Importance of Writing in Communication

Discuss about the Teaching Grammar and the Four Skills.

An individual must possess the writing skills. This is a necessary aspect of the communication process. An individual with good writing ability can communicate the message with ease and simplicity to the audience. Having a telephone conversation or face to face conversation is far difficult than writing English. This is a virtual world where people are overloaded with information. It is essential to communicate the thoughts clearly and effectively. People have less time to read the lengthy emails. The better the writing skills, superior the impression over the people that are present around and this includes colleagues, boss and clients. If an individual is able to write well, the user can go long way in the corporate world. Managing people lack one skill that is the ability to write in simple English. This includes avoiding all the unnecessary buzzwords, clichés and making the sentences concise and short.

The Skill of Writing and its Characteristics

Mastering the art of writing is a complex process and holding a class for more than 60 minutes is more complex than this. Writing is one of the most important aspects of communication (Susar K?rm?z?, 2015). A writing teacher may be called upon to plan the strategy, write a press release report or an application or play a volunteering role within an office setting. According to the Kroll statement, the art of expressing ideas, beliefs and thoughts is a complex process and students completely agree with this point. With context to above, the writing characteristics can be summarized as follows (Harper, 2005)-

1. Audience and Writing format-The foremost step is writing perfectly is selecting the appropriate format. There are instances where the user will be required to send emails or create a detailed report. Writing a formal letter or creating an advertising copy requires well-drafted format. The writing voice can be defined through the writing format. This helps in how relaxed the tone can be. For instance-when writing the email to a friend or an email to a client-How to differentiate with the tone? It is important to identify who is the target audience. The email is directed to the senior managers or engineers or human resources group. The content and tone must be defined in the writing format (Evans, 2016).
2. Writing style and composition-The writing teacher must have knowledge on what to write and for whom to write. Then, the writing process can begin. It is important to find about the audience and then create a writing style. When writing the longer documents like speech, presentation or reports, it is essential to create the outline. Through outlines, the writing teacher can identify which steps to be taken and in which sequence. It is advisable to break the tasks into manageable parts.
3. Use of AIDA-The writing must be able to inspire action in the target audience. It is essential to follow the AIDA approach that is- Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. This process is easy and writing process will become simpler. For instance-when writing the marketing and sales letter for clients, it is essential to pitch the products and services all the times. What is the main benefit to the clients? It is essential to remember the audience needs (Gröppel-Wegener, 2013).
4. Identification of the main theme-The first fifteen seconds of writing a composition must be dedicated to defining the theme. Just pretend, that there are only 15 seconds to explain the writing background and how to project in the main theme. The content must be presented in simpler language. The content must pre presented in the direct and simple language (Bill, 2010).
5. Rhetorical Triangle-When writing to convince someone or trying to communicate with people, the writing tone must be Rhetorical that can engage the audience and information is presented coherently to the audience (Lockheart & Wood, 2007).
6. User-friendly Approach-The final document presented to the audience must be reader friendly and user-friendly. The writer is required to use the heading, numbering and bullet points. The audience must be able to read and understand the main theme behind the subject. The writer must ask questions in between especially in reports and advertising copy. This will keep the audience engaged with the content.

The writer must be able to communicate the points professionally and quickly. Before the document gets created, it is essential to identify the target audience. This is how the successful pieces of writing can be created. It is essential to proof the final document (Edwin, 2012).

The writing is a complex process and teaching writing skills are more difficult than this. The knowledge of the writing assignment has a massive impact over how the things are organized and written. The thoughts must be presented in well-format structure and must be well-supported with the examples. It is essential to find out the writing assignment is written for whom. The audience is generally the students and colleagues. It is essential to evoke the feeling of excitement in others (Reading & Moriarty, 2010). This can be explained in four step model which is given as follows-

1. Planning-When the writer is presented with a topic or there is an opportunity to select the topic. There must be a reflexive need for mentioning the formalized outline that begins with the introduction till the conclusion. It is essential to stick with the objectives of the writing. Generation of ideas is the first step and then search for external resources. The writer needs to do the search on the topic and find about the phrase or sentence that may intrigue the writer and the audience. When the thoughts are organized and detailed facts and figures have been collected. Then, move on to the next step. Organization of thoughts is one of the most critical thoughts that helps the audience, making connections to the writing structure. It is essential to prioritize the goals and rearrange the process (Jolly, 2011).
2. Drafting-When the writer has collected the basic ideas behind the writing theme and then begins with the drafting process. The real picture behind drafting involves translation of information stored in the memory. This involves compilation of ideas into a cohesive text.
3. Evaluating-The evaluation of ideas is important while writing. The writers are shocked when they discover the change in goals and how this shapes the complete paper. It is essential that the final piece of writing must be coherent and ideas are represented in a cohesive form (Dai, 2010).
4. Revising-The writer needs to make revisions after the evaluation part. Rework on the sentences that are awkward. Break the monotony and add punctuation marks. Now, prepare the paper for the final edit and prepare the fresh piece of writing.

