Reflection 5

Writing & Writing assessment

I think writing is the least communicative of the skills (known as productive skill) as we spend much more time communicating verbally today whether it's face-to-face or on the phone. It can take a long time when people would rather be speaking. Still, it is necessary for business people (e.g. letters, reports, memos etc.) and college bound students to pass their TOEFL test essay section and to function well in their university classes. I often remember my secondary school teacher often used extensive writing in my last school year as an assessment type because she wanted us to have writings for all purposes: letter, essay, story and script. Because of this, we were confident on our HKALE.  I think writing assessment is the most difficult as teachers may need some product or process approaches for a stronger writing skill. Steps include providing a sample product/ sample writing; having students analyze the layout; guiding students to think about the structure culturally; deciding on standards, formal or informal; organizing rough notes; writing first and second draft etc.