âContent literacy – interpreting and applying knowledge from expository text–has been referred to as the âquiet crisisâ in American educationâ (Gunning, 2003, p. 7).
If one shares Gunning’s concern over the problem represented above, one should be familiar with the ways and the solutions which can help to cope with it. The best way for the teachers to do this is to implement a certain process approach to writing. That is why it is important to describe it and introduce this approach step by step.
The writing process can be defined as an oriented instruction for the writing, generally based on the experience of the scholar writers. This process mainly differs from school writing. The correct writing process should involve multiple drafts, numerous planning activities, and additional research. The teacher aims to represent this approach to the students in the class and make them use it.
The first step in this process involves some prewriting or so-called invention activities. The teacher may suggest students seek the general ideas; make the plan and discuss it collectively. The given step is needed to explain to the student, what he or she is expected to do. Moreover, the teacher would be able to figure those ideas that the student has and help him or her to develop them.
The second step in the writing process is drafting. The teacher goes through the student’s work and suggests he or she revise or improve some extracts of it. The teacher should explain in every single case what he or she expects from the student by asking him or her to revise any particular fragment of the essay. This step is important because while the student seeks positive feedback from the teacher, he develops logical and evaluative thinking that would help him or her later in the composing of the essay.
The third step of the writing process contains the together (student’s and teacher’s) discussion of the whole – text level. The teacher comments on the overall focus of the essay advise the organization of the text. This step is needed because it enables the student to analyze his or her organizational mistakes and improve the final version of the essay.
The fourth step involves the student’s work on the final version of the paper. Such a step is useful, because the student develops the creative and analytical thinking to the maximum, as he or she goes through the entire text and decides whether or not there is enough evidence. At this step, the student also proofreads the text of the paper and prints it to handle to the teacher.
The fifth step of the given process contains the teacher’s evaluation of the text and his or her report concerning the student’s work. This step is useful as it enables the student to see his or her writing weaknesses and strong sides. Therefore, later on, the student would consider these facts, while writing some other essays.
Concluding this, one can firmly assert that this process writing approach is, indeed, helpful and useful for both â students and teachers. In this case, students think more about the topic of the essay; they recollect more information and facts; develop creative and analytical thinking and much more powerful insights. As for teachers, they enjoy reading high-quality papers, written by the skillful students taught by them.
References
Gunning, T. G. (2003). Building literacy in the content areas. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Gunning, T. G. (2005). Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.