teach English writing

Writing Class Week 5

by

Back to school and another week of building writing skills.

This week it’s a mix of different ideas, lessons and activities to improve word choice. Among the six writing traits we have so far looked at organisation, voice and sentence fluency (choppy sentences). This week let’s focus on choosing great words.

Writing Activity 1: Fill in the Details

We did not have enough time for this activity last week. So let’s try again.

Some students have a hard time writing a paragraph with enough details to give the reader a clear picture of what they are talking about. Adding a few details can really improve your writing.

Here is an example. Read the paragraph. It is a simple description of a man and his actions. You can see the main parts of the story are there. But there are few details.

A man walked into the room and saw that there was a party going on. He glanced across the crowd, and as soon as he saw that she was there, he turned around and walked out. He didn’t even stop to put on his coat on the way to the front door, but walked out into the snow. The next day, he never answered his phone.

Read more

Week 2 ESL Writing Class

by

This week, the ESL writing class has several specific composition objectives.

  1. Learn the six parts of good writing. They are called Six Writing Traits.
  2. Practice rewriting a short passage with a better description and better voice.
  3. Write a short story with a great description and a strong voice.
  4. Write a story that shows us an emotion but does not tell us the emotion. 

SIX WRITING TRAITS

IDEA: a clear message. Good writing shows, it does not tell. Include bits of information often forgotten. Stimulating, interesting, surprising content.

ORGANISATION: The structure of the writing. Is it compare and contrast, point by point analysis, chronological? There is a beginning and an end.

VOICE: We can see there is a person writing to us, not a template. There is feeling, humor, personality.

Read more

Week 2 – Six Writing Traits Lesson

by

This week will learn about and practice Six Writing Traits.

SIX WRITING TRAITS

It’s a framework to help teachers evaluate student writing. The framework has six variables:

IDEA: a clear message, the content. Good writing shows, it does not tell. Bits of information that are often overlooked. Stimulating, interesting, surprising content.

ORGANISATION: The structure of the writing. Is it compare and contrast, point by point analysis, chronological? The story unfolds with ease. There is a beginning and an end.

VOICE: We sense there is a person writing to us, not a template. There is feeling, humor, personality.

Read more