An Effective Method in Teaching Writing for Middle School Students

This paper examined the effect of process-based and product-based writing on middle school students’ writing. 56 students participated in the study: they were divided into two groups: process-based writing and product-based writing. The participants wrote three essays and their essays were evaluated in the areas of content, organization, and words. The results showed that the process-based writing was more effective than the product-based one in improving students’ writing. The pre- and post-writing test also illustrated the more positive effect of the process-based writing. However, it is worth noting that both writing methods enhanced the students’ writing; while the process-based writing was facilitative of the students’ writing by allowing them to review their peers’ essays and discuss their papers, the product-based writing was conducive of enhancing their writing by offering the students a writing model to refer to. The paper concludes with pedagogic suggestions.