Characteristics of Successful Writing

The above points can be illustrated with the help of an example-The English teachers undergo through a number of challenges while teaching writing methods to undergraduate students. It is essential to establish the association between pedagogy and theoretical concepts. These issues can be demonstrated as follows-

1. The dearth of writing methodologies in undergraduate writing courses. This is especially visible in the English departments, imbedded through historical reputations of English education and composition programs.
2. There exists an internal dispute within the arena of composition and English writing over the theoretical approaches. It requires a pedagogical emphasis over the writing courses and external knowledge on the practical tools (Harper, 2010).

Mapping the underwriting methods for undergraduate courses is one methodology of writing teacher. This has been historically looked after and requires current patterns of teaching to offer best practices and principles and this requires teaching preparations.

An Undergraduate teacher must be a native speaker at University level and must create highly-structured plan for the students. This is how the students can be explained lesson objectives and listening activities can be performed in the classroom sessions for understanding of the aims. One of the primary goals of the English writing teacher must be to assess the objectives is understood well. A writing teacher must have the requisite experience of teaching writing and focus over the communicative teaching method. The communicative teaching is focused towards improving the communication levels in classrooms and students are encouraged to write in different forms. The writing teacher will act as the facilitator in the sessions. The writing sessions are focused towards the English comprehension and capability. The teachers will focus in varied forms of writing like writing for the different target market, writing a cover page or preparing a resume/CV (Overall, 2015).  Besides this, there is a lot of emphasis on the vocabulary and short stories. The appropriate materials used in teaching writing include magazine articles, photographs, academic texts and online videos that help in reflecting the interest of a student. 

The writing process is a creative approach that requires positive feedback and time. Pre-writing is the first stage in creative forms of writing. The writing teacher needs to urge the students towards creativity. An important aspect is what is the flow of ideas?  Teachers need to provide insights on the improvisation of initial stage. Second stage of focus on ideas and here the teacher needs to stimulate students to focus on the content creation. The Third step is evaluated, format and editing of the final content. The teacher will provide with remedial actions and organizational feedback (Lord, 2010).

English is the most widely accepted foreign languages. Five hundred decades ago, Latin was the most widely studied language of commerce and business industry. In the seventeenth century, English has started gaining popularity due to political changes in foreign countries mainly Europe. Methodologies are the techniques that are adopted by the teachers in the classroom sessions to teach the writing philosophies. The techniques adopted will be based on the communicative teaching and task methods. The structural approach of teaching is used when the teacher wants writing and reading skills should not be neglected. The English language has its own format and structure that is indicative in grammatical meanings. The oral approach is the most widely accepted approach. The content sequencing requires vocabulary knowledge. The structure of an English language must be learnt with all the grammatical rules and sequenced for easy learning (Mencía, 2011). 

Different Approaches to Writing

Introduction: Target group and rationale for selection of aspectTarget Group and its Characteristics

Education is a compulsory part of life. This has a purpose and this includes the identification of a target group. The target group is students who are in the first year of under graduation program. English, students must be prepared to solve the academic literacy tasks. It is essential to consider the lesson plans and there are differentiated instructions that are necessary to teach the diverse students in the classroom students. It is essential to consider the reading levels, disabilities that exist within the students and cultural backgrounds. The teacher needs to create a plan of understanding the very student. There are certain modifications to serve the target students. It is essential to find out the following characteristics of the student (Singay, 2018) –

1. Age
2. Amount of income
3. Interest and
4. Location

These are some of the key factors through a teacher can be engaged in the classroom teaching. The teacher needs to understand what they need to present to a younger crowd and young demographic. Age factor must be taken into account with the approach of AIDA theory.

