A brief description of the ways EFL teachers can help their students write better essays and research papers.

1. Teaching Academic Writing:
from essays to research
Thomas Tasker
English Language Fellow Program
tct118@psu.edu

2. PowerPoints and handouts…
1. tesolukrainesummerinstitute.pb
works.com
2.personal.psu.edu/tct118/presen
tations

3. Overview
• Linking reading and writing
• Academic writing: essays
• Process vs. product approach
• Portfolios
• Research projects
• Teacher / student writing consultations
• Plagiarism
• Creating a writing goal

4. Writing skills
1. What do students need to be able to do to
become good essay writers?
2. What do students need to be able to do to
become good research paper writers?
Be specific!

5. Writing tied to reading
• Students need to write often about what
they read, and publish what they write
• Have students react to the reading they
are doing for class.
• Have students react to topics they read in
depth
▫ Research a curriculum topic
▫ Give a presentation in class
▫ Write a paper about what they discovered

6. Publishing what students write
• Writing in the real world is public
• Teacher Class World
• Ways to publish:
▫ Pass out copies of student work
▫ Students write on blogs
▫ Students write on wikis

7. Blogs
A blog is an online, semi-public
journal that displays the user’s posts, and
allows visitors to post responses
Blogging = individual reaction to something
+ the comments of others
Informal, independent writing

9. Blogging
• What are the potential problems your
students might have with blogging?
• Not all students will have access
▫ Kontakt; Facebook; World of Warcraft
▫ Students can work in pairs
▫ Give students time to post
▫ Students can turn in the work on paper

10. Blogging projects
• Autobiography
• Add a new chapter each month
• Other students read, comment on
• Student responses to reading, films, class
discussions, curriculum topics
• Follow-up writing task from class work
• Students can add pictures, video, Powerpoints
• Reading blog
• Add 10 entries per semester about class /
home reading

11. Wikis
Wiki = web-based collaborative writing
space
• Wiki wiki means ‘quick’ in Hawai’ian
• Allows multiple users to add and edit
content of one shared space
• Users add new pages to create a network of
hyperlinked documents
• More student control = more success

13. Wiki projects
• A student newsletter
▫ Students add information monthly
• A town / district information source
▫ A resource for tourists
• Extra information on curriculum topics
▫ Assign students different topics, they create a page
on the class wiki with links, pictures, videos, etc.
• Student cookbook
• Student essays
▫ Students have their own page for essays; other
students proofread their writing, make suggestions

14. Academic writing
• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
• ESL writing, style guides, how to run a
writing tutorial, resumes, cover letters,
writing exercises

15. Essay writing
• Builds on paragraph writing work
• Learning essay structure essential
• Formulaic to creative
• Student’s voice to informed opinion

16. Rearrange the steps of the writing process
• ___ Publish
• ___ Brainstorming
• ___ Assess the topic
• ___ Write the second draft
• ___ Editing
• ___ Revising
• ___ Write the first draft

17. The 5-paragraph essay
• Introduction (1 paragraph, 4-5 sentences)
▫ Hook
▫ Thesis statement
• Body (3 paragraphs, 3-4 sentences)
▫ Topic sentence
▫ Supporting statements
• Conclusion (1 paragraph, 4-5 sentences)
▫ Re-stated thesis statement
▫ Closing statement

18. • During the cold months of winter, I often dream of the white, sandy beaches of an island
country, where the sun shines warmly upon my face. Then I wander to another corner of
the world, where I find myself walking among trees tall like giants and I feel as if I am one of
Hook
the exotic animals running freely below. Yet each time I begin to dream of traveling to
another country, my mind keeps returning to a place with historical pyramids where strange
spices waft through the air and beautiful, rhythmic music lures me into a trance. For me,
Introduction
Egypt has always been a place that has an indelible mark of history, culture and mystery and
is a place I hope to visit one day. Thesis statement
• If you study history closely, you will notice that Egypt has played a central role in world
history time and again. Books tell us stories from the beginning of time when pharaohs
ruled the land, to today, when the fight between democracy and extreme Islamic views
make Egypt a powerful player in world politics. Yet, books can only provide us with a
limited view. To fully understand and experience a country, we must travel to this place,
Body
where we can walk on the streets where these leaders walked, visit the places where these
important decisions were made, touch the monuments crafted in their honor.
• Also, the culture of the Egyptians has infiltrated the ways of life in countries near and far.
Today, we can see Egyptian influences in our food, clothes and even furniture. Often
popular culture is influenced by Egyptian music and fashion. In America, belly dancing,
Topic sentences
which originated in Egypt, is popular among young women. Although the proverb reminds
us that imitation is the best form of flattery, American belly dancing classes and Egyptian
jewelry purchased in Ukraine are only artificial representations of this country’s culture. I
want to visit Egypt’s bazaars and eat in its restaurants because such authentic experiences
Supporting
will create memories that I will be able to remember the next time I watch belly dancers or
wear an Egyptian necklace.
sentences
• Finally, people often travel around the world trying to find answers to its mysteries, and
Egypt has always been a place of intrigue for many travelers, including myself. I hope that
my adventures will help me understand that culture’s place in history and explain why the
rest of the world is so fascinated with their traditions. It is possible that my travels will only
create more questions, but these questions can be the beginning of a lifetime of
globetrotting.
• In conclusion, Egypt’s history, culture and mysteries have transfixed the world for
Conclusion
centuries and its influence can be seen across the globe. I believe that we can find answers
through our experiences. Books are helpful but limited, and traveling is the best way to
discover unknown worlds. I hope that one day I will be able to visit Egypt so that I can
satisfy my curiosity about this country, its people and traditions. Last message

