TESOL Journal 34 TESOL Journal, Vol. 4(1), June 2011,  ISSN 2094-3938 First Year College Students‟ Perception of the Process Approach in Honing Critical Writing Skills Jose Cristina M. Parina De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines TESOL Journal Vol. 4(1), pp. 34-41 ©2011 http://www.tesol- journal.com Abstract Philippine writing classrooms are still generally following the product approach since as a developing nation, this approach is still not feasible given the number of students per class, size and poor condition of a classroom, and the non- changing tradition of classroom teaching. Thus, the process approach being adopted by DLSU is considered to be a major leap in teaching writing. Yet, due to its novelty, Philippine textbooks on process approach is still scarce, thus making the professors at DLSU adopt a mixture of different approaches and trends. Eventually, this approach has failed to achieve the desired literacy due to improper implementation. Thus, this rote approach became just another uninspiring task to be fulfilled in every writing session by DLSU students. This paper investigated how a holistic view, emphasizing writing as a recursive process, is ineffective for second language learners, specifically first year college students who are exposed to this approach for the first time. Different stages of the process were discussed in terms of effectiveness in producing quality works. Substantial evidence from 150 outputs shows that 80% of the stages are done for compliance. Keywords: Process Approach, Product Approach, Organizing Stage, ENGLCOM, input Introduction Over Contemporary writing classrooms now emphasize the recursive or the process approach to writing as a reaction to the usual product approach. The process approach was defined by Tribble (1996, p. 160) as 'an approach to the teaching of writing, which stresses the creativity of the individual writer, and which pays attention to the development of good writing practices rather than the imitation of models'. Accordingly, it is different from product approach to writing where students hand in a paper out of a prompt provided by the teacher, and at times only one draft is required. Jordan (1997) also believes that the process approach evolved as a reaction to the product approach, in that it met the need to match the writing processes inherent in writing in one's mother tongue, and consequently allow learners to express themselves better as individuals. This trend, which first became popular in the U.S., is now adopted by many Asian classrooms. Yet, despite the reputation of this approach, teaching writing still remains to be the most difficult area for SL and FL learners of English. Ideally, in a process approach, students are provided avenues to brainstorm for ideas, draft their papers several times, edit, and revise according