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Creative Writing Instruction: Theories and Practice

陳 月 妙中正大學外文系教授folymc@ccu.edu.tw

Nov. 15, 2011

I. Definition of Writing II. Theories & PracticeIII. Features of A Good WriterIV. Tips to Improve Writing AbilitiesV. My Example of Composition CourseVI. What You Can Do with your Sts

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I. Definitions

“There is no separation between writing, life, and the mind.”

Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones

“Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery.” Henry Miller

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subject

message

writer (self) reader (audience)

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Writing is…

a process of communication

which uses a conventional system

to convey a message

to a reader

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Writing is a process of - exploration (the self & the world)

- discovery (the self & the world)

- communication (with the self & the world)

- learning (We learn to write, we also write to learn)

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II. Overview of Composition Research and Practices

1.Product-based Research on Composition

- emphasize the composed product - analyze discourse into word level, sentence level, paragraph level - focus on style and usage - evaluated on clarity and

correctness rather than originality

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- the composing process is a linear

movement

- chief concerns are language, syntax, organizational patterns

So, the focus of composition instruction is overly concerned with correctness, conciseness, and clarity, prescriptive forms.

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Pedagogy: Controlled composition: focusing on accuracy instead of fluency or originality

Contrastive rhetoric: Writing instruction emphasizes not only on grammatical form, but also on rhetorical form by training in recognizing and using topic sentences, examples, and illustrations. It stresses imitation of paragraph or essay form.

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2.Process-based Research on Composition

Writing is- a process of generating ideas,

creating meaning, and problem-solving

- a recursive and reflective process- engages writers with moving back

and forth in drafting- varying audiences and purposes taken into account

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Process teaching approach concentrates on the stages of writing, prewriting, drafting, and revising. The writer is the focus of instruction.

Pedagogy: Personal writing styles Free writing Journal writing Expressive writing

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- Contextual factors, social & cultural factors - Peer response - Teacher response - Internal features: temperamental and emotional factors, writing apprehension

3. Classroom-based Research on Composition

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4. Content-based Research on Composition

- The focus has shifted from the writer to the reader – the reader within the academic discourse community.

- At college, students need to move cognitively from “writer-based” to

“reader-based” prose.

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In a reader-based prose, a writer takes into account the purpose and audience of the writing.

- to appeal to their readers’ needs and interests

- to take into account of academic demands and the expectations of academic readers

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Pedagogy: Writing-across-curriculum for L1

English for academic purpose (EAP) for L2

It is a reader-dominated approach focusing on language teaching as socializing students into the academic community. For L2 learners at university settings, their writing assignments should be tied to subject matter in a specific discipline.

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5. Post-Process Research on Composition Post-cognitivist theory and pedagogy Literacy as ideological arena Composition as a cultural activity By writing, writers define or redefine thei

r relationship to the community or institutions. This movement has been trying to expand and broaden the domain of L2 writing in research as much as in teaching rather than see post-process only as a paradigm shift.

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Pedagogy:

A Socio-Cultural Approach to Writing

Writing is a process of communicating with the world, also a cultural activity, so that the topics and issues to be discussed and written should be well related to the expectations of the society and fit in the social and national contexts.

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A Metacognitive Approach to Writing

- to help students develop their self- reflective competence

- to train students to increase their self-awareness as a learner and writer

- to enhance their self-regulated learning and build up their learning autonomy and turn to be a self-educator and life long learner

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III. What makes good L1/L2 writers 1. A Clear Mind with Logical Thinking

Process (5 W + H )

2. Observing Eyes 3. Open Heart

4. Self-Reflective Awareness 5. Sensitivity towards Language (Words, Meaning, Text)

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IV. How to improve your English writing ability?

1. Keep on reading and writing regularly: To develop writer-based writing through free writing and extensive reading to be a fluent self-discovering writer - to expand vocabulary inventory - to enrich background knowledge - to increase sensitivity to the slight

difference of word usage - to increase word power by duplicating

words through word family

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2. Transfer the self-exploring writer to a reader-based writer

- to be concerned with the needs of the

reader, the purpose, the audience, the

organizational patterns

- to get familiar with the organizational

patterns such as description, narration,

exposition, and argument

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beginning advanced

writer-centered reader-centered

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3. To be familiar with the needs and expectations of the specific purposes of your professions or academic fields

At this stage, a writer develops to be a skillful writer to be able to write professionally for his/her fields.

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As Smith (1994) put it,

“Writing encompasses familiarity with so many conventions in so many areas – in spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, grammar, cohesion, discourse structure, and register”; however,

“We learn to write by writing.”

Summary

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V. My example of Composition Course

Theories I adopt: Process Writing Approach (multi-drafting, free writi

ng, journal writing) Metacognitive Approach (Self-regulated learning) Socio-Cultural Approach Critical Thinking Pedagogy Peer Review Rhetorics: Organizational Patterns Extensive reading Whole person education

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Conceptualization

What: Critical thinking process: 5 W + H

What: Definition

What: Self vs. world (globalization, localization)

What: Features of good writers

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How: Summarizing: 3 keys: words, concepts, sentences

How: Learning processesHow: Writing processesHow: Logical connection:

Cohesion, coherenceHow: Peer reviewHow: Organizational patternsHow: Self-regulated learning

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Organizational Patterns:

Narration

Description

Exposition 1. Illustration, 2. Definition, 3. Process analysis, 4. Classification, 5. Cause and effect, 6. Comparison and Contrast

Argument: pros vs. cons

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Topics we discuss and write: Get to know the self

Get to know my hometown

Get to know my generation

Get to know my country

Get to know the world

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What have sts completed in one semester?

1. 40 - 50 journal entries (news summaries & free writings)

2. 4 official assignments/each 4 drafts3. 3 team reports: 228, book report, Taiwan project4. Interview with parents5. A field trip to AIT in Taipei6. A letter writing to President Obama7. A portfolio

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VI. What you can do with your students

1. Sentence structures re-orientation 2. Communicative writing practice: Journal

dialogue writing (Pair work) 3. Guided paragraph writing 4. Extensive reading group with summary w

riting 5. Process writing and collaborative learnin

g 6. CALL writing: online writing, blog, email,

facebook

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1. Sentence structures re-orientation

S + Vi S + Vi + SC

S + Vt + O S + Vt + O + OC

S + Vt + IO + DO

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2. Communicative writing practice: Journal dialogue writing

(Pair work) Journal writing to have a dialog with

each other Journal exchange Simple writing, even with picture drawing

in it The purpose is to increase motivation

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3. Guided paragraph writing Use Process writingi. Brain stormingii. Idea generatingiii. Draftingiv. Writingv. Revising Collaborative learning: Work together to complete a

paragraph

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4. Extensive reading group with summary writing

Graded readers of short stories of 300 words, 400 words or above …

Form reading groups Copy good sentences Key words with sentence making Summary writing: 5 W + H

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5. CALL writing: Online writing, blog, email, facebook

Communicative approach Authentic writing Meaningful writing with purpose Fashionable Updated with the age of technology Pair work

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Conclusion

“We learn to write by writing.”

The only key is to write, write, and write.

We are teaching people, not just teaching writing.

Thank you!