Reflection on the Product Vs. Process Approach to Writing

Before starting this course, I never gave any serious thought to the manner in which I was taught how to write. I assumed that writing was a skill which was acquired automatically. I also assumed that I had automatically become a functional writer. All of these assumptions were derived from the fact that at the lower levels, I was never explicitly taught how to go through the process of composing texts. My classmates and I were simply given a model of the type of text we were to produce. We were shown the format for organizing our ideas in the text, and a sample of the key words and phrases necessary for producing this type of text was given or discussed. We were then asked to use these as aids to produce our own pieces.

It was not until last semester, when I did a writing course with Ms. Polius, that I realized there were other ways to teaching writing. First, we were asked to choose a topic. Then we were introduced to the different methods which can be used to generate ideas, such as brainstorming, freewriting and clustering. We then moved on to how to create effective openings for our pieces, how to effectively build paragraphs, and how to conclude in a manner that does not leave the reader hanging in mid- air or unconvinced – if we were writing an argumentative piece. There were also sessions where we read and critiqued the work of our classmates, and then revisions were made accordingly. All of these activities made me realize that there was a systematic process which can be used to produce a written piece, and I also began paying more attention to how I went about producing different types of texts, even when they were being written outside of the course.

As mentioned previously, I was not aware that there was another method for teaching writing, and therefore, during the few times when my students engaged in this activity, I reverted to the product method to show them how to construct their pieces. Looking back, I feel a bit guilty about using this method because I find it so ineffective for teaching creative writing. When I return to the classroom as a teacher, I will definitely make use of the process approach to writing. I feel this method actually helps students build their skills and confidence as writers. It also makes them aware that they are writing for an audience, and must therefore express their ideas in a manner that is unambiguous and convincing.