Chapter One: Writing Skill
Introduction
Nowadays, written communication is becoming integrative in peoples’ lives. People write for different purposes (personal, social, professional, creative, and academic). However, reaching the level of writing proficiency in the academic context remains a demanding task for EFL students and teachers as well. Hence, the enhancement of writing skill is necessary to students’ personal and professional career.
This chapter is a review of literature on writing skill. It first introduces different definitions of writing. Then, a discussion of the differences between writing and other skills namely and mainly speaking and reading takes place. In addition, it presents the most known approaches to teaching writing. This is followed by a discussion about how students achieve effective writing through revising, editing, and proofreading. Finally, this chapter reviews main issues in assessing writing.
1.1. Writing: Definitions and Perspectives
In its broadest meaning, writing can be simply defined as the process of jotting down ideas in a form of symbols and letters. However, distinctive definitions of writing were offered by numerous scholars.
Byrne (1972; as cited in Maouedj 2015: 5) states that: ‘When we write we use graphic symbols that are letters or combination of letters which relate to sounds we make when we speak’. In other words, writing is a mechanical activity by which the spoken form of language becomes visual. Hence, writing is the realization of speech into letters and symbols.
While Byrne emphasizes the physical nature of writing, Bell and Burnaby (1984; as cited in Nunan 1989) stresses the cognitive nature of writing. They argue that writing is an elaborate mental activity through which writers show their consciousness of using different linguistic and discursive characteristics at the same time. To put it different, writing involves certain cognitive processes so that writers can correctly manipulate writing mechanics such as word choice, orthography, punctuation, and other mechanics that guarantee a unified comprehensible piece of writing.
In addition, Kane (2000) sees writing as an activity which demands reason and offers helpful aid to people who are learning it. That is, writing is a learnable activity that involves effective use of cognitive processes. Learners must use their brain to gain knowledge about writing, its strategies, and mechanics. Besides, gaining knowledge about writing is advantageous because it helps people in both the professional and personal level. Being a good writer is useful for many people to be successful employees as well as to express their ideas and communicate effectively.
According to Grabe (2000), writing refers to an ability that can be mastered perfectly in educational contexts. This definition limits the scope of writing .In Grabe’s vantage point, skilful writers can be exclusively found inside classrooms. Consequently, EFL teachers should teach writing under specific instructional conditions.
Another definition, writing is a means of maintaining social relationships among persons. When writing in order to build a bridge among them, people follow certain conventions. Writers should indeed consider matters of social distance, power and authority. This can apparently occur through the linguistic features they include in their written materials (Hyland, 2002). This definition focuses more on the social side of writing. For instance, writing an e-mail helps establishing relationships between two persons. However, e-mailing one’s pen friend is not like e-mailing their boss at work.
Coulmas (2003: 1) defines writing in six different ways:
At least six meanings of ‘writing’ can be distinguished: (1) a system of recording language by means of visible or tactile marks; (2) the activity of putting such a system to use; (3) the result of such activity, a text; (4) the particular form of such a result, a script style such as block letter writing; (5) artistic composition; (6) a professional occupation.
The above definitions emphasises the linguistic aspects of writing which is referred to as a system, an activity, or a job. First, writing can be a registration system of sounds. It also refers to the activity of putting this registration in use which in turns ends with generating texts of different formats and types. Moreover, writing can be a creative written material as well as a job.
To sum up, writing has been defined from different perspectives and by different scholars. It can be a skill, activity, system, or ability. Writing is physical, social and linguistic. Accordingly, writing is not only the system of decoding spoken language but also the activity of communicating ideas and thoughts with readers of different social and cultural backgrounds.
1.2. Writing and the other Skills
1.2.1. Writing and Speaking Differences
Good EFL learners are those who are able to use both oral and written forms of language to communicate effectively. Then, productive language skills namely speaking and writing are crucial in EFL classroom. Henceforth, EFL teachers must be aware of the relationship existing between writing and speaking.
It is obvious that speaking is historically a primitive skill. Again, children naturally learn how to speak before they learn how to write. In the body of literature, many works have addressed the connection between both skills.
Raimes (1983: 4-5) states the differences between speaking and writing as follows:
1. Speech is universal; everyone aquires a native language in the first years of life. Not everyone learns to read and write.
2. The spoken language has dialect variations. The written language generally demands standard forms of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.
3. Speakers use their voices (pitch, stress, and rythm) and bodies (gestures and facial expressions) to help convey their ideas. Writers have to rely on the words on the page to express their meaning.
4. Speakers use pauses and intonation.Writers use punctuation.
5. Speakers pronounce; writers spell.
6. Speaking is usually spontaneous, and unplanned. Most writing takes time. It is planned. We can go back and change what we have written.
7. A speaker speaks to a listener who is right there, nodding or frowing, interrupting or questionning. For the writer, the reader’s response is either delayed or nonexistent. The writer has only that one chance to convey information and be interesting and accurate enough to hold the reader’ s attention.
8. Speech is usually informal and repetitive. We say things like, ‘What I mean is…’or ‘Let me start again.’ Writing, on the other hand is more formal and compact. It progresses logically with fewer digressions and explanations.
9. Speakers use simple sentences connected by a lot of and’s and but’s . Writers use more complex sentences, with connecting words like however, who and in addition. While we could easily say, ‘His father runs ten miles everyday and is healthy,’ we might well write, ‘His father, who runs ten miles everyday is very healthy.’
The above list thoroughly shows that speaking and writing are disimilar in multiple points including time and place of occurence, manner of transmitting the message, linguistic, pragmatic and discursive mechanics as well as issues of formality and informality.
