Murray opened “Teach Writing as a Process Not a Product” by defining what he believed was the problem with writing instruction. Most secondary and postsecondary writing teachers majored in English and trained in deconstructing literature, Murray said. As teachers, they applied the same approach to student writing. They concentrated on analyzing student papers for their flaws. Murray proposed instruction that focused on a process in which students discovered their ideas as they wrote and found the language for sharing their thoughts with an audience. Murray’s method put greater value on teaching students to think like writers than on the finished products students created.
In “Teach Writing as a Process Not a Product,” Murray explained a three-stage writing process. He believed writers spend 85 percent of their time prewriting, which includes all the thinking, research and planning that happens before starting the first draft. Murray looked at the next stage, writing, as a form of discovery. When they finish the first draft, Murray said, writers know how much or how little they know about the topic. Everything else, in Murray’s view, was rewriting. Many teachers focus on editing in this stage. Murray, however, defined rewriting as “rethinking and redesigning” the first draft to suit the intended audience for the piece.
Murray identified 10 implications for teaching writing as a process for students and instructors. Most of the implications involve putting students at the center of the writing classroom. Murray believed students need a time and place to write. He also said they need encouragement to find topics and audiences. Murray’s essay discouraged teachers from assigning topics or pieces by genre. Instead, he believed students need to find the topics they want to explore and select the right format for presenting their thoughts, whether that be essay, short story or poetry.
“Teach Writing as a Process Not a Product” downplayed the importance of final grades in the writing classroom. Murray recommended students read each other’s papers for response and guidance. Murray wanted students to learn that there are very few definite rights and wrongs in writing. Instead, he wanted students to see that writers make choices. Sometimes those choices work and sometimes writers need to explore other possibilities, Murray said. Grammar doesn’t become a factor until the end of Murray’s process. He believed students should see grammar as a tool for making the ideas clear to the reader. Murray wanted students to see that all writing is experimental, and choices that work in one piece don’t necessarily work in the next.