Instructional Approaches for

Teaching Writing

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 Is Writing a Product or Process? (It’s Both!)
Product
• emphasis more on structures:
grammar, sentence structure,
spelling, punctuation, and
vocabulary
• content less important than
mechanics
Process
• considers audience and purpose
• teacher feedback and peer
feedback is essential for
developing product
• content, organization, and
mechanics are significant
• writing stages allow for learner
interaction with teacher and
peers

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered

by FHI 360 and delivered by University of Maryland Baltimore
County
 Stages of the Writing Process

•Developing ideas (pre-

writing)
•Drafting
•Revising
•Editing
•Sharing/Publishing “Untitled” by congerdesign is licensed under a Pixabay License. It is free to use and share.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State

administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
 Pre-Writing: Consider FAT-P
Form
• Are you writing a story, informational
text, an email?
Audience
• Whom are you writing for:
classmates, co-workers, clients, the
general public, experts?
Topic
• What are you writing about?
Purpose “Untitled” by StartupStockPhotos is licensed under a Pixabay License. It is
free to use and share.
• Are you writing to inform, persuade or
argue a point, to tell a story about an
event, or to entertain?
This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered
by FHI 360 and delivered by University of Maryland Baltimore
County
 Pre-Writing Strategies: Getting Your Ideas Out

• Journaling
• Write ideas, thoughts, and questions in a
journal
• Freewriting
• Write freely what comes to mind without
caring about spelling
• Brainstorming
• Think about the topic and list ideas
• Mapping (see image) or diagraming “Mapping Diagram” by Excelsior College Online Writing Lab is licensed under CC BY 4.0

• Create or organize information on a topic

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State

administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
 Pre-Writing: Getting Your Ideas Out

• Listing
• Make a list to develop ideas
• Outlining
• Create an outline to organize ideas
• Asking defining questions
• Ask defining questions to narrow a
topic
• Noting Pros & Cons “Untitled” by geralt is licensed under a Pixabay License. It is free to use and share.

• List all the ideas for or against your

topic

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State

administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
 Drafting
• Get all your ideas on paper.
• Organize them as you go and
afterwards.
• Don’t worry about spelling,
punctuation or word choice as
you write.
• It can cause you to lose some of
your ideas.
• It sometimes contributes to
writer’s block. “Untitled” by JESHOOTS is licensed under a Pixabay License. It is free to use and share.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered

by FHI 360 and delivered by University of Maryland Baltimore
County
 Revision
• Revisions = opportunities to
rethink (re-vision) or re-organize
your writing.
• The first draft is often where
you find out what you want to
say.
• Revision organizes, clarifies and
improves that initial draft.
“Untitled” by annekarakash is licensed under a Pixabay License. It is free to use and share.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered

by FHI 360 and delivered by University of Maryland Baltimore
County
 Revision: TRIP
Always revise with a reader in mind.

Topic
• The reader easily understands the topic and the
main points of each paragraph and sentence.
Relate
• The reader can easily follow the discussion and how
each idea relates to another.
Important
• The reader can tell what ideas are most
important. “Untitled” by TeroVesalainen is licensed under a Pixabay License. It is free to
use and share.
Precise
• The reader understands the exact meaning
of the writers ideas.
This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered
by FHI 360 and delivered by University of Maryland Baltimore
County
 Editing
Editing = checking for errors or mistakes

After you have improved the content and

organization of your text (in revising it), you
are ready to make final improvements to:
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Grammar
• Capitalization
• And sometimes, word choice
Editing = checking for errors or mistakes “Untitled” by annekarakash is licensed under a Pixabay License. It is free to use and share.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State administered

by FHI 360 and delivered by University of Maryland Baltimore
County
In order to improve their writing, learners need to:

1. Write!
2. Receive constructive feedback.
3. Review and revise their own writing.

Learners also build writing skills by reading and reviewing

the writing of others, include master writers, and also their
peers!
This is a program of the U.S. Department of State
administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
 Constructive Feedback and Error correction
Techniques
• Label all errors using specific grammatical terms or error correction codes
(agreement problem, comma splice, etc.)
• Circle all errors (to help students label errors on their own)
• Correct or rewriting a phrase or sentence (to model a correction or style)
• Label an error the first or second time it occurs, instruct the student to
self-correct remaining errors of that kind
• Look for patterns of error, and noting the two or three most common
patterns in the summary comments
• Ask clarifying questions to help students think more deeply about their
writing
• Identify the writer’s strengths
This is a program of the U.S. Department of State
administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
Which type of feedback or error correction works best for you?
What is most helpful for your students? When?
We recommend using error correction and feedback strategically:
To build writer confidence:
• Identify what learners do well
• Focus on errors that effect the reader’s understanding

To build learner autonomy:

• Help them to notice and self-correct errors

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State

administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
 Teaching Grammar: General Approach
The teacher presents examples of the language structures and then
students have to find the rules.
This is an apple. These are apples.

“Untitled” by Alexas_Fotos is licensed under a Pixabay License. It is free to use and share.
“Untitled” by susannp4 is licensed under a Pixabay License. It is free to use and
share.

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State

administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
 Teaching Grammar: General Approach
The teacher presents examples of the language structures and then students
have to find the rules.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
• Learners work out grammatical rules for • Finding the grammar rules takes time
themselves • Students can create inaccurate rules
• Learners process language more deeply • Does not work for all learning styles
using critical thinking rather than simply • May conflict with cultural expectations
being told the rule for learning where the teacher’s
• Learners develop autonomy knowledge is emphasized

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State

administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
 Specific to General Approach
Teacher presents grammar rule and then gives students exercises in
which they apply the rules.

• Disadvantages:
• Advantages:
• Knowing the rules does not mean a
• Students know the rules of
student can produce the language
the language accurately or convey an intended
• Explicit grammar teaching meaning accurately
is time saving • Teacher-centered approach
• Students view language as a set of rules
This is a program of the U.S. Department of State
administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
 Lecture Summary
• Help learners develop pre-writing ideas, organization and content for
expressing their ideas in writing.
• Offer during-writing opportunities for response to students’ writing through
self checklists, peer review, and formative feedback.
• Finally, teaching learners how to edit and revise are all essential ingredients
of process writing for the final publishable product!
• Provide grammar instruction that focuses on accurate form (word category,
word families, cognates, and collocations), semantic features (connotative
meanings), and use (appropriate register), in ways that helps them discover
the form for themselves
This is a program of the U.S. Department of State
administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County
 References
• Anderson, N. (2003). Reading. In Nunan, D. (Ed.) Prac5cal English Language Teaching. 2nd ed. (pp. 67-
86), New York: McGraw Hill
• Daniels, H. (1994) Literature Circles-Voice and choice in the student centered classroom.
• Farrell, T. (2006). Succeeding with English language learners. Corwin Press.
• Grabe, W. & Stoller, F. L. (2001). Reading for academic purposes: Guidelines for the ESL/EFL teacher. In
Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed.) Teaching English as a second or foreign language. Heinle.
• Raimes, A. (2002). Ten steps in planning a writing course and training teachers of writing. In Richards,
J.C & Renandya, W. A. (Eds.) Methodology in language teaching. Cambridge
• Seow, A. (2002). The writing process and process writing. In Richards, J.C & Renandya, W. A. (Eds.)
Methodology in Language Teaching. Cambridge.
• Ur. P. (1991). A course in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• Zimmerman, C. (2013). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary for Second Language Learners. In Celce-
Murcia, M. 2nd. (Ed.) Teaching English as a second or foreign language. Heinle.
This is a program of the U.S. Department of State
administered by FHI 360 and delivered by University of
Maryland Baltimore County