Initially,
it seems like NCTE (2016) and Stephen Kreshen (1982) agreed that reading practises
is more likely towards the performance of English among students. But, the
researcher found that Read et al., (2013) had almost to support the study in
which they stated that writing practises more likely towards the performance of
students in English. Read et al., (2013) in their study reviewed that any
writing initiatives, such as process writing, traits-based writing, and writing
across the curriculum have been encouraged as a way to improve student writing.
It can be said that the more students practising their writing, the more they
get use and familiar with the contents, ideas, words and the plots of the
passages.
Writing
Instruction to be believed can be effectively influence students’ accuracy,
understanding, and ability to reflect on their writing (Archibald, 2004) which
resulted to the quality of the final draft of the composition (Sengupta, 2000).
Weissberg (2000) stated that writing plays an important role in developing
English as L2, particularly in term of accuracy as well as in the emergence of
new language structures.
And, the writing practices can be effective with these
stages of writing instruction (Archibald, 2004);
i)
By practicing short writing activities, in which students can build a
productive vocabulary during the process of writing
ii)
By making its length more expand and vary by developing more complex themes in
their writing practices
iii)
By writing with the specific strategies (for advanced students).
Next,
Peterson J. & Hagen A. (1999) has viewed that students’ writing can be
effective and perform well by a creative writing, it is one way students can
show off their writing product. This is convinced by that writing has a close
relation with a creativity. It is found that creativity is an important aspect
of writing (Tse & Shum, 2000), that is the reason for the effective
development of the creativity skills in writing (Ibnian, 2010).
Thus,
Baucus & Human (2008) suggested that the creativity of students have to be
polished in order to produce a good and perform writing. There are many types
of creativity means in writing practices. One of them is to write with style as
according to Vonnegut J.R (1982) has several style such as keep your writing
simple, write about the subject to care about, write with a sound like
self-journal, write about what is in mind, and try to get a pity of the
readers. Another is story-mapping. The story-mapping technique in writing a
composition has a positive impact on the developing a short story writing among
students (Ibnian, 2010).
Another example, teacher can notice the creative
students’ writing when they are able to write several paragraphs in an orderly manner
(Ibnian, 2010). It is believed that stimulating a creativity and generating
ideas is the most effective way of teaching writing (Luqman M. Rababah et al.,
2013).
Moreover,
Riduan & Lim (2009) revealed that the key in producing good writing or
essays is by using multiple writing strategies, how to regulate the strategies
for generating ideas or for revising what has been written. It is supported by
Nooreiny Maarof & Mazlin Murat (2013) by stating that various strategies in
improving students’ writing need to be encouraged and applied among students by
their teachers. Writing strategies is very important to know and follow as they
help students to generate the effective composition writing as studied by many
researchers (Chien, 2010; Hu & Chen, 2007; Mu & Carrington, 2007;
Ridhuan & Abdullah, 2009). It is seen that there is a different performance
in writing exercises or tests between student with strategies and students
without strategies. Ridhuan & Abdullah (2009) stated that weak students do
not often plan their writing and frequently begin writing immediately.
At
the same manner, Hu and Chen (2007) observed that good ESL writers weight
carefully on decisions on what to write and on how to proceed, indicating the
importance of quality of planning over time spent planning. It means that only
students who confident that they can write well can plan about what to write.
And, it seems to match with Bandura A., (1986) who clarified that students with
a strong sense of confidence in practising the task of writing is a person with
a strong self-efficacy. This is reconfirmed by Parilah M. Shah et al., (2011)
that students with high sense of self-efficacy can produce a good – quality
writing. In fact, many previous researchers have found that self-efficacy has a
strong relationship with a high performance in writing (Pajares F., 2000;
Pajares F. & M.J Johnson, 1996; Pajares F. & Valiente. G., 2001).
After
that, with the planning and the process of writing within several stages by the
help of teachers (Urquhart & Mclver, 2005), it can improve students’
writing as well as encourages them to use an accurate language (Harmer, 2004).
