Study Guide in CAE 214 – Theories and Practices of Writing FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

0 10-July-2020

(Course Code & Title) Part 3 – Reading and Writing

Part 3
READING AND WRITING

LEARNING CONTENTS

Using models in writing can sometimes be problematic as some students copy

everything in the model instead of producing their own. So, how do teachers work with
models in a way that students will see them as a guide to help them with their writing?
This discussion paper aims to answer that question and following:
a. Discuss the use of models in writing,
b. Explain the rationale of using models in writing, and;
c. Discuss the issues in modeled writing.

Models and Writing

In studying the different parts and functions of body organs, a model of human
anatomy is being used, as models help understand abstract ideas, and clarify thinking.
Telling a basic life support trainee to put his/her hands on the patient’s chest, interlock
his/her fingers, and start chest compressions might put a person’s life in danger when the
trainee doesn’t know the proper way of interlocking his/ her fingers, the exact position on
the patient’s chest where he/she must place his/her hands, and the level of the deepness
of the chest compressions he/she must do. This is why basic life support trainers use a
dummy in demonstrating the proper way of doing CPR to different types of patients, they
do this to provide a model of what trainees must do. A similar situation occurs in a writing
classroom where teachers use models in the teaching of writing.

Use of Models in Writing Instruction

Since the early days in Greece, students have already been studying models of good
writing when their grammar school teachers have introduced literature to them, in order to
help them improve their language skills and to provide them moral edification. As of this
day, the use of models in writing instruction is still being used in schools especially in high
school (Williams, 2003).

According to Sowell (2019), models help students understand how to produce a piece
of writing in a specific genre, defined by Hyland (2004) as resources for getting things
done using language. Common genres in the writing classroom are essays- expository,
narrative, etc., summary writing, and research papers. Learning a new genre for
beginners or novice writers can be a daunting experience as not only do they have to
learn the rules and conventions of writing associated with that specific piece of the genre
but they also need to understand why those rules and conventions must be followed
(Abbuhl, 2011). This is one of the reasons that push teachers to use models in teaching
writing to their students. Without any writing models and scaffolding, students will
experience difficulty, as they will have no idea how to produce a piece of writing.

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(Course Code & Title) Part 3 – Reading and Writing

The Rationale of using Models in Writing

The notion that literature represents the best writing has automatically prompted
teachers to use it in teaching good writing (Williams, 2003). Some teachers also justified,
that the use of literature as models in the teaching of writing entails a high level of critical
thinking which may encourage a range of intellectual activities. Williams (2003) argues
that for students to become successful writers, they have to study models as, without
them, they will have fewer means of understanding the conventions on how to craft good
writing. Sowell (2019) also states that most people rely on writing models to guide them. If
one needs to write a master’s thesis, for instance, one must first read a completed
master’s thesis related to his/her field of study. Wallace and Wray (2011) also suggest
that reading journal articles is an important part of learning how to write them.

Currently, models are being valued in writing instruction not to facilitate passive
imitation but to raise the visibility of the target conventions (Hyland, 2004), help students
create a mental model of the genre (Crinon & Legros, 2002), and ease some of the
apprehensions associated with writing a new genre (Macbeth, 2010). Moreover, modeling
strengthens the students’ knowledge of writing behaviors, different types of text, the
writing process, story structures, how writing helps and enriches everyday life, and
vocabulary (Boswell, 2016). Albeit modeled writing has a stockpile of support because of
its efficacy, many still criticize it.

Issues on Modeled Writing

The discussion above has explained how helpful modeling and scaffolding are in
aiding students with their writing, however, some instances have shown that the models
used in writing instruction have been misused. It was found in a study that students tend
to copy and imitate the models presented rather than use them as guides in writing. An
incident involves a student who- when was asked to write his/her resume, copied word-
for-word information from the given model resume and turned it on his/her own, including
the educational background and work history. Any sort of copying is condemned in the
academic setting and plagiarism is a grave example of intellectual dishonesty (Jones &
Freeman, 2002).

Furthermore, the use of models in writing was indeed valued in the 1960s and 1970s
for providing the “correct” forms of writing, but criticisms sprung during the 1980s when
the use of models was said to undermine the writing process by focusing more on the
form of writing before the creation and development of ideas (Collins & Gentner, 1980;
Murray, 1980; Taylor, 1981; Watson, 1982; Zamel, 1983; Werner, 1989). Theorists have
also argued that models often deny the students’ voices and creativity and advocates of
process pedagogy prompted them to abandon professional models and replace them with
students’ writing. This is an effort to validate and empower students and to focus more on
writing than reading models of writing (Williams, 2003). Finally, Lindemann and Tate
(1993) argue that determining what constitutes an effective model is the point of real
controversy in modeled writing.