On the other hand, Weigle (2002) stresses the crucial role the connection between speaking and writing plays in testing the language in order to closely compare between L2 learners’ ability in speaking as well as in writing. By the same token, writing and speaking are generally used in diferent situations. This use is bounded to social and cultural conventions as well as to how it is beneficial and priceless the use of one skill compared to the other. To illustrate, electronic messages are priceless than phone calls from long distances; however, in urgent cases, it is totally the opposite. Yet a pohone call costs, but is faster (ibid). This exhibits to which extent speaking and writing can occur in different contexts. In some cases written forms of language are more applicable, swifter and helpful than oral ones. In addition, writing cognitively differs from speaking in a way that more consciousness is required on the part of the writer. Cognitive processes such as planning, organizing ideas, collecting information, and revising are also required.
Coulmas (2003:11) later summarises the fundemntal diffeences between speech and writing as follows:
Speech Writing
continuous discrete
bound to utterance time timeless
contextual autonomous
evanescent permanent
audible visible
produced by voice produced by hand
The abovementioned list reveals six fundemental differnces between speaking and writing. Unlike speech that has many feature of continous movements, writing takes the form of seperated seqences namely phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and texts. While speakers’ utterances change over time especially as a response to listeners’ feedback, written texts are not typically perceived and interpreted at the same time they are produced. Speech depends on a shared situation and background for interpretation. Conversely, writing is decontexualized since written texts lack intermediate context. Writers generally do not have enough information about their readers who in turn place written texts in a wider context in order to understand it. Speakers’ speech is temporary and can not be referred to wheras written texts are recorded and both readers and writers can come back to them. Even body organs used for the production of speaking differ from those used in writing. Spoken output is produced by the mouth and recieved by the ear. Written output, however; is produced by the hand and recieved by the eye.
In his book How to Teach Writing , Harmer (2004) provides other differences between writing and speaking in terms of time and space, participants, process, organization and lanuage,signs and symbols, and product. On the one hand, Harmer refers to speaking as instant, direct, momentary, and face- to face interaction between people sharing the same knowledge about themselves. Utterances produced quickly by speakers , interpreted and modified quickly too. Speakers do not speak in an organized, correct way. They can commit mistakes of grammar, pronounciation, or build mis- judjemnets towards listeners. Speaking has its own peripherals which facilitate the communicative act such as gestures, facial expressions, stress, and intonation. Furthermore there is not a final spoken output because speakers’ utterances are utterd by listeners by nodding, interupting, or seeking for clarification. On the other hand, written works, as seen by Harmer, can last for a long period of time. Though, writers generally communicate their thoughts with a wide range of readers whom they do not know or they know a little about them.
Unlike speech, written text are generated throughout a process of planning,organization and editing. Consequentlly, final written products need to be correct and well- developed. This can be realized only when writers respect writing procedures namely punctuation, coherence and cohesion as well as orthography. Despite all these differences, Harmer declares that speaking and writing, in some cases, can be similar as well as can be done similarily. He distinguishes between ‘writing- like speaking’ and ‘speaking- like writing’. The former refers to any spoken language forms whose main characteristics are like some written language forms. This includes lectures, funeral oration, or political adress. The latter refers to any written language forms whose main characteristics are like some oral forms of language. This encompasses text- messaging, or dialogue passages of plays (Harmer 2004)
To put it another way, Harmer agrees with other authors regarding the differences between spoken and written communications. However, he believes that some spoken forms can correspond to certain written genres in one way or another and vice versa. Chats, for instance are not permanent like letters; utterances included in this online communication can be erased exactly like speech. Another, Lectures are planned in advance and presented in a very formal unlike informal daily conversations.
All in all, the differences between speaking and writing are multiple and significant, and the relationship between these productive skills is complex. Accordingly, EFL teachers must be aware of these differences to enable their students to communicate effectively.
1.2.2. Writing and Reading Differences
Unlike listening and speaking which are naturally acquired, reading and writing are learned in specific educational contexts. Both reading and writing are crucial facets of literacy, nevertheless; reading is a receptive skill and writing is a productive skill. Henceforth; identifying the connection between them is essential.
Due to the most applied ways of teaching writing through the exposure of students to samples of reading passages, reading is considered as a primary and suitable input for the development of writing ability (Eisterhold 1990). That is, reading texts directly contribute to the process of teaching writing. The relationship between reading and writing is similar to Krashen’s hypothesis of second language acquisition. According to him competent writers are those who are exposed to a comprehensible input and low affective factors; he states, ‘It is reading that gives the writer the ‘feel’ for the look and texture of reader- based prose’ (Krashen 1984; as cited in Eisterhold 1990: 88). In fact, the more students read the more they get familiar with the formats of different written genres in order to solve their problems with writing.
In the same way Harris (1993, as cited in Ghodbane 2010: 33) summarizes thoroughly the connection between reading and writing in the following list:
‘ Reading and writing are personal and social activities that are used in order to communicate. Writers need a response to what they write; readers need to respond to what they read and get responses to their analysis of the text;
‘ Reading and writing are reciprocal. Writers can learn much about writing by reading; readers can learn much about reading by writing;
‘ Reading and writing are interdependent. Readers cannot read if writers do not write. Likewise, writers can’t write if readers do not read;
‘ Reading and writing are parallel. Both have purpose, depend on background knowledge, and focus on the construction of meaning;
‘ Reading and writing help discover the world around us. As writers write, they need to read. And as readers read, they often need to write.
This indicates that both reading and writing are communicative skills which stand together. Besides, both of them can be improved through feedback. Hence their reciprocity is certain. In the same way, the interrelated relationship between reading and writing has been highlighted by many authors.
Manzo and Manzo (1995; as cited in Ghodbane 2010: 34) label this relation the "Two- way relationship between reading and writing" which is summarized in the following chart:
Table 1.1.Reading and Writing Connection (Manzo & Manzo 1995; as cited in Ghodbane 2010: 34)