Types of writer
We all know that we use our own strategies when composing texts, but it is useful for us to know how we write, even in our own language, as this will help us to better understand the challenges which our learners face.
Reflection activity 3
| When I start a new/unfamiliar piece of writing, I.... |
YES
|
NO
|
| 1. try to write the piece very quickly without worrying too much about the language I use. I know that I can always revise it later. | ||
| 2. write little parts of the text with care, and then piece them together. | ||
| 3. make a careful plan before I put pen to paper, and then follow the plan step by step as I write. | ||
| 4. make a brief plan, but then start writing more quickly after that. | ||
| 5. make a quick note of some headings that apply to the writing (rather like a brainstorm) before putting pen to paper. | ||
| 6. do something else (like get up and go for a walk) and let the ideas about what to write come to me. | ||
| 7. keep worrying about writing the wrong thing, so that the writing takes up a lot of time and energy. | ||
| 8. spend a lot of time checking words in the dictionary. | ||
| 9. keep going back to look at what I have already written. |
Now look at the commentary, especially what Creme and Lea (2000) have to say about different approaches to writing. Can you identify yourself as a particular writer? Or do you seem to have several different approaches? Once you have found what sort of writer you are, you may like to try writing something using a different approach. Would you be prepared to try another way of approaching writing, or do you feel that your own strategy suits you best?
Creme and Lea (2000) observe that no-one has one set approach to writing. In fact, we adopt different approaches depending on the purpose of the assignment. Any writer, in whatever language, is likely to use a combination of strategies for a given piece of writing. He or she may spend some time planning a task, but may then divide it into smaller, more manageable parts. Another writer, often to one's surprise, seems to produce certain types of writing with little effort or planning at all, while other tasks prove more difficult. The way that your own students write texts will also depend on arbitrary, changeable factors such as the following:
- the required length of the text;
- the difficulty of the task;
- the length of time the task is designed to take;
- pressures of work in other subjects;
- the students' time management skills;
- the way the students write in their first language (L1).
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