Choosing Models

To help settle the issue of what is an appropriate model to use in writing instruction,
Sowell (2019) suggested that the model teachers should use must fit the task. Before

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(Course Code & Title) Part 3 – Reading and Writing

selecting particular writing to use as a model in writing instruction, teachers must carefully
consider the purpose and the context of the assigned writing. The model teachers should
give the students must be aligned with the purposed of the assigned writing.
Moreover, teachers should use level-appropriate models. Sowell (2019) found that
giving models far beyond the composition and linguistic abilities of the students resulted in
a huge gap between the performance of students and the modeled writing. This gap
between the writing model and the performance of students has also resulted in
disappointment on the part of the students. Gallagher (2015), Harmer (2004), and Hyland
(2003) have suggested that using culturally relevant models, and level-and-situation
appropriate to the target students are good models to use. Using the writings of the
students’ peers can be highly motivating as the content and level are closer to the
students’ experiences and levels.

When to use models?

Whether the models are level appropriate and fit to the given task, models still won’t
be that effective if misused. Gallagher (2015) believes that for a model to be useful, it
should be used at all points of a writing process. Students will benefit so much from the
models when use and pay close attention to them before they begin their draft, while they
are writing their draft, and while they start revising their drafts. The most common way of
using models in writing is before writing the draft however, many writing experts warn
teachers that giving students models before drafting might give the students impression
that the models are the ideal or the template which might cause them to replace only
pieces of information that do not apply to them. To prevent students from copying word-
by-word information in the text models, experts suggest using text models later in the
writing process, such as after a prewriting activity. (Raimes 1983; Scrivener 2011; Watson
1982).

The use of models in writing has surely received tons of criticisms and applauses.
Surely modeled writing is effective in a way, but the misuse of this writing strategy has
brought some theorists to consider abandoning the approach. It is vital that writing
teachers use models to help students understand what is expected of them to write in the
writing task and help students see that the models are just resources to guide them
(Watson, 1982) ain their writing and not see them as replicas of what they should submit.
The main duty of writing teachers in using models is to discern that the models are just
guides with which the students can use for them to successfully craft their texts, and
styles in writing, bring out their ideas, and develop further their writing skills.

REFERENCES

A. A. Jones and T. E. Freeman. (2003) Imitation, copying, and the use of models: report writing in an
introductory physics course. in IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, vol. 46, no.
3, pp. 168-184, Sept. 2003, doi: 10.1109/TPC.2003.816790.

Barrell, A. (2020). How to perform CPR: Guidelines, procedure, and ratio. Retrieved October 28,
2021 from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324712

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(Course Code & Title) Part 3 – Reading and Writing

Boswell, Kelly. (2016). Write this Way: How Modeling Transforms the Writing Classroom - Kelly
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Collins, A., & Gentner, D. (1980). A framework for a cognitive theory of writing. In L. Gregg & E.
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Hyland, K. (2003). Second Language Writing. Cambridge Core. Retrieved October 28, 2021 from
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Mall, M. (2017). The Most Important Features of CPR Manikins | Mannequin Mall. Mannequin

Mall. Retrieved October 28, 2021 from https://mannequinmall.com/blogs/posts/the-most-
important-features-of-cpr-manikins

Raimes, A. 1983. Techniques in teaching writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Scrivener, J. 2011. Learning teaching: The essential guide to English language teaching. 3rd ed. Oxford:
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Sowell, Jimalee. (2019). Using Models in the Second Language Writing Classroom. English Teaching

Forum. 1(57), 2-13. https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resourc e_files/etf_57_1_02-
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Wallace, Mike (2011). Scholarly reading as a model for scholarly writing. Online Research @ Cardiff.
Retrieved October 28, 2021 from https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/12031/

Watson, C. B. 1982. The use and abuse of models in the ESL writing class. TESOL Quarterly 16 (1): 5–14.

Williams, J. D. 2003. Preparing to Teach Writing: Research, Theory, and Practice. 3rd Ed. New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associate, Inc., Publishers

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