FAKULTI PENDIDIKAN DAN BAHASA

SEMESTER JANUARI 2014

HBEL 3103 SMP

TEACHING OF WRITING








NAMA : SAMSUL FUAD B. MAHMUD
NO. MATRIKULASI : 650114035573003
NO. KAD PENGENALAN : 650114035573
NO. TELEFON : 0196464371
E-MEL : mysamsulfuad@yahoo.co.uk
PUSAT PEMBELAJARAN : BATU PAHAT

TUTOR : EN. GHAZALI BIN ABDULLAH


SAMSUL FUAD BIN MAHMUD
650114035573003
HBEL3103 SMP


HBEL3103 SMP TEACHING OF WRITING 2

CONTENTS PAGES

INTRODUCTION 1

THE GUIDELINESS OF PEER EDITING 1

THINGS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY IN PEER EDITING 2

THE BENEFITS OF PEER EDITING 3

THE CHALLENGES OF PEER EDITING PRACTISE. 5

1. Lack of Experiance 5
2. Bias
3. Poor Grammar
4. Lack of Knowledge in Sentence Structure 5


CONCLUSION 6


REFERENCES 7



SAMSUL FUAD BIN MAHMUD
650114035573003
HBEL3103 SMP


HBEL3103 SMP TEACHING OF WRITING 1

INTRODUCTION
Peer editing is an important activity which allows writing teachers to help their students
receive more feedback on their papers. It also give students practice with a range of skills important
in the development of language and writing ability, such as meaningful interaction with peers, a
greater exposure to ideas, and new perspectives on the writing process (Hansen & Liu, 2005;
Mangelsdorf, 1992). As educators, we want to give students more responsibility, accountability, and
involvement in the learning process. Creating independent learners is the goal, and one way to
approach that goal is to have students monitor their own progress through peer editing.

Peer editing involves students working together to evaluate and revise each others writing.
As students review the writing of their peers, they share ideas, create an atmosphere of cooperation,
develop independence and responsibility, identify strengths and weaknesses in their writing and
reinforce editing skills.

THE GUIDELINESS OF PEER EDITING
1. Read the essay through without writing anything, just to get to know the essay.
2. Read the essay a second time, critically. Ask How would I improve this essay if it were
my own?
3. As students think of improvements, they may worry about hurting the writers feelings.
Writing is an intensely personal activity and sometimes a great deal of ego gets tied up in
the end product. But the most important thing is to learn, and to learn we must, to some
extent, put ego aside. Therefore, although students should consider peoples feelings, good
peer editors will still suggest improvements. To avoid hurt feelings, phrase all of your
comments as positive I statements. For example, if the introduction is boring, a good
peer editor might say, I think you could improve the introduction by making it more vivid
or adding more detail.
4. Using the peer-editing guidelines below, it's a good idea to quote from the writers essay as
often as necessary and wherever the sheet asks for it. It is imperative that peer editors give
the writer something he or she can take home and use as a revising tool.
5. Look over the comments that made on the essay and talk briefly to the writer. Summarize
the comments for the writer and ask questions about anything that might be a problem.


SAMSUL FUAD BIN MAHMUD
650114035573003
HBEL3103 SMP


HBEL3103 SMP TEACHING OF WRITING 2

THINGS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY IN PEER EDITING
1. Is the introduction effective, that is, does it make you want to read on? If it is effective,
state what makes it effective. If it is not an effective introduction, suggest what the writer
might do to improve it. Could the writer use more details or tell a story? Should the writer
find a more general connection or start with something more specific?
2. What is the thesis statement of this essay? Is it manageable? Is it focused? Is it strong?
Does it give direction to the writer? Does it tell the reader what the essay is about?
Is this essay organized clearly? To make this judgment, carefully read each paragraph and
determine what each paragraph is about. Point out any problems and suggest how they
might be corrected.
3. Does the writer use effective topic sentences to begin each paragraph and develop that
topic throughout the paragraph? If yes, give one good example. If not, provide the writer
with a good example of the problem and suggest how the problem can be corrected.
4. Does the writer need more or better transitions to link the paragraphs? Quote from the
essay to show where transitions are effective. And quote from the essay to show where the
writer needs to use or change transitions.
5. Does the writer clearly follow the thesis of the essay? If not, point out places in the essay
where the writer loses focus and suggest what the writer might do to get back on track.
6. Does the writer use sufficient details and examples? If so, tell where the writer has used
detail effectively, quoting directly from the essay. If not, suggest where the writer could
incorporate more details and examples.
7. Are there any words, phrases, or sentences that are not clear? If so, give the writer some
examples.
8. Is the conclusion effective? If so, state why it is effective. Quote to show where the writer
has succeeded in closing with a strong restatement of purpose. If not, suggest ways that the
writer could improve the conclusion.
9. Now that you have read the essay carefully, does the title reflect the writers purpose?
Does it grab your attention? Could it be improved? How?
10. List at least three strengths of this essay. Quote where you can to show the writer exactly
where he or she succeeds.
11. List at least three things about this essay that could be improved. Quote where you can to
show the writer exactly what detracts from the content.
SAMSUL FUAD BIN MAHMUD
650114035573003
HBEL3103 SMP


