Cooperative Online Writing Lab Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Writing Concepts for ESL Students

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Welcome! Here at COWL, we understand that you, as an ESL student, sometimes need extra help with writing. This PowerPoint is designed to help you have a better understanding of writing concepts. So, put the paper that you are working on out of your mind and relax!

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Developing Details  Your audience, whether it be a professor or a friend, will usually expect your paper to say something specific about a topic, problem, or event.  If you do not provide enough detail, your readers may not be able to understand the point you are trying to make.  We call this detail “support.” Your paper needs support to hold it together, and if you have too little support, your paper becomes weak.  If you are concerned about support within your paper, ask your professor what kind of detail he wants, or ask him how can improve support within your writing.

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Advice on Drafting  Do not focus on grammar, vocabulary, style, or editing while you are writing your paper.  Instead as you draft (write) your paper, focus on what you are trying to say and how you are trying to say it.  You will have time later to focus on grammar, vocabulary, and editing.  If you worry about these matters too much while you are writing your paper, your process will be slowed down so much that you will lose track of your ideas you are trying to develop.

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Paragraphs and Preciseness  Your paper should have a thesis statement. This statement tells the reader what will be covered in the different paragraphs that make up your paper.  Your paragraphs should have a specific focus and a topic sentence for guidance. A topic sentence is like a mini- thesis statement; it tells the reader what the paragraph is going to cover.  Remember to stay on topic within the individual paragraphs and throughout the entire paper.

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Sentences Spice it up!  Avoid opening a sentence with the words “there is” and “there are.”  These types of sentences are hard to read and write.  Variety is also important for sentences.  Avoid using the same sentence patterns over and over to help with variety.  As you write and revise, think about the sentence patterns you use regularly. With that in mind, consider how you could change some of your sentences to add variety.

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Revising & Editing  These two steps are essential to the writing process.  Revising is taking a closer look at your paper to see if everything fits together as it should. Sometimes you will need to put a sentence in a different paragraph because it fits better there. Other times you might need to rearrange an entire paragraph.  Editing is going through your paper to check for misspelled words, typos, and any other mistakes that might be in your paper.  A key to revising and editing is reading your paper aloud. When you hear what you paper sounds like, you will get a good idea of what needs to be changed.

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 A Word About Using Dictionaries  Sometimes you will not be able to think of the English word that you want to use in your paper.  Bilingual dictionaries are useful tools; however, for every word, they list several options.  When you choose a word from the bilingual dictionary, be sure that you look that word up in an English dictionary to be sure that it really is the word that you want to use.

Don’t Get Frustrated! Remember!  Writing takes A LOT of practice, so just keep on writing!  Also, the more you read and write in English, the better your spoken English will become.  COWL & the Writing Center’s friendly staff are here to help you! Bluefield College COWL, 2005

Need More Assistance? Stop by the Writing Center or Come back to COWL again and again! We Mooove fast to help you! Bluefield College COWL, 2005

Other Good Resources The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) Bluefield College COWL, 2005