Process Writing

Liz Foster

Process Writing

University of Louisiana at Monroe

Process writing is used to describe writing and writing instruction. Conventional approaches to writing were criticized for having too much emphasis on the product of writing instead of the process of writing (Lipson, Mosenthal, Daniels & Woodside-Jiron, 2000). Flower and Hayes’s (1981), cognitive process model of writing describes the processes of planning, drafting, and revising during the writing task and the writer’s knowledge about the task. Writing as a process is very different from earlier ideas about teaching skills at the sentence and paragraph level. Lipson, Mosenthal, and Daniels’ (2000) said that “The interaction of use, development, and processes of writing captures the complexity of writing and the difficulty of teaching it.” Lipson, et. al (2000) states “Cognitive models depict writing as a thinking, problem-solving process that is masked, not learned, when approached as an instructional formula.” Students can establish meaningfulness and authenticity though their choice and purpose in writing. This teaching technique requires the teacher to listen to the student read and talk about their writing. The teacher should respond instead of directing a specific direction for continued writing. Lipson, et. al. (2000) states “The goal of engaging children in the writing process is to help them gain control over the types of recursive activity characteristic of mature authors. From a pedagogical perspective, children must learn to ask questions about their writing”(Lipson, et.al., 2000).

Process writing puts a major emphasis on the creative process. The process writing approach focuses on different classroom activities to support the development of language use. It is a collaborative effort between the student, their peers, and the teacher (Steele, 2004). The process approach is focused on achieving the best product possible. Before the student begins to write a paper, they need to plan what we are writing, the audience intended and how to write the paper. Once the planning has taken place, the writing can begin. The first draft is never perfect and needs to be read again and rewritten with clarifications. The paper needs to be edited and proofread until the final product is produced. Process writing seems linear, but in actuality the writer may need to go back and forth between the stages (Ozagac, 2004).

The most difficult task in writing is usually getting started. The brain-storming stage may make this task a little easier. During this stage, the student will start to think about the topic that is assigned (Ozagac, 2004). The teacher usually remains in the background during this stage and only provides language support