What is writing system?

Definitions:

A system of more or less permanent marks used to represent an utterance in such a

way that it can be recovered more or less exactly without the intervention of the
utterer.
(The World's Writing Systems)

A set of visible or tactile signs used to represent units of language in a systematic

way, with the purpose of recording messages which can be retrieved by everyone
who knows the language in question and the rules by virtue of which its units are
encoded in the writing system.
(The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writings Systems)

Writing systems use sets of symbols to represent the sounds of speech, and may also
have symbols for such things as punctuation and numerals.

Writing systems are:

Functional - providing a visual way to represent language

Symbolic - they represent cultures and peoples.

 As a teacher we need to:

Be very familiar with what writing is all about

Know why people write

Know what kinds of things they write and for what purpose

Know what a writer of different kinds of writing needs in order to write

successfully

Know the various stages in the development of writing skills

Purposes of writing
reasons:
1. to get things done
2. to inform
3. to persuade
4. to maintain relationships
5. to document occurences, events
6. to record feelings, experiences, observations

What Makes Writing So Important?

Writing is the primary basis upon which your work, your learning, and your intellect will be
judgedin college, in the workplace, and in the community.

Writing expresses who you are as a person.

Writing is portable and permanent. It makes your thinking visible.

Writing helps you move easily among facts, inferences, and opinions without getting
confusedand without confusing your reader.

Writing promotes your ability to pose worthwhile questions.

Writing fosters your ability to explain a complex position to readers, and to yourself.

Writing helps others give you feedback.

Writing helps you refine your ideas when you give others feedback.

Writing requires that you anticipate your readers needs. Your ability to do so
demonstrates your intellectual flexibility and maturity.

Writing ideas down preserves them so that you can reflect upon them later

Types of writing
ESL literature

Expressive writing writing what one feels (the writer is as important as the
writing eg: personal letters)

Transactional writing information / transaction-oriented (writer may not be as

important than the writing eg: bills, agreement, reports, schedules, etc)

Poetic writing concerns aesthetic aspects of writing (write to derive or give

pleasure)

Classification of Malaysian educators

a. Personal informal, less structured, private (eg: shopping list, diaries, personal

letters, messages, etc)

b. Professional / Transactional well organised, pays attention to message to be

conveyed (business letters, memos, proposals, rules and regulations, etc)

c. Creative Self-expression, leisure (poetry, anecdotes, jokes, riddles, songs,

stories, etc)
according to modes
Narrative contains sequence of events with characters and setting (story,
science fiction, etc)
Description detailed account of physical attributes as well as qualities of
persons, things, places (details of people, places, things, concepts, etc)
Expository presentation of facts, information and explanation of things as they
are (explanation, factual info, instruction, etc)
Persuasive contains writers point of view and statements to convince the
reader to agree with his/her view point (advertisements, political essays,
brochures, etc)
Argumentative discussive essay containing a proposition and evidence of proof
( opinions, discussions, evaluations, etc)

Subcategories of writing:

Argumentative Writing - This form of persuasive writing has a primary

purpose of making a statement that the reader will disagree with, then supporting
the statement with specific details that will convince the reader of the truth of the
statement

Business Writing - This form of expository writing has a primary purpose of

communicating with others in the work place.

Comparison and Contrast Writing - This form of expository writing has a

primary purpose of showing the similarities and differences between two
subjects.

Expressive Writing - This form of creative writing has a primary purpose of

sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings on the topic.

Informative Writing - This form of expository writing has a primary purpose

of providing information in a clear, concise manner.

Literary Response - This form of expository writing has a primary purpose of

providing a personal reaction to a piece of literature.

Personal Narrative Writing - This form of narrative writing has a primary

purpose of sharing an experience or event from the author's own life.

Poetry - This form of creative writing has a primary purpose of imaginatively

reflecting on a subject, idea, or event. This is usually done in stanzas rather than
paragraphs
Process Writing - This form of expository writing has a primary purpose of
explaining the steps or procedure of something.

What a writer needs to know

1. Subject matter writer needs to know info about the topic s/he wants to write
about (can be obtained from many sources)
2. Purpose writer must have clear purpose for writing and this affects the way s/he
writes (eg: persuasive, informative, etc)
3. Interaction and a sense of audience writing involves interaction either with self
(diary, etc) or with others (letters, reports, etc). Interpersonal skills are important
here (consider readers level of language, knowledge, status, culture, etc)
4. Language writer needs a repertoire of language adequate for his/her needs. This
means knowing a range of sentence patterns, words, awareness on of appropriacy
of register, stylistic variants in expressing different ideas, knowledge of English
idioms, discourse (and anything related to it), mechanics of writing, etc
5. Conventions since writing is a social activity, there are certain conventions
(format) to follow. Different purpose of writing may have different conventions (eg:
advert, memo, ticket, etc)
6. Thinking Skills writing is a thinking process. Many thinking skills are needed
selecting what is important, discarding what is not important, how to logically
argues, creativity in making writing interesting, etc.
7. Organizational skills include well-formed paragraphs with clear main ideas and
supporting details, logical sequencing, cohesive devices (eg: logical connectors), etc
8. Value systems writer lives by certain values and holds views about everything
what is important in a subject, what is beautiful writing, appropriate way to
communicate with someone older/of higher order. All these affect the way of
writing.
9. Mechanics handwriting, spelling, layout, punctuation
10. The Writing Process know processes to be a good writer selecting a topic,
getting ideas, drafting, revising, editing, proof-reading, publishing, etc