19. Graphic organizers for essays
Essay
thesis or
question

22. Make an outline
Introduction
Thesis Statement
____________________________________________
Reason #1
Topic Sentence
____________________________________________
Support A
_____________________________________________
Support B
_____________________________________________
Support C
______________________________________________

23. Reason #2, 3
Topic Sentence
______________________________________________
Support A
______________________________________________
Support B
______________________________________________
Support C
____________________________________________
Conclusion
Thesis Statement (restated in different words )
_____________________________________________

24. Revising and editing
• Students revise and edit the first draft of
their essays
• Students can read each others’ first draft
and underline parts they don’t
understand, or underline words and
grammar they aren’t sure about
• The teacher revises the students’ first
drafts

25. Revising
Check list for students:
▫ Is my argument clear?
▫ Did I include the necessary background
information?
▫ Do I present only one idea per paragraph in the
body?
▫ Do my supporting statements support my topic?
▫ Do the paragraphs fit together in a way that makes
sense?
▫ Does my conclusion summarize the key parts of my
essay?

26. Teacher (and peer) feedback: revising
• Higher order concerns first
▫ Clear focus / thesis
▫ Appropriate for Audience/Readers
▫ Good organization (paragraphs and
structure)
▫ Good development (relevant & sufficient)

27. Lower Order Concerns
• Grammar
▫ sentence structure
▫ punctuation
▫ prepositions
▫ articles
▫ verb tense
• Word choice
• Spelling

28. Process vs. product approach
• Multiple drafts of essays
• Self editing and revising
• Peer editing
• Teacher editing, and suggestions
about revising
• Publishing

29. Portfolios: a process approach
• Portfolios are used to collect samples
of student work over time to track
student development.
• A portfolio should contain samples of
a student’s work and teacher and
student reflection of that work.

30. Portfolios
• Writing samples such as dialogue journal
entries, book reports, essays, reading log entries
• All versions of the writing (1st draft, 2nd draft)
• Interview notes
• Peer-editing notes; teacher comments
• Writing checklists (by student, peers and
teacher)
• A reflective report about the student’s
writing development - written by the
student

31. Research papers
Tasks for improving research writing:
• Paraphrasing (sentences)
• Summarizing (passages, then whole
articles)
• Citations – what style?
• Give students a 5 sources (article, chapter,
from Internet, etc) and they write a
bibliography

32. Essays to research papers
1. Students start with a personal essay,
already written.
2. They find three (expert) articles that are
relevant to their thesis statement
3. They cite appropriate information from
the articles to support their position
4. Cite the sources appropriately, and add a
‘references cited’ list on the last page

33. Essays to research papers
1. Everyone in the class gets the same three
sources (articles, chapters, etc.), chosen by the
teacher
2. Students write brief summaries of each article
3. Students write an essay appropriately citing
information from all three sources, and include
a the references at the end of the paper

34. Summarizing articles: organizers
• Title (student own • Title (student own
title for article) title for article)
• Full citation (MLA, • Full citation (MLA,
APA, etc) APA, etc)
• Research question • Thesis / question
• Sample • Discussion points
• Methods • Conclusions
• Results • Theory
• Theory • Links
• Links

35. Linking the research topics together

36. Research Project Overview
• Title
• Background
• Problem
• Aims / research questions
• Participants
• Method and Analysis
• Significance (answering ‘why should anyone
care?’)

37. Typical ‘moves’ in a thesis introduction
• Move 1 Establishing a research territory
▫ By introducing previous research in the
specific area
• Move 2 Establishing a niche
▫ By indicating a gap in the previous research, or
raising a question about it
• Move 3 Occupying the niche
▫ By outlining purposes/aims, or research
questions/hypotheses; By providing previews
of each chapter in the thesis

38. Academic writing conferences
• Purdue Online Writing Lab
▫ English as a second language
 ESL Instructors, Tutors
 ESL Orientation for Writing Lab Tutorials

39. Tips for Success
• Be a guide, not a ‘guru’: help the student to
discover his/her own methods and ideas.
• Model, don’t prescribe: demonstrate how to
apply something once, then let the student
invent on his/her own.
• Review and/or refer: let the student leave with a
task or a resource so they stay focused beyond
their conference.

40. Setting an Agenda
• What does the student want to work on?
• Why is agenda-setting important?
▫ Tutorials are different from the instruction in
the classroom setting. Tutors usually ask what
students want to work on.
▫ Students know their own writing best.
▫ They (and you) should be realistic about what
can be done in one tutorial and set priorities.

41. Plagiarism
• What is plagiarism?
• What do you do when your students
plagiarize a source?
• How can you encourage students to
stop plagiarizing?

42. Writing goals
• What is a writing goal your students
could achieve this year?
• By the end of the year, I want my
students to…
• Write complex sentences, cohesive &
unified paragraph, well-structured
composition, properly cited research
paper

43. Questions, comments?
Thomas Tasker
Senior English Language Fellow
tct118@psu.edu