Writing is often regarded as the visual representation of speech.

Some of the more

obvious devices are; punctuation marks, paragraphing, use of capital or bold letters
underlining, italicizing, use of various types of sentence connectors, e.g. therefore ,
however, in other words, in short, to begin with, finally, etc, use of lexical words in
place of modal verbs, use of different word-order, use of paragraph headings, etc.
The process of writing
The process of writing is usually divided into three stages:

Manipulation
Structuring
Communication
1. Manipulation consists in the psycho-motor ability to form the letters of
the alphabet. This is the most fundamental stage in writing and for
second language learners should not be a problem. Even for Indian
students whose mother tongue does not use the Roman alphabet, the
task of learning to write the letters should be comparatively easy.
2. The net stage is structuring. Here the learner is required to organize
the letters into words, and the words into phrases and sentences. This
will also be comparatively easy if writing is preceded by intensive oral
work. In that case the learner has only to reproduce the words and
patterns he has learnt orally.
3. Communication in writing, like interpretation in reading, is the ultimate
goal. At this stage the writer is able to select the appropriate structures
and vocabulary in the overall context of the passage, keeping in view
the subject-matter and the audience i.e the prospective reader. For
example, a personal letter, a business letter, an official letter, a
narrative piece , a descriptive piece , a short story, a novel etc.
Analysis of the skill of writing
A person who can express himself in written English can :
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Write the letters of the alphabet at a reasonable speed.

Spell the words correctly.
Recall appropriate words and put them in sentences.
Use appropriate punctuation marks .
Link sentences with appropriate sentences connectors and
sequence signals.
f) Organize thoughts and ideas in logical sequence and in
suitable paragraphs around topic sentences.
g) Evaluate the significance of a word or a sentence in the
overall context of the written passage.
h) Use the form and register appropriate for the subject- matter
and the audience.

Guided composition and Free composition:

Pupils composition is usually divided into two types:
Guided composition or Controlled composition and Free composition.
In guided composition pupils are supplied with all necessary structures and
vocabulary together with the thoughts and ideas.
Though free composition or the ability to communicate ones thoughts and ideas
freely is the ultimate goal, this cannot be fully achieved at the school stage. At this
stage therefore most of the composition should be of the guided type, the principle
being that one should first learn to walk before attempt to run.

How to teach guided composition

i.
ii.
iii.

iv.
v.

The teacher should first write out the passage himself.

He should scrutinize his own writing thoroughly to eliminate unfamiliar
structures and vocabulary .
His first step now is to motivate the class to write the passage. This he can do
by rousing the pupils interest in various ways depending upon the topic
chosen.
He may also initiate a brief discussion to introduce the essential new words
and structures.
The teacher should also write on the blackboard any words that are likely to
be mis-spelt by the pupils.

For example;
1. Topic : Myself
a) Major Structure : I am / You are, etc + Noun; The name of ..; Simple
Present Tense
b) New Words: None
Questions
1) Are you a boy, or a girl?
2) Where do you live?
3) What is the name of your father?
father is Shabeer.

Answers
1) I am a boy/ girl.
2) I live in HasilPur.
3) The name of my

Free composition
Free composition is one in which the student is free to make use of any structures
and vocabulary items. This does not mean that in writing free composition the
teacher