Conception of Writing

Writing is one aspect that should be learnt and mastered in language learning. Byrne (1979:85) states that writing involves the encoding of messages of some kind; that is we translate our thoughts into language. He apparently tries to add his information by defining that writing is to produce a sequence of sentences arranged in particular order and linked in certain ways. Writing act is nevertheless a complex activity.

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As a result, students find it difficult to produce or make a good written work. This fact could be expected to influence students’ behaviour toward writing activity. In relation to this phenomenon, Zamel (1976:63) says that writing anxiety of one particular student was linked to his limited writing experience throughout school and his belief that the teacher expects perfect paper. What counts here is the teacher’s expectation that students should write something perfectly based on the rules and purposes stated by the teacher previously. This makes the students tend to be in a great doubt in doing their writing assignments. Besides, Zamel (1976) as cited by Gere and Stem (1987: 96) says that the teacher’s way of viewing students’ writing is based on the sentence level instead of the unity of the writing as a whole. Consequently, both students and teachers focus their attention more on the grammatical structures of the sentences used in writing rather than on the content of the writing.

Writing well, whether in first or second language, is a process that can be learned and practiced. Most writers have to write draft after draft, first to generate and organize their ideas and then convey those ideas clearly to the readers (Raimes, 1997: v). Levin (1991: 23) states that writing is an act of continuous rethinking and revising. Writing processes include planning (prewriting) – drafting – revising – editing and proofreading. Writing is a continuous process of revising and rewriting as the writer invents, plans, and drafts his writing. Calderonallo and Edward similarly (1986: 5-15) state that writing is a recursive process, writer often doubles back while writing – altering content, making change in organization and wording, rethinking of text at every level. Moreover, they mention four common components of the writing process: inventing, drafting, revising and editing. In addition, Goldman and Hirsch (1986: xi) state that some elements involved in the writing process such as the topic, the audience, and the writer’s own personality and purpose which influence the organization and the language of a writing.

Furthermore, Schenck (1988: 50) states that once writer opens up and lets the words start flowing, composing and reworking a larger piece until it is ready for public to see is anavoidable. This process starts from generating ideas till the final draft, including several steps repeat cycles of revision and often works on several proceeding simultaneously. In addition, Langan (1989: 89) states that the key factors in writing is having right attitude about writing, knowing the subject, prewriting, outlining, rewriting and proofreading.

Goldman and Hirsch (1986: 10) state that no single method of writing works for all writers, but each method of writing must cover a message and purpose (meaning), developing and adopting a certain method of presentation (structure) and suitable language (style).