From a product writing approach to a process approach

R & D Background

Purpose & Design

Findings & Analysis

> Findings & Analysis

Findings	Analysis and evidence
1. Students’ confidence in writing enhanced (Evidence)	The process approach to the teaching and learning of writing can help students tackle the problems of not knowing what to write and how to write. It shows students the writing process embodied, which demonstrates to them the various ways to approach writing. And this greatly reduces the struggling writers’ sense of helplessness experienced in writing. To the students with writing problems, the pre-writing stage is significant in building their writing confidence. The pre-writing activities like reading mentor texts, structured brainstorming, listing, mapping, etc. can effectively help the struggling writers generate and organise ideas. The development of the basic writing skills (interview) increases the reluctant writers’ confidence n writing, which in turn, motivates them to write. The use of guided instruction is essential for developing the writing confidence of the less able students. Teachers’ guidance and peer support provide scaffolding to students’ writing and allow their imagination to create different situations in a most successful manner.
2. Students’ engagement in writing increased (Evidence)	The experiencing of the process writing stages enables the struggling writers to develop a better understanding of what writing is and increases their involvement in writing. To the students with writing difficulties, the writing stages like revising and editing can heighten their awareness of the quality of their written work and draw their attention to the areas for improvement, which in turn, increases students’ willingness to make changes to their writing. Most ESL writers lose engagement in English writing as they find it difficult to learn writing and language simultaneously, and this is particularly true to the struggling learners with writing problems. The process writing approach, which separates content and organisation from language accuracy at the revising stage and the editing stage, helps tackle the problem and can successfully involve the struggling writers in the revising and editing process. The design of the writing tasks can spur the struggling writers’ engagement in writing. Adopting the activity approach in the writing activities can increase the attentiveness of the reluctant writers and extrinsically motivate them to learn writing in a relaxing atmosphere. Guided instruction engages students in small teaching steps which are more readily accomplished to the students with writing problems.
3. Students’ actual writing improved (Evidence)	As it is difficult to get the struggling writers to solve all the writing problems in 1 single draft, focused revision instruction and focused editing instruction help narrow down the problem areas and enable them to do productive rewriting. The instructional steps like running mini-lessons to model the targeted revision strategies, providing group activities to let students rehearse the strategies introduced and giving opportunities for re-reading or peer-reading can effectively help students develop the writing skills needed for improving their writing.
4. Students showed greater liking for writing (Evidence)	To the struggling writers, their level of interest in writing is very much related to how they perceive writing. Very often, they lose interest in writing because they believe that writing is boring and difficult. Thus, inducing a positive change in students’ perception towards writing has a positive impact on the improvement of students’ writing interest. The thinking that writing is interesting and manageable can be nurtured through the engagement in interesting and manageable writing tasks. Extrinsic motivation can drive the reluctant writers to write, which in turn, encourages their liking for writing.