The Adult Basic Education Teacher's Toolkit

Writing Skills Toolbox

You can use the following strategies--process writing, journal writing, mind mapping, and collaborative writing--in your classroom in ways you find useful to your students. Please notice that there are many resources which explain these activities in detail and in various ways. The descriptions of these writing activities (process, journal, and collaborative writing) while basically the same, differ from one text to another. Feel free to do more research into these techniques to enrich your knowledge of how you can use them with your students. There are also a number of other strategies and techniques you can use which you will also find in the many texts on working with developing writers.  

Process Writing

Definition: The writing process is made up of the stages of writing a person goes through to develop a piece of writing. Writing process includes three basic steps--prewriting, writing, and rewriting (or revising). These steps are not always distinct, but generally include certain activities such as brainstorming, planning, outlining, drafting, writing, proofreading, revising, and polishing.

Purpose: The purpose of teaching writing process is to break what is often a seemingly impossible task into small, manageable chunks. It is also to show students at whatever level of writing proficiency that all writers, even those who write professionally and are accomplished writers, go through these steps.

Rationale: Teaching writing process to ABE learners helps them see that writing is not some magical thing only some people can do. They learn that all writers, from beginners to professionals, must go through a process to develop a piece of writing, be it a letter, a report, an article or essay, or a novel. Beginning writers learn that they can write when this "chore" is broken down into steps, in a way that is similar to solving a math problem.

Description of the Process: The first step in the writing process is prewriting. Prewriting consists of activities writers do before they actually start "writing." Prewriting is followed by writing, then rewriting.  

Prewriting

Have students go through the following activities as part of the prewriting process.

1. Identify your topic and purpose. Are you writing to inform, persuade, describe? Discuss the four writing purposes with your students so that they understand these distinctions. The four writing purposes include the following.

(1) to express oneself, or expository writing (an essay falls into this category).

(2) to inform, or informative writing (technical and report writing fall into this category).

(3) to persuade your audience, or persuasive writing (a letter or article written to convince someone to change their opinion or take action).

(4) to create a literary work such as a poem, play, short story, or novel, or creative writing.

2. Identify your audience. Is it your teacher, your classmates, a family member, a supervisor at work, or someone in a position of authority (like a city council member)? The answer to this question determines whether your piece of writing will be formal or informal. Discuss the differences between formal and informal writing with your students. Talk about the different situations for which you would use formal or informal language.

• Formal writing uses only very correct language--no slang, no contractions. The tone of formal writing is more rigid. Formal writing, however, does not mean writing overly long sentences or using words that are difficult for your audience to understand.
• Informal writing is more relaxed--contractions are okay, a slang word may be acceptable. The tone of informal writing is more conversational. Informal writing should still follow correct usage of English grammar and punctuation, however.

3. Generate ideas about your topic. Do this by using as many of the following techniques as you need--freewriting, brainstorming, making sketches or drawing diagrams, questioning (writing down questions you think your audience would ask about the topic), discussing your ideas with a classmate, and "branching" or making mind maps.

Branching is a way to organize your ideas. Start by writing your topic in the middle of the page and draw a circle around it. Write any ideas you have related to this topic outside the circle and draw lines to it. You can also add subtopics to the ideas by writing them beneath the word or phrase. An example of branching or mind mapping is shown in the following diagram. See the section on Mind Mapping later in this section for a more detailed explanation of how to use this technique.

4. Organize your ideas. Look over your notes from brainstorming, and freewriting, your drawings, questions, discussions with your peers, and branch diagrams--any of the techniques you used to generate your ideas. Organize the ones that seem important and relevant into subtopics. You are beginning to form an outline. Now organize your subtopics in an order that seems right to you. You can always change these subtopics around later if you want to. As you create this outline, you may come up with other things you want to include in the subtopics. Stay on track, though. Ask yourself if these subtopics support your main topic. Keep focused.

Now you are ready to begin writing.

1. Draft: Write a first draft. Using your outline as a guide and the ideas and thoughts you had while generating your ideas, begin writing a rough draft. It is called "rough" because you are going to just write--let the words flow as they come to mind. If you don't know the English word or phrase immediately, write it in your native language. You can find out the English word later. Don't worry about spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Just write without trying to figure out if you have the words in the right places. You can look at these things later when you revise your draft. Now you just want to get your thoughts on paper.