The AIDA theory is one of the widely accepted marketing skills that is known as the basis for training across different organizations. AIDA means attention, interest, desire and action. This simply refers to the writing concept wherein the target group learns about responding to the potential customers satisfactorily. Gaining attention can be improvised through the skills and then maintaining the interest of the target audience in the content is important. The strategy is to understand the technicalities. There must be enough desire in the mind of the target audience to have an emotional attachment to the content. Action refers to having the desire for the induced service or product. The role of a teacher is to induce the AIDA skills in a target group; also make the students understand the different teaching methods (Woolfson, 2013). 

How to write short essays at University level?

1. Writing cannot be taught systematically from basic level to advanced level. A common practice observed among the University students is to write short essays or stories. One of the most important aspects is to teach the students how to write the paragraph effectively. A short paragraph comprises of a structure-An introduction, body and conclusion. Advances courses allow the students to select the topic of their own choice and must be able to highlight the writing style and vocabulary. Undergraduate students must be provided with training on understanding the casual relationships that exist within the lengthy statements. Undergraduate students must be taught lessons on creative thinking and have an understanding about the real-life situations. It is necessary to bridge the gap that exists between the education level tasks and real life tasks. A student must be given training on how to evaluate the writing theme and review the own piece of writing critically (Bagherzadeh & Azizi, 2012).
2. Most of the students experience problems in Linguistic forms of writing. One of the main reasons behind this is linguistic backgrounds and cognitive composition. This is also influenced through the cultural norms. In order to enhance the English writing skills, besides studying the academic courses, independent programs can also be used. This implies connecting the ideas and use referencing words for the developing written fluency. Focusing on research publications is a critical aspect of academic learning. Specific information can be found and understanding of abstract theories is necessary. University students need to participate in the seminars, discussion and lectures (Liu & Laohawiriyanon, 2013).

The paradigm shift from product methodology to process methodology of teaching the writing as a process has altered many theories. A crucial aspect is to make the students learn the new processes, but the present teaching system should have methods and strategies such as instructional labs, conferences, workshops. The process approach of writing has been evolved in completely different ways in different places. The teachers have shown different ideas in comprehending the process methodology. Teachers and researchers have explored the different processes in the written text. According to the traditional approaches, the writing processes of expert and non-expert varies. According to the process approach of teaching, the teaching methods are focused on writing procedures rather than on final products. The pedagogical methods involve developing more developing successful writing methods and this involves a lot of empirical research into the different writing processes (Delgado, 2015).

Teaching Writing to Undergraduate Students

Another methodology is a communicative teaching which was developed during the British Language. Communicative language focuses on the development of communication ability and emphasis is on accuracy. The widely accepted methodology is a direct method that has been formed as a reaction against the translation method. The learners of second language must think and write in English. This methodology focuses on direct discussion, thinking processes. The Direct method is effort and forms the association between expression and thought. Direct method has been criticized due to the following reasons-Direct method of teaching has been successful in the private schools. This method is applicable in the small classes (Huschle, 2012).

Direct method requires learners to participate in the communication processes and accent must be similar to the native speakers. The structural approach is adopted by the teachers where the arrangement of words must be done in a suitable pattern format. Every language has its own format and this must indicate the grammatical meanings too. The structural approach has been criticized due to the repetition and suitability only in lower grades. The oral approach is a methodology that is applicable to the students who are in schools. The target is to have an understanding of the functions and communications independently. This is one of the approaches that help in writing and reading skills. These methodologies, state the theoretical principles regarding the grading and selection of content. The content sequencing will help in the better learning procedures (Schoonen, 2006).

When the switch takes place from product methodology to process methodology, the following methods must be adopted-

1. To educate students with writing processes

What are the problems in composing processes experienced by the students?

1. The evaluation of process teaching methods.

Two powerful tools that are found to be a useful amalgamation in a conference setting or a tutorial includes-

1. Modeling and
2. Protocol analysis

In this, the students are asked to communicate aloud everything as they are in the thinking process. These are mental processes and widely accepted too (Jin, 2010).

Difficulties Encountered by Students

There are a number of difficulties encountered by the students. These include-

• Students are overly dependent- Most of the times, students look for the answers from their teachers. This is a detrimental problem that requires positive encouragement. A student must be made more comfortable and must be willing to take part in the classroom activities (Tajino & Smith, 2005).
• English as a First Language- This is one of the common problems experienced by the students as English is treated as the foreign language.
• Cultural language and communicative barrier- These includes the difficulties in understanding the ideas and actions.
• In most cases, there is reluctance or fear towards the teaching team.
• The student lacks the awareness of different learning styles (Keihaniyan, 2011).  