Thus, it can be stated that writing is a process of expressing ideas and
feeling within several stages to produce a smooth flow, qualified and alive
writing. By frequent practises of
writing task, students will get use to planning as simple as brainstorming the
ideas before writing even within a limited time in the examination.
To
concern, teachers must know their students and teach them how to write with
multiple strategies according to their linguistic background, proficiency and
skills. Peach and Campos (2008) also agree to state that teacher has important
role in helping students to write by reporting that on-site teacher-consultants
are at the centre of NYCWP’s work, where the consultants typically spend one to
four days per week in participating teachers’ schools, offering various forms
of assistance including (but not limited to) one-on-one mentoring to develop
lessons and projects; coaching and modelling in classrooms; team-teaching;
recommending materials and resources; reviewing student work; introducing
writing strategies such as revision and editing; encouraging critical response
to texts and student writing; counselling on the use of small-group/whole-class
activities; and providing outreach and counsel to interdisciplinary teams,
department heads, coaches, assistant principals, and principals.
Briefly,
teachers have to change the methods of delivering the knowledge and skills in
teaching writing especially in the classroom. The approaches of
‘teacher-centered’, ‘chalk and talk’ and ‘textbook-oriented’ have to be refurbished
to align the teaching and learning of writing to adhere to the blueprint of the
Tenth Malaysia Plan (Malini Ganapathi, 2014). Moreover, Thulasi et al., (2015)
has suggested that teachers have to deliver writing instructions with a very
clear elaboration until all students at all and different levels of
intellectual understand the methods or stages of writing.
Then, it is easy for
them to write a composition in the classroom. Mu & Carrington (2007)
clarified that the L2 writing process is strategically, bombastically and
linguistically different from the FL writing processes and novice L2 writers
must be taught L2 writing strategies clearly.
But,
this is contradictory to the study of Akyel& Kamisli (1997) who claimed
that students who used similar composing strategies in both language FL and L2
show a positive writing effect. It is followed by Leonore G. & E. Schneider
(2006) who said that if students have difficulties in most all of language
systems in their native language (FL), they will experience a problem in
learning a foreign language. Siti Hamin and Abdul Hameed (2006) seemed to agree
by stating that generating ideas using FL among students with low English
proficiency helped them to produce higher quantity of ideas and better quality
essays in terms of overall score, content, language, organization, vocabulary
and mechanics. It means that brainstorming and generating ideas in Bahasa
Malaysia and write in English language can help these students to produce a
quality composition writing. This statement is supported by Gabrys –Barker
(2008) who argued that students with lacking of grammar rules in their FL will
have the most trouble with grammar (for instance, past tense rules) in writing
in English as L2.
Furthermore,
it is found that the correct flow of writing can help students to produce the
best composition writing. What is the meaning of flow in the scope of writing? It
is defined by Walden University Writing Centre (2013) as one of the features
and the techniques of good writing that make the readers easy to read and judge
as well as understand. In this way, a good flow is very similar to a good trip
on the straight road with a variety scenery in the left or the right of the
road. While Lynch T. & Anderson K. (2013) has defined it as a fluent or as
a smooth running liquid, and one of the key factors in a fluent composition
writing is the order or arrangement of the ideas within the sentence,
particularly at the beginning of the sentence. How
to produce a flow writing? It is said that when the readers get interested in
reading the writing or understand the sequences of the ideas smoothly moving
down from the beginning until the end, it means that the writing is good or has
flow.
Walden
University Writing Centre (2013) have given a useful ideas regarding the flow
of writing. One, there are several ways to creating flow involves using logical
connections between ideas, strong topic sentences to start paragraphs,
transitions to link sentences, concise wording, and a varied sentence
structure. In addition, the logical connections between ideas in the
composition writing begin with the introduction, the content and the
conclusion. In which, it makes the essay looks alive and can get the reader's
attention and focus. It will be more flow if students can use a transition in
writing the sentences. The transitions create flow of writing by using a
linking ideas and sentences such as the word 'additionally', 'likewise', etc.
And, the best flow in writing will be created by varying of words used and it
will get the readers interested in the ideas (Walden University Writing Centre,
2013).