HBEL3103 SMP TEACHING OF WRITING 3

12. Do you see any problems with spelling, grammar, or punctuation? (Dont fix their
mistakes. But indicate the problems they need to address. For example, they need to
look up the rules for comma use or watch for confusion with their and there.)
13. Provide the writer with your overall impression of his/her essay.

THE BENEFITS OF PEER EDITING
1. Peer editing decreases the amount of paperwork for teachers. It develops self-esteem and
encourages students to work more independently and produce a piece of standard-setting
work. It enables students to work cooperatively and reinforces writing skills. Peer editing
is a technique that results in active, motivated participants in the learning and writing
process.

2. Students must know what is wrong, often before they can get it right. By having students
learn the steps of the writing process, the elements necessary for a good essay, and what
kinds of things are important to include (or leave out) of a well-written essay, they can
then apply that knowledge to their own writing. By having students edit and evaluate
poor, mistake-ridden writing, they learn to train their eyes on what they dont want to do
in their own essays. The worse the essay is, the more students can catch. The more
they do this, the more they realize that their own writing isnt so bad! That does not
mean that students should be exposed to another students bad essay. Instead, use non-
model essays, such as those from previous years classes as examples.


3. Students should take an active role in the community process of writing. Too often,
teachers and students work in an isolated environment, where student writes essay and
teacher grades essay. An opportunity is missed in this environment: the opportunity for
students to read more, have conversations about writing, and learn from each other. By
having students participate in the peer editing process, students take an active interest in
each others writing, and root for them when their essay comes back from the teacher at
the end. By hearing from another student, they learn that they are not being lectured to,
but that another person who is someone their own age can grasp and use these
concepts and therefore, these goals dont seem so far out of reach for their own writing.
SAMSUL FUAD BIN MAHMUD
650114035573003
HBEL3103 SMP


HBEL3103 SMP TEACHING OF WRITING 4

With only the teachers perspective, the student can unfortunately feel as if the writing
environment is a me against her scenario.

4. Students cannot write in a vacuum. It is essential for students to get feedback from
someone other than an adult, often to really hear what they are doing right and wrong. By
integrating peer editors into the process, students are hearing (in an ideal environment)
several points of view, which improve their communication about the writing process,
their engagement with the students (and therefore, the world) around them, and they are
able to garner different perspectives from students of varied ability levels and
backgrounds. Once students feel confident in a classroom that promotes a
comfortable learning environment for making mistakes together, students can feel safe to
take more risks in their writing and sharing their ideas and personal perspectives with
others. Your students have varied backgrounds and knowledge levels. Use them!
Encourage your students to use their own background knowledge and world perspectives
to offer insight into that students essay.

5. The more students are actively engaged in something, the better they learn it. According to
the Learning Pyramid developed by the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioural Science in
Virginia, America, learners retain 90% of what they learn when they teach someone
else/use immediately, 75% of what they learn when they practice what they learned, and
50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion. By engaging in peer editing
(if done correctly) students are sure to learn! Students must be taught what they are to
look for when peer editing, how to engage in relevant and sensitive discussion, and how to
constructively criticize. This process must be taught after students learn what is actually
supposed to go into an essay, and you as the teacher must take an active role in making
sure students are trained to know what to look for, and that students are on task with the
editing and discussions. Should students be looking for the connection of overall ideas?
Should students be looking for punctuation and spelling errors? Should students be
commenting on the essays position or ideas? What they look for is up to the teacher and
students need to have a clear goal in mind when they sit down with their editors pen.