Conclusion

The art of changing the thoughts and expression is the strength of the writing. Today, writing is an essential part of online society and it has been accepted to the target market in the form of blogs, website content, online magazines and other forms. The writing can be technical or academic and must be able to generate a target audience. The writing must be self-expressive. The main purpose of the writing teacher is to encourage the students to be expressive and generate the thoughts and feelings. The foremost step behind writing is the imagination process.  A composition can be elusive but it has its own limitations. The use of powerful words is characterized through the appeal and this can create the emotional charge within the target market. The teacher must lay emphasis on reading a lot of vocabulary. However, rephrasing is also one form of writing and this is the most difficult tasks. It is essential to consider revising texts and emphasis must be on the problem areas. Try practicing the writer’s skills and imitate their methods.

Strategies and Methodologies for Teaching Writing

References

Bagherzadeh, H., & Azizi, Z. (2012). Learners’ Beliefs about English Language Learning: Examining the Impact of English Proficiency Level on the Motivation of Students among Non-English Major EFL Students. Theory And Practice In Language Studies, 2(10).

Bill, A. (2010). Just another piece of paper: creative research and writing. Journal Of Writing In Creative Practice, 3(1), 5-15.

Dai, F. (2010). English-language creative writing in mainland China. World Englishes, 29(4), 546-556.

Delgado, T. (2015). Metaphor for Teaching: Good Teaching is Like Good Sex. Teaching Theology & Religion, 18(3), 224-232.

Edwin, M. (2012). Writing GOLD: A celebration of writing at Goldsmiths. Journal Of Writing In Creative Practice, 5(2), 175-187.

Evans, S. (2016). Creative accounting: using creative writing to teach accounting principles. New Writing, 13(2), 281-290.

Gröppel-Wegener, A. (2013). Writing in creative practice ‘on tour’ – a somewhat personal narrative. Journal Of Writing In Creative Practice, 6(2), 151-153.

Harper, G. (2005). The Creative Writing Doctorate: Creative Trial or Academic Error?. New Writing, 2(2), 79-84.

Harper, G. (2010). Creative Habitats and the Creative Domain. New Writing, 7(1), 1-4.

Huschle, B. (2012). Learner Outcome Attainment in Teaching Applied Ethics versus Case Methodology. Teaching Philosophy, 35(3), 243-262.

Jin, J. (2010). A Strategic Speculation of English Teaching Methodology in the 21st Century. English Language Teaching, 3(2).

Jolly, M. (2011). Life Writing as Critical Creative Practice. Literature Compass, 8(12), 878-889.

Keihaniyan, M. (2011). Teaching Methodology and Motivation: Comparison of Iranian English Private Institute and High School. Journal Of Language Teaching And Research, 2(3).

Lockheart, J., & Wood, J. (2007). Editorial The ethical purpose of writing in creative practice. Journal Of Writing In Creative Practice, 1(1), 5-11.

Lord, A. (2010). Creative visual art storytelling and concept development. Journal Of Writing In Creative Practice, 3(3), 227-256.

Liu, S., & Laohawiriyanon, C. (2013). Students’ Attitudes towards Cultural Learning in the English Classroom: A Case Study of Non-English Major Students in a Chinese University. International Journal Of English Language Education, 1(3).

Mencía, M. (2011). Connected memories: Contextualizing creative research practice. Journal Of Writing In Creative Practice, 4(1), 37-51.

Overall, S. (2015). Walking against the current: Generating creative responses to place. Journal Of Writing In Creative Practice, 8(1), 11-28.

Reading, C., & Moriarty, J. (2010). CLTAD International Conference, 1213 April 2010, Berlin Creative partnerships: Helping creative writing and visual practice students to make links between their creative processes and their personal, vocational and academic development. Journal Of Writing In Creative Practice, 3(3), 285-298.

Schoonen, R. (2006). Book Review: Second language research: methodology and design. Language Teaching Research, 10(3), 351-355.

Singay, .. (2018). English Oral Communication Needs of Bhutanese Students: As Perceived by the Teachers and Students. English Language Teaching, 11(4), 74.

Susar K?rm?z?, F. (2015). The Effect of Creative Drama and Creative Writing Activities on Creative Writing Achievement. TED E??T?M VE B?L?M.

Tajino, A., & Smith, C. (2005). Exploratory Practice and Soft Systems Methodology. Language Teaching Research, 9(4), 448-469.

Woolfson, J. (2013). Padua and English students revisited. Renaissance Studies, 27(4), 572-587.