Writing

Writing

By Nickyta Nur Aryda

Writing is one of language skills that have to be learned by students in learning a language, especially English. In writing skill, they increase their idea to make a good written text and they have to pay attention to the grammar and the punctuation. Writing skill is not easy, and it becomes one of difficult lesson in the school since the students have to produce their own text by using English.

1.      Definition of Writing

According to Murcia (2000: 161), writing skills is often perceived as the most difficult language skill since it requires a higher level of productive language control. Also, Murcia states that writing is production of the written word that results in a text but the text must be read and comprehended in order that communication to take place.

From the statement above we know that writing is not easy skill. It need more concentration and more production of language control. The students have to find a good idea of their written text. After they find the idea, they have to develop the idea into a good paragraph. The process of writing is not only like that, after the paragraph is done, students have to check it to make sure that the grammatical, vocabulary, and punctuation is correct.

Another definition of writing is given by Heaton (1975: 138), writing skill is complex and difficult to teach, requiring mastery not only of grammatical and theoretical devices but also of conceptual and judgment elements.

From Heaton’s statement we know that not only writing process that difficult, but also teaching writing is difficult too. Teachers must have a good technique when teach their students. Also, they must know the material well before teach it to the students, or they will make the students do not understand the material they have explain. Teacher should make the teaching learning process is fun and enjoyable. This condition can make the students do not feel nervous and difficult in understanding the writing material.

According to Mark Hancock & Annie McDonald, Writing is a process, from gathering ideas through to checking what has been written. It is also a product, a text.

2.      Writing as a process

The writing process consists of the steps we take when we produce a piece of writing. The process may include some or all of the following:

·         Brainstorming (making a note of ideas, words and phrases related to the topic, in the order they come to mind)

·         Planning (categorising and ordering the ideas according to the task)

·         Drafting (a first attempt to write the ideas as a continuous text)

·         Revising (deciding how to improve the first draft, in terms of both content and accuracy)

·         Rewriting (writing the text again including the improvements)

3.      Writing as a product

The writing product in “real life” is a text with a purpose. The purpose may be for example to inform, to thank, to request, or to simply entertain. The success of the text depends on the accuracy of the writing and the appropriacy of the content.

·         Accuracy :

1)      Grammar

2)      Vocabulary

3)      Punctuation

4)      Spelling

5)      Capitalisation

6)      Legibility

7)      Appropriate text conventions (e.g. letter format or headings for a report)

·         Content :

1)      Communicatively effective (the writer successfully conveys information to the reader)

2)      Sufficiently detailed

3)      Logically organised (the reader finds it easy to follow the writer’s ideas)

4)      Original/interesting (not just copied or part-copied)

5)      Believable (the ideas expressed make sense in terms of the real world)

6)      Stylistically appropriate (it conveys the tone required e.g. formal for a job application)