What
is more, NCTE (2016) suggested that, the basis of good writing is a good talk,
and younger children especially grow into stronger control of language when
loving adults particularly parents share experiences and rich talk about those
experiences. Then, parents must be as a helper when their children write.
Parents can talk through their ideas with them, help them discover what they
want to say, and help them with spelling, punctuation, and usage of words etc.
In fact, not only parents but teachers too, especially during teaching and
learning session in the school, in which the researcher suggests the teacher
should acts like a parent for the students in helping them to write in their
writing classes.
Akinwamide
(2012) later gives an idea to use a product approach which is known as Model
Approach as a way to get an effective writing. It is believed can encourage
students to produce an end product (Thulasi et al., 2015) which is similar to
the model essay provided by teachers. To implement, students imitate the whole
sentences in the model essay to get familiar with its content and language
structure, then transform them into a new essay perfectly as the one they have
copied by focusing on the correct language (Mourtaga, 2004). It not means that students
submit exactly as the model essay. Because, the end product is merely from
their own ideas. They just need to follow the structure of the plots and the
flows of the content presented in the model essay. Research studies has shown
that models are very helpful for students to write, such providing a lot of
information for their writing (Wingate, 2012). But, it seemed to block students
from achieving better writing qualities (Nazim & Ahmad, 2012).
In
brief, there are several points to highlight can help students to produce an
effective writing. These are, the effective writing instruction and assessment,
teachers’ model and example papers, providing the detail and relevant feedback,
and chances for multiple revisions that are specific to individual writers
(Graham & Perin, 2007). Besides, to write with multiple strategies within
the best flow of writing also help students to produce an effective writing.
2.5.1 To Measure The Effectiveness Of The Task Of
Writing And The Performance of Students’ Writing
At
the beginning, writing task itself is the best tool to measure the performance
of students in English Lang. According
to several scholars, it is regarded to be the ultimate and the most important
skill a language learner can attain (Urquhart & McIver: 2005, Reid: 2001,
Jordan: 1990). Writing skill in a foreign language perhaps more useful than
speaking or listening skill in that language because the place and time for a
communication to occur is not provided very easily (Reid, 2001).
Yet,
to measure the writing performance, there are several methods can be considered
as suitable and effective to be suit, particularly among form five students.
Questions emerged regarding how language proficiency could be enhanced and how
best to measure the level of language proficiency (Moeller, 2015). On the top,
the focus on student language proficiency can be measured through
performance-based tasks made itself felt both in language learning and teaching
researches.
According
to Chien (2010) claimed that high achievers are focusing on revising and
editing which basically fall under the assessment of students’ performance in
writing. It means students have to write and re-write the same composition each
time the teacher checks or revises their work. Sadly, not all students are
exposed to writing the same composition repeatedly to improve their writing.
The experience of Kristina Robertson (N.d) can be treated as an evidence, where
in her experience in teaching some Asian students in the classroom, they were
very confused to listen her order to revise their writing as their writing
considered as a "first draft." In their experience, they had always
write an essay once then handed it in as "the final," so the teacher
would correct it. The idea that they had to write it over again after the correction
didn't make sense to them.
Conversely,
Baker and Boonkit (2004) and Nooreiny & Mazlin (2013) found no significant
difference in the frequency of writing strategy use between high-intermediate
and low proficiency students. Nooreiny & Mazlin (2013) then discovered that
English proficiency has affected the type of strategy use in which
high-proficient students will plan, brainstorm and outline in English before
writing. Instead of their differences in term of views about the strategy of
writing among different students’ ability, but the important is, writing help
students to improve students’ performance in English lesson as a whole. It
shows a close relation between the process or flow of the writing and the
assessment of writing in helping students to write well.
Definitely,
there are several sets of test or examination must be structured to measure
students’ English language proficiency whether in speaking and listening,
reading or writing. When students already familiar with the questions or topics
to write, it is easy for them to answer the questions in the examination. To
remind, writing component is given much credit (marks) in the examination
(Thulasi et al., 2015; Fauziah & Abd Rahim, 2015) especially in SPM
examination.
