Pre writing strategies

In order help students develop an excellent piece of writing or essay; it is important that students are introduced to the process approach of writing. Too many times as teachers, our focus is entirely on the final product of students work rather than on the process. A proficient writer must go through the stages of the writing process in order to produce an excellent piece. From my observation of an English lesson, I realized that students were so interested in writing an excellent piece while writing their first draft. Students kept tearing the pages from their notebooks. The teacher’s attempt in trying to stress that their first draft does not have to be perfect was almost of no success. As teachers, I believe that it is our responsibility to introduce students to the process of writing as early as possible. I could definitely relate to the students because from my own experiences. I was not familiarize to writing more than one draft, I wrote my essay and submitted it; hence my first attempt always had to be the best. If students understand that writing is a process then their attitude towards writing too may change.

Prewriting is the first stage students are normally introduced to before writing an essay. Students must first pick a topic that interests them. Unfortunately, some students are faced with the difficulty of choosing a topic. The teacher can inspire or assist students by allowing students to use a diverse amount of media, personal experiences, dreams, visual arts and research to create a topic. In developing a topic student can use prewriting strategies such as listing and brainstorming. Students can also discuss their topic with a friend. After students have selected a topic the next step is to free write. Students can free write about the reasons for selecting a particular topic. Students can then discussed with a friend to find out whether their topics are too broad and how they can make it more specific.

Another prewriting strategy that can be used is called blind writing. As the name suggest when writing using this strategy, student should not be able to see what they are writing. This strategy can be used to allow students to identify the main ideas and possibly a thesis statement. Students can also start organizing their ideas using graphic organizers. Another, prewriting strategy that can be used is called the questioning strategy. This strategy helps students focus on specific ideas whiles writing.

It is important that teachers note the importance of using pre- writing strategies in the classroom. Pre writing strategies can assist students in generating and clarifying ideas. It helps keep students focused on what they are writing.