2. Proofread: Read back over your draft and make sure you've included everything. You will revise it in the next step. When you have gotten all your thoughts down, you may want to take a break and get away from your paper for a short time.

Now you are going to proofread your first draft and then revise it. Hopefully you are using a word processing program on a computer. Making your corrections will be much easier if you have access to a computer.

1. Proofread: Now it's time to come back to your draft and read it through. This process is called proofreading. You may want to read it a few times. Each time you go though it, look for specific things. Read it once through to see if it is well organized. You may want to switch some sentences or paragraphs around. Read it another time to check for word usage. Read it again to check for spelling and punctuation.

When you read it through, try to read it as if you were the audience. Ask yourself--Is it clear? Do some points need more explanation? Does one thought follow another in a way that makes sense? Mark the things you want to change each time you go through your composition.

2. Peer Input: If you have time, give your paper to one of your classmates or even a family member if you are doing part of this project at home. Have them read it and look for things you may have missed when you proofread it. You may want to correct the things you found in step 1 first and then have them read it. They may find things you missed. (A section later in this chapter gives a more detailed description on collaborative writing.)

3. Polish: Correct the things you have marked. This is called polishing; it's like polishing your shoes. They may look okay, but when you polish them, they really shine. This is the last step in the writing process and it's called the final draft.

4. Publish: Now make the final corrections based on all the previous steps. Check your final papers against the copies you've marked up to make sure you've made all the changes and corrections you have noted. Your final copy should be as neat and clean as possible.

Getting Started:

• Contextualize writing, linking it to group discussion and content that learners are currently engaged with--writing should be one mode for expressing ideas, not an end in itself.
• Choose topics with students, not for them--as a theme emerges, ask students if they want to write about it.
• Use concrete forms to generate ideas--students can write stories about photos, drawings, films, readings, or other concrete forms that might provide a place to start writing.
• Provide a model of the format--a visual model (a piece of writing similar in format) helps students structure their writing.

Developing Ideas:

• Use key words/phrases to develop ideas and vocabulary. Write ideas on the board as discussions of themes develop.
• Use visuals--charts, maps, clustering exercises, and so on--these can help learners organize ideas with prior knowledge.
• Free writing/free talking--have students write or talk in pairs about anything that comes to mind on a theme for a few minutes, then share ideas with the group.
• Use interviews--have students generate questions, interviewing each other to get ideas.
• Allow language choice--because the goal is to use writing to express meaning, students should be given maximum opportunity to develop a theme conceptually. For some, this might mean it would be better to use their first language.

Drafting:

• Use class time for writing--students become models for each other as they see each other write. They can ask each other for help and talk about their work as they write.
• Write with the students--If you write while students are writing, they see that you are going through the same process. Sharing your messy drafts and difficulties dispels notions that good writing involves writing perfectly the first time around.

Responding and Revising:

• Decide whether to revise--it's not always necessary to develop a piece of writing to a final product. In some cases, just getting an idea out may be enough.
• Decide whether to refine a piece on the basis of its purpose. If students want to develop an idea or share their work publicly, they will probably want to revise it.
• Make revising a social process--ask students to read their drafts to each other. The process of reading his/her own work may give the writer ideas.
• Focus on content and ideas--guide the writer by asking questions that can lead to further writing (for example, "What point do you want to make now?") . Control of the content, however, belongs with the writer.

Editing:

• Leave editing until the end--don't work on mechanics until students have expressed their ideas the way they want them, otherwise the flow of ideas may be inhibited.
• Edit selectively--decide on a few key points to work on so students aren't overwhelmed with revision.
• Encourage self-editing--ask students to identify problem areas they can monitor for themselves.

Publishing:

• Type, copy, collate, and/or distribute student writing on a theme when possible.
• Use student-written publications as texts for further reading, to share with other classes, and for wider distribution (as in newsletters or student written magazines) when possible.

Definition: Journal writing involves keeping a notebook of thoughts and informal writing.

Purpose: The general purpose of keeping a journal is to give students an opportunity and medium to practice writing in a more personal, less structured way. You can have students write in their journals for several purposes. They can write their thoughts about the class and how they are doing in class; they can write ideas for assignments; they can keep track of their progress and how they feel about it; they can use journals to informally write their thoughts on specific readings done in class.

