From Need Analysis to Model Development: The Process-Genre Model for Teaching Essay Writing

A good learning model is a model developed based on the analysis of learning needs and feasibility. Many instructional models exist, but they may not suit the characteristics of a course. This article discusses the process-genre model for teaching essay writing based on students’ needs. Conducted as a research and development study at the English Language Teaching Study Program of Universitas Negeri Padang, data were collected from students’ questionnaire responses. Results show that: (1) explanation and examples should be considered as input in teaching, (2) students need to develop a wide variety of text types, (3) students need exposure to different essay topics to enrich world knowledge, and (4) students need appropriate tasks/activities to improve knowledge and skills. The model developed includes syllabus, teaching-learning stages, and learning materials, demonstrating that need analysis can effectively guide the development of a process-genre model for essay writing.