An article by Ann Raimes about TEN Steps in planing a writing course and training teachers of writing

1. miftadia_laula@yahoo.co.id

2. Writing is the most difficult skill for L2.
 Not only generating and organizing
ideas, but also in translating the ideas
into the readable text.
 Pay attention to skills such as
planning, organizing, spelling, punctuati
on, word choice, etc.


3. a SUBJECT that you know well and
understand,
a clear PURPOSE for writing,
an AUDIENCE that you have identified.

4. to ENTERTAIN
to INFORM
to PERSUADE

5. TEN STEPS IN PLANING A
WRITING COURSE AND
TRAINING TEACHERS OF
WRITING

6. Goals:
- Pass the exam.
- Compose writing
- Demonstate mastery of form, experiment
with language, record experiences and
reactions, generate and communicated
ideas.
- Increase their confidence as writers.


7.  Constraints:
Institutions
- Ministries of education
- Examining and accreditation agencies
- Funding sources
 The Form of the constraints:
- Assigned curricula
- Approved textbooks
- Designated proficiency examination
-

8. 
-
-
Actions toward the constraints:
Form committees, make proposal, run
the pilot project.
A part of our course address the test
or the assigned curriculum.
Avoid seeing the ends as means.

9. Identify teachers’ ideological position
and recognize their perception.
 What English and what types of writing?
 What we expect our students to do with
what they learn?


10. STEP 3. PLANNING
CONTENT .

11. Is there a correct content of writing
classes?
Social issues
Personal Experiences
Cultural Issues
Literature
Students need topics that allowed
them to generate ideas, find the forms
to fit ideas and invite risk taking.

12. We need to consider which one will be
the most important for a course:
content, organization, originality, style, flu
ency, accuracy, etc.
 We need to form priorities.
 Do a need analysis, balancing
institutional goals with what students
need to learn and what they need to
use writing for.


13. TYPES OF THE SYLLABUS ORGANIZATION
FOR WRITING COURSES.
STRUCTURAL - Organized around
grammar and sentece patterns.
(sentences, descriptions, analyses… etc)
FUNCTIONAL - Organized around
Rhetorical activities:
describing, defining, explaining, arguing,
persuading, comparing and
contrasting, classifying.

14. TOPICAL - Organized around themes:
housing, health, house, education or
abstractions like succes or courage.
SITUATIONAL - Organized around
situational transactions: Applying for a
jobs, writing letter to the
newspaper, writing bussines memo
etc.

15. SKILLS AND PROCESS - Organized around
skills and process as generating
ideas, organizing ideas, revising, writing
fluency, writing effective, developing
arguments.
TASKS – Organized around problem
activities such as producing a class
magazine, comparing the structure of
texts written for different audieces and
purposes, examining the differences
between ESL text book situations and the
expectations of the students’ culture.

16. Teachers can turn to other materials such as
videos, software and books.
 There are 7 features of selecting materials:
topics – types of writing – opportunities for
and instruction methods of generating
ideas – instructions on principles of
rethorical organization – opportunities for
collaboration – opportunities for revision
and instruction – editing and proof reading.


17. The teacher have to be student to think
about what students will be doing and
lerning in the classroom rather than the
comprehensiveness of the information
we will imparting.
 So we need to think also what will we do
in the class.


18. Not every piece of writing has to be
corrected/seen by the teacher. Students
can check their friends’ paper.
 Every body has their own method of
responding.


19. 
Use of questionenaires, reflective logs.
PORTFOLIOS
 Include some specified types of writing:
in-class writing and revised work.
 Another teacher could be the
evalatuator, and the teacher becomes
in a coach.


20. 
We need to think why one class activity
works and another does not. If there is a
new approach, note its effect. And the
best way to read is by writing.

21. Choose a topic
 choose a genre
 get ideas
 discuss ideas with others to get new perspectives
 find grammar and lexis suitable for the text
 study sample and model texts similar to what they
want to write
 co-write sections of text in groups
 write a final version, find appropriate readers.