Rationale: Keeping a journal is one of the best ways students can improve their thinking, reading, and writing skills. Journal writing helps students develop an awareness of their own voice. Writing in a journal is an opportunity to experiment with verbalizing one's thoughts because it is not graded or evaluated as a final product. Journal writing also helps students gather ideas and details which they can use in more formal writing exercises and assignments.

Description of the Process:

Have students bring a spiral notebook or three-ring binder notebook to use only for their journal (tablets or legal pads do not lend themselves as well to journal writing). Explain to students how they will use the journal and how you will use their journals to assess their thought processes. Assure them that the writing in their journals will not be graded nor will it be shown to anyone else without their permission. You will probably want to monitor their journals to make sure they are taking advantage of this opportunity to write without pressure of grades or evaluation.

Collect student's journals at random times. Take a few at a time, skim through them, and write your comments in your own notebook. Then, take a few minutes while students are working on an in-class assignment and consult with each student individually. Let the student know how she or he is doing. Make positive comments and suggestions for ways to use their journal more effectively. Allow students to write in their own language if and when they want to.

Keep your own journal and share it with the class. Model for them ways they can use their journals to practice writing, and express their thoughts about school, home, family, work, an assignment, or anything. Also show and encourage them to use their journals to write their responses to specific reading assignments and as a way to generate thoughts and ideas they may later want to use in writing a paper. They can also write about the other areas they are learning in school--reading, math, and other subjects. Encourage them to make comparisons between the things they are learning in different subject areas and how they are learning them.

Guidelines for Journal Writing (Cautions and Comments)

"The value of keeping a journal is that we remember our best hours and stimulate ourselves." Henry David Thoreau

• Self awareness and discovery of self and world around me.
• Self expression and discovery of my own point of view.
• Opportunity for growth and being aware of my own personal growth.
• As a means of finding direction in my personal life.
• To develop mentally and spiritually.

What a journal isn't

• a diary
• English lessons
• something for publication

How to use a journal

• as a notebook, using my own writing style.
• to keep a record of things by their dates and to document things that are important by their dates.
• as a place to keep writings, drawings, clippings, letters, and so forth.

• Describe yourself, others, thoughts, feelings, and so forth without making judgments.
• Feel free to write without analyzing or interpreting.
• Feel free to analyze and interpret when it seems right.
• Write freely without being concerned about spelling, grammar, punctuation.
• Find a focus--a state of mind, emotion, image, event, memory, plans, relationship, dreams and hopes, mediation, questions, reflections on a piece of writing such as a poem or story, reactions and responses to any of these.
• If you are stuck, simply begin. Write about your present feeling of being stuck.
• Have fun!

1. Experiment with what is my "time and place" for journal writing.

a. Try out different times if you do not already have a time you feel comfortable with. Times can be early in the morning when you first get up or after your chores are finished, just before lunch, during lunch break, after lunch, just before school is out, right after work, before dinner, after the dishes are done, just before going to bed, or other. If you don't already have a set time when you like to write in your journal, give several times a try till you find the one that's right for you.

b. Try out different places. A comfortable place could be in your bedroom, a favorite spot in the house, somewhere outside in nature like at the park, at your office desk, and so forth.

2. Content: Noticing

Do not live the day for your journal writing, always conscious of how you can write what you are doing into your journal. Doing that makes you too self-conscious and you lose the spontaneity of living. Writing in your journal is not the end of living, rather the end result of journal writing is richer living.

Some questions you might ask yourself after you have settled down and relaxed and are ready to write in your journal might include the following.

1. How was my day? (in general)
2. What did I notice through my senses--sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste--that I want to record?
3. What do I now notice about my feelings today--physical feelings, emotional feelings such as joy, anger, resentment, contentment, and so forth?
4. What were my concerns today. What occupied my thoughts? For example, practical things like what I needed to buy at the store, what I need to do next week, what are my hopes, dreams, and goals, both short-term and long-term?
5. What kinds of mood was I in? What kind of mood swings did I have?
6. What are my thoughts as I write in my journal?