It
is really important for students to get the right choices of exercises and
practices coaching as well as the assessment to help them to be more prepare to
be writers (Graham & Perin, 2007; McCarthey, 2008). How to build and
conduct the practices, exercises and the assessment is merely based on the
curriculum set by the school and the creativity and skills of the English
teachers themselves. One of them is a classroom assessment like a writing test
once a week or once a month. Bagheridoust
& Husseini (2011) explained that the function of class tests is to locate
the areas of difficulties encountered by students in learning the subject. It
is also to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers’ way of teaching in the
class. In these cases, some types of writing tests are needed to measure the
capabilities of the class as fairly as possible. It is expected that teachers
can notice the weaknesses of the writing practices done in the classroom by
referring to the students’ test gradually from week to week or month to
month.
Besides,
Moeller (2015) suggested that the pair work, group work, cooperative/ collaborative
learning settings among students, authentic materials, culturally integrated
lesson content, and interactive tasks focused on the cognitive and affective
domains were integrated into foreign language classrooms. It may related to the
role of peer in improving the writing of students. As Defazio et al., (2010)
added a review by peers as one way to correct and improve students’ writing, it
is an evaluation at various stages of the assignment, self-reflection and
feedback through weekly podcasts in their suggestions in assessing student
writing.
Additionally,
Malini G. (2014) has reported that majority of the group work was rated by
their peers as demonstrating ‘excellence’ in effectively presenting relevant
thesis statements, substantial topic sentences and supporting details that
portray their understanding and requirements of the essay genre and topic.
While Archibald (2004) suggested two methods in measuring the writing of
students, which are feedback and a direct evaluation by the English teacher.
When
the teacher gives feedback on students’ writing paper, they will be seen as the
examiner. But, the teacher has several roles other than the examiner (Peterson
& Hagen, 1999) such as;
1) The audience who will respond to ideas in
students’ writing
2) The assistant who will help students, may by
telling them what to correct and where to correct. As Harmer J. (2004) viewed
this teacher’s role as responding and correcting students’ writing.
3)
The resource who is always available
when students need information or guidance
4) The editor who will help to rearrange pieces
of writing to produce the best composition. Here, students will rearrange
pieces of writing each time teacher assess and comment until they get the best
writing product. This is called as Dynamic process of writing according to
Leonhard (2002) as it is a process of continuous writing through a support from
teacher as they learn new skills.
Furthermore,
according to Peterson & Hagen (1999), there are several ways of correcting
students’ writing work which can be applied by teachers such as;
1) Selective correction, in which the teacher
only correct certain part within the composition. Teacher has to tell students
that this time the correction only focus on punctuation, so students can pay a
focus on that part too.
2) Using a marking scale, in which the teacher
corrects the writing based on criteria such as grammar, vocabulary, coherence
etc. Here, teacher will show to students which part is wrong
3) Using correction symbols, in which the
teacher uses certain symbol such as λ (something is missing), Ϲ (concord
mistake) or á´˜ (punctuation mistake). So, students will think by themselves the
mistake and correct it themselves.
4) Reformulation, in which the teacher shows a
way students can write something more correctly. Teacher can show the
difference between the correct sentence and the incorrect sentence.
5)
Remedial Teaching, in which teacher uses
the approach of showing to the whole class about the mistake done by student
one by one. So, they are sharing what is the mistake and how to correct.
At
the end, a lot of writing practices in English Lang will increase the students’
performance in English Lang. It is accurately similar to Naginder (2006) who
said that students are evaluated based on their performance in the exam or
display good writing skills. Malini Ganapathi (2014) in her study has confirmed
that students are motivated and interested in their lessons, the learning outcomes
are productive. It is followed by Archibald (2004) by stating that the
instruction in writing can effectively improve the students’ proficiency in
English subject.
Written by,
Yasmine Mohamad
2018 / IIUM
#Copy & paste, but dont forget to change the sentences, and put only the main content. Try arrange your own sentences.
