Evaluating Product Writing Approach in the Context of Malaysian Classrooms: A Conceptual Paper

This paper aims to evaluate the practices of language teachers in teaching writing in the Malaysian classrooms. For this purpose, a detailed investigation into the existing literature was carried out. More specifically, the paper investigated the motivation of teachers for using product writing approach in teaching writing. The paper attempted to answer two questions: first, why teachers in the Malaysian classrooms prefer to use product writing approach dominantly, second, how model essays can be effectively used for developing students’ writing skills. The existing literature revealed that teachers prefer to use product approach for several reasons. Helping students to obtain good grades, covering course requirements on time and preparing students for examination are some of the reasons for adopting this approach. The study also discovered that product approach is not an effective way to teach writing skills because it makes the students passive and become dependent learners. This paper suggests that teachers should use model essays carefully according to students’ needs and capabilities.