As the week progresses, you may find yourself focusing your attention on one area rather than another. Let your interests be your guide. You may find that there are some things you never notice which you may want to begin to notice. Don't notice these things for the sake of the journal, but for the sake of noticing them.

(These suggestions were adapted from Maureen Ambrose, Venturing Forth.)

There are many ways to get students started on journal writing. If necessary, you may need to assign them journal time in class and general journal topics to get them going.

Mind Mapping

Definition: Also called clustering, mind mapping is a visual way to brainstorm and get your ideas down before you start writing.

Purpose: Use mind mapping as a prewriting activity to generate ideas and organize a topic by subtopics.

Rationale: This technique is a good way to get students to loosen up and begin a writing activity without the pressure of writing for a grade or an end product. Mind mapping is especially helpful for many students as they visualize the relationships of various aspects of a theme or topic.

Description of the Process:

1. Have students, working individually or in groups, identify a theme or topic of interest to explore further.
2. Students begin by writing the theme in the center of a blank sheet of paper. This topic is usually one or two words.
3. Have students circle the word.
4. Next have students consider various issues related to this topic. Write these ideas on the page in a random pattern around the circled topic. Circle these new subtopics.
5. Now have students draw arrows to connect related thoughts to the main theme. Students may generate subtopics of the related thoughts as they discuss the theme.
6. Help students recognize when they have identified a supporting idea and have them connect it to the broader topics directly connected to the main theme.
7. Students should continue this process until they have included all the ideas they think of regarding the theme.
8. Students then write a sentence expressing their main idea or thought related to the theme. From this sentence, students are ready to write the supporting information in the development of their first draft expressing ideas from their mind map or cluster.

Collaborative Writing

Definition: Collaborative writing is a way to help students work together to improve their writing skills.

Purpose: Use collaborative writing to develop rapport between students, to help students learn to evaluate each other's work and thereby gain self-confidence in their ability to assess writing. Additionally, allowing students to collaborate on a writing project reinforces the act of writing as a communication process, one that involves a writer and a reader.

Rationale: Collaborative writing gives students the opportunity to work in a more real-world situation. Professional writers do not write in a vacuum. They work with other writers, editors, and co-workers to get the written communication clear, readable, and correct. Collaborative writing is how most writing is actually done in the work place. It is good for students to learn this and realize they do not have to work alone.

Description of Process:

The following steps outline one way in which you could use collaborative writing with your students.

1. Explain to students what collaborative writing is and how they will be doing it. Make it sound fun and interesting.
2. Have students break into groups of three or more, depending on your class size. You may want to assign the groups yourself based on your knowledge of the students, or do it randomly. Once you have designated the groups, have each group sit close together. If you are in a computer writing lab, each group can sit at one computer.
3. Decide together on a topic for collaborative writing.
4. Have each group work together to brainstorm and practice the other techniques of prewriting.
5. Have each group write a rough draft. One person can be the scribe and do the actual writing (or word processing if you are in a computer lab), but all members of the group need to participate in wording the draft.
6. Next, have students proofread and revise their draft.
7. After students have completed their revised draft, have each group trade papers with another group.
8. Each group will evaluate and peer edit the other group's paper.
9. When each group gets its paper back, the group can revise their paper based on the corrections and suggestions made by the peer editing group.

Guidelines, Cautions, and Comments for Collaborative Writing

You may want to pass out a sheet showing a few basic proofreader's marks such as insert, delete, new paragraph, and a few others.

Insert: ^ wrter
Delete: / wrriter
New paragraph: p

Students can use these editing marks when peer editing (and you may want to show them some others). Explain to students that they need to be kind to each other when correcting each other's papers, but not so kind that they do not point out areas that need work or correction. Explain that collaborative writing is a way to help each other improve and that for it to work, they need to learn how to give and receive constructive criticism, without taking it personally.

This kind of project works best if you focus on a very specific topic so that the papers will be short, one or two pages at the most. When the class decides what the topic is to be, help them narrow it down to a very specific topic. An example might be writing instructions to a child on how to brush his teeth.

If you can use a computer lab for this project, allowing each group to work together using a computer with word processing software, then do.

Encourage students to collaborate on their own out of class, not only for the courses they are currently enrolled in, but in the future as well.

Chapter 7 | Contents