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Ten Tips for effective academic writing

Improve your academic writing through diagnostics, modeling, scaffolding, peer reviews, rubrics, and genre learning games. Understand the culture of writing and make learning fun.

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Ten Tips for effective academic writing

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  1. Ten Tips for effective academic writing WAESL 2009 AMY FENNING afenning@shoreline.edu afenning@sccd.ctc.edu fenninga@seattleu.edu

  2. #1: Do a diagnostic • When? • What? • Check with program, level, course instructors • Results will greatly guide your rhetorical and structural syllabus • Return the diagnostic to them for a reflective writing at the end of the quarter

  3. #2 DECONSTRUCT A MODEL • Piaget (cognitive constructivism) and Vygotsky (social constructivism) • Definition • ‘The world of the learner and the world of the expert’ • Task-based and flexible • All for discussion • Bridge it to their own assignment

  4. #4 Provide a scaffold • Particularly important for newer writers • Move beyond topic, support, conclusion and move towards depth of detail • Benson and Gray (UC Berkley Writing Project) • A sort of paragraph diagramming • How to coordinate and subordinate • Level 1 (L1): Topic and Concluding sentence • Level 2 (L2): Support • Level 3 (L3) Details, Examples • Train the students and expect it

  5. #5 Conduct a peer review • Value of peer review • Training students on value, and how to successfully complete • Clear, focused and task-based • Involving a one-on-one discussion • Numerous benefits

  6. #6 Create a rubric • Students should know and understand the rubric • Analytic vs. holistic rubrics

  7. IN CLASS vs. At home essays AT HOME ESSAYS • Process oriented • A chance to ruminate • An ‘opportunity’ for plagiarism • More fruitful peer review • More reflective of future classes IN CLASS ESSAYS • Their natural ability without ‘temptations’ • Learn to use time effectively • Future test preparation

  8. Consider the culture of writing! • Oral vs. literate societies (Luria in B&E, 1976) Which does not belong? • Orality vs. Literacy and the home/school disconnect • Trackton Gateway & Roadville (Heath in B&E 1983) • Writing as culturally defined (Kaplan, 1966) • Issues of Plagiarism (Hinkel in Celce Mercia, 2001) • Using Libraries – perspective (Hickock, 2009)

  9. #9 Make genre learning fun GAMES • Argumentative Essays • Process Essays • Compare/Contrast Essays GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS • Narrative Essays • Compare/Contrast Essays CAMPUS RESEARCH • Cause/Effect Essays • Compare/contrast Essays

  10. Make it a learning experience for everyone! • Plenty of structure-level error correction • A reflection on the process • What I really liked about this assignment was… • What challenged me about this assignment was… • I feel I learned a lot about… • I think I still need to work on…. • Allow for triad reading – input • Spend time with each student – in class or out of class – as much as possible

  11. Sources • Brown, Steven and Jodi Eisterhold (2004) Topics in Language and Culture Ann Arbor: University of Michigin Press • Grey, James and Robert Benson (n.d) Sentence and Paragraph Modeling University of California Bay Writing Project, Curriculum Publication 17 • Hickok, J. (n.d) Bringing them into the community: Innovative Library Instructional Strategies for International Ss. Practical Padagogy for Librarians, Chapter 17 • Hinkel, Eli (2001) Building Awareness and Practical Skills to Facilitate Cross Cultural Communication. In Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, Marianne Celce Murcia, ed) Boston: Heinle Cengage • Schcolnik, M., S. Kol & J. Aberbanel (2006) Constructivism in Theory and Practice. English Teaching Forum, Number 4.

  12. Thank you! Please email me if I can send you any more information • afenning@sccd.ctc.edu • afenning@shoreline.edu • http://facweb.northseattle.edu/afenning

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