Writing as a Messy process

Current/Traditional Model Receive assignment Write paper Receive grade Throw away paper

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) “Standardized tests limit the type of writing students do . . . . These tests encourage teachers to emphasize a test-based approach that focuses on the application of a fixed set of skills, which means that students learn little about processes of composing and rhetorical dimensions such as audiences and purposes for writing” (“How Standardized Tests Shape—and Limit—Student Learning” 2).

STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) Test: English I Writing Expository Prompt (26 lines) Read the following quotation: Take risks. Ask big questions. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; if you don’t make mistakes, you’re not reaching far enough. –David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard Taking a risk means acting without knowing whether the outcome will be good. Think carefully about this statement. Write an essay explaining why it is sometimes necessary to take a change. Be sure to – Clearly state your thesis Organize and develop your ideas effectively Choose your words carefully Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Process Model

Higher Order Thinking

In a 2012 study in Tennessee, Dr In a 2012 study in Tennessee, Dr. Hunter Brimi interviewed five high school English teachers about their writing instruction. He found that most teachers used a formulaic, current-traditional approach to teaching composition, and all focused on revision as their only nod to process.

“We Know What Works in Teaching Composition” by Doug Hesse Students have ample opportunities to write. Professors expect them to write frequently and extensively, and we demand and reward serious effort. Professors carefully sequence writing tasks. The idea is progressively to expand on students’ existing abilities and experiences. Professors coach the process. We offer strategies and advice, encouragement and critique, formative and summative assessments. Courses provide instruction and practice on all aspects of writing. Attend to the form and conventions of specific genres? Yes. Talk about creativity, invention (how to generate ideas), grammar, and style? Certainly, but also discuss things like logic and accuracy in writing, and how to fit a piece to various audience needs and expectations. Courses use readings not only as context and source materials (which is vital in the academic and civic spheres) but also as models — and not only static models of form but also as maps to be decoded as to how their writers might have proceeded, why, and to what effect. Professors teach key concepts about writing in order to help students consolidate and transfer skills from one writing occasion to the next. But we recognize that declarative knowledge is made significant only through practice and performance (see Bullet No. 1). Student writing and student writers are the course’s focus. Everything else serves those ends.

Post-Process Model #7: Drop one argument and add another #1: Begin prewriting on a topic #2: Consider how your ideas support a central thesis #6: Share draft with peer/tutor/teacher #4: Reconsider argument & thesis #3 Conduct research Paper is due. #5: Start drafting paper #10+: Continue to consider global issues, and eventually local issues #8: Continue to refine thesis & support #9: Revise for organization and audience

Teaching Writing as a Messy Process Exploring, Planning, and Drafting