SAMSUL FUAD BIN MAHMUD
650114035573003
HBEL3103 SMP


HBEL3103 SMP TEACHING OF WRITING 5

THE CHALLENGES OF PEER EDITING PRACTISE.
Many teachers were aware of some problems when peer editing being carried out. There are
several challenges that they might face. These challenges if not being encountered properly, will ruin
their main goal. Teachers must establish certain things before they can instruct their students to
evaluate or criticize their friends works.

1. LACK OF EXPERIANCE
Most students tend to admit their mistakes in writing if the teacher corrected them. This is
due to their believe in their teachers experience and knowledge. But, when their written work being
edited or criticized by their friends, argumentation will occurred. Though the instructions were
cleared, the feeling of doubt will still be there.

2. BIAS
When it comes to giving or writing opinion, peer editing sometimes invites bias. This is
because one person may disagree of the writers point of views. Certain disagreements can result of
rejecting marks. This will cause argumentation. Teacher should aware of this matter if he or she
wanted to avoid such matter. Teacher should not give a writing title that can oppose both the writer
and the editor.

3. POOR GRAMMAR
Grammar is something the teacher and the students should seriously aware when writing
something. Poor grammar may results of bad writing and the text will be hardly understandable. In
peer editing, the editor should somehow know what he or she was doing. Editing someones text
without any knowledge of grammar will cause disaster. A lot of things should be considered when
editing a text. Students must know the tenses, the nouns, the articles and so on. The text will be
ruined. The editor will be mistakenly negating some ideas in the sentences if he lacks of grammatical
knowledge.

4. LACK OF KNOWLEDGE IN SENTENCE STRUCTURES
A text consists of several paragraphs. The paragraphs will be strong if the sentence structures
are good. Marking a text always need a person to be very careful. This is important because when a
person who has no knowledge in sentence structures will always lost in their marking. Editing their
SAMSUL FUAD BIN MAHMUD
650114035573003
HBEL3103 SMP


HBEL3103 SMP TEACHING OF WRITING 6

friends text will be a disaster. Teacher must make sure that students must have appropriate
knowledge on how to construct good sentences before attending in editing peer work.


CONLUSION.
As we know, when doing peer editing, there are lots of things to be aware in order to get the
goals from it. Teachers should know what kind of text to be given to the students. The text must be
relevant and at their level of knowledge.

The students should be given some briefing before editing their friends work. Editing should
be transparent. No bias should be applied. Students should know how to play their role. Although
there are several challenges when doing the peer editing, there are also some benefits can be gained
from the exercise.

With a good guidance, students can accept the critics came from their friends. All criticize
must be sincere. The markers should follow the guides which have been listed by the teacher. In a
glance, peer editing can be a nightmare to the students. But when this exercise was correctly done, it
benefits to both the teacher and the students.

( 2750 words )




















SAMSUL FUAD BIN MAHMUD
650114035573003
HBEL3103 SMP


HBEL3103 SMP TEACHING OF WRITING 7

REFERENCES

1. Beachy, C. J., (1992) Enhancing Writing through cooperative peer editing; In N. Davidson
2. Brazil (2001) The Realm of The Red Pen: The Impact of Written Teacher Feedback on L2
Writing in REACT Vol. 20, No. 2.
3. Brooks, M., G., (1993) The Case For Constructivist Classrooms; Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
4. Edward, C. H., (2004) Classroom Discipline and Management; New York: John Wiley &
Sons Inc.
5. Gardner, H. (1993) Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice; New York: Basic
Books.
6. Hillocks, G. Jr, (2002) The Testing Trap, New York and London: Teachers College Press.
7. Jacobs, G. M.; Power, M., A; and Loh, W. I., (2002) The Teachers Sourcebook for
Cooperative Learning. California: Corwin Press.
8. Magone, K., (1996) Peer editing benefits you and your students; University of Montana,
School of Law.
9. Maxwell, J., (1996) Qualitative Research Design, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.
10. Mills, G., E., (2003) Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, New Jersey:
Pearson Education