to make the writing understandable by the
audiences. Along with mechanics, Olshtain 2001 proposes that the first steps in
teaching reading and writing skills in a second or foreign language classroom should revolve around the mechanics of these two skills. Mechanics refers to letter
recognition, letter discrimination, word recognition, and basic rules of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. It also includes recognition of sentences and
paragraphs. So, when writing a paragraph, writers should consider the many aspects of writing, starting from the letter recognition, spelling, and punctuation until
sentence structure.
2. Principles of Teaching Writing
