Inside Out: Chapter 2 “Notes on Writing Processes”
Cary, a high school senior likens the writing process to a man beginning a maze. As writers, we run ahead at full speed until we make a mistake and hit a wall. Then we get up, check our bearings and start again from where we are.
An important point made in this chapter is that the writing process is not iron-clad. Successful writers use many different processes. Our job as teachers is to help students wrestle ideas onto the page and shape them. We do this by talking to students about their writing process and teaching them strategies that will help them improve. This chapter recommends at least 30 minutes of in-class writing time per week wherein teachers coach their students at work.
According to the authors, the effective writing process model begins with fluency. Students need to write often about topics they are interested in in order to become fluent with language. The next stage is control. Students learn to adhere to spelling, syntactic, and grammatical conventions. We need to coach their practice without discouraging them. The final stage is precision, where writers are not satisfied with any old word or sentence pattern. They demand precision when they choose precisely the right word for their ideas.
Student writers need the following components to be successful: strategies to develop ideas. This can occur through brainstorming, jot listing, clustering, webbing, freewriting, zero drafts, or journals. These methods can be called Getting it Started as opposed to Prewriting. The authors also believe there is a connection between idea finding and talk, so they advocate that students should be given the opportunity to explore topics verbally. Student writers also need several exemplars to examine when constructing a specific piece. Students also need to be given boundaries as well as offered freedoms. The teacher is compared to the game officer in a game reserve: he doesn’t demand that the elephants be more elephant-like, instead he makes sure that there is adequate food and water. Students also need a work-like atmosphere, which can be fostered by rituals and routines, boundaries and expectations. Lastly, students need encouragement and feedback; not advice-giving. Teachers should listen, ask questions, and explore possibilities.
One successful writing process model begins with getting it down (students write down 3-5 memories) and then talking about the possibilities of their topics. After about 10 minutes, students should choose one. For the chosen topic, students should get details on paper through brainstorming, clustering, or webbing (often exploring sensory details). Then students free write through the hard parts. Encourage them to finish their drafts. If a students get stuck, they go back to their list. Next, students share their work with others. This is to hear their piece read aloud. The teacher should model stopping, fixing things, making notes, striking out words, word substitutions, etc. Revision is the next step, which is easier on the computer and causes less resistance. Distinguish between revision (content) and editing (fixing mistakes). The final step is publishing. One good way to publish is to do a read-aloud where students choose an excerpt from their writing and show it off. Other students applaud and praise the work.
I found many of these strategies to be effective and have used many of them with my own students. I did learn some new gems like exploring the link between talk and idea finding. I also felt validated to see the fluiditiy of the writing process: that not every writing approach works for all students. I will continue to reinforce these best practices with my classes.
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