A panoply of teaching resources.
Helping English instructors teach better, plan faster and work smarter.
Articles are indeed confusing for ESL students learning how to write English stories, essays and reports.
Knowing how to write a sentence with the correct article is a tough job for ESL students. There are so many rules and the rules are confusing.
Often, regular, short practice exercises are a good way to help students learn this important writing task.
This
Building strong writing skills requires more than grammar rules. Students also need vocabulary fluency—the ability to recall and use words quickly without relying on a dictionary. A well-chosen ESL creative writing activity can give learners the practice they need to strengthen word recall and improve written accuracy. Dictogloss is one of the most effective options. It blends listening, speaking, note-taking, and writing into a single structured ESL writing lesson, making it an ideal choice for busy teachers who want powerful, high-impact classroom results.
This writing activity helps English students learn how to write a well structured paragraph by learning and practicing how to:
This is the first sentence of the paragraph. This sentence tells the reader the main idea.
This is a hard lesson to learn for some students. They think that when they make a claim no proof, evidence or details are required. This is not a mistake – it is a cultural difference in writing styles.
Finish the idea or paragraph with a conclusion. This gives the paragraph unity and cohesion.
Learning how to use definite and indefinite articles is not easy for ESL students. There are so many different rules and exceptions. This quick review might help. It provides a simple explanation for six common rules about A/AN and THE.
Click to get the article grammar explanations, worksheet and answers.
Need an extension activity? This picture prompt can be used to combine two tasks. Ask students to write a short story based on the pictures. Tell students they should pay close attention to their use of articles in the story.