Category: writing

How Can a Computer Make Your Life Easier?

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How Can a Computer Make Your Life Easier?

Advances in software now allow students to receive feedback on micro-level aspects of their writing, which gives instructors more time to focus on higher-level writing skills. Taking advantage of this software can help students become better self-editors and can save instructors valuable time.

What a Computer Can Do
Software like ProofWriter, from ETS, gives students feedback on their writing. It can’t read in the same way that a person can, but it can analyze writing and compare it to huge databases of other writing. …

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Getting Students Ready for Academic Writing

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Getting Students Ready for Academic Writing

There was plenty of talk about academic writing during the American Association of Applied Linguistics conference. This article gives a quick summary of the most interesting things discussed.

Focus on Academic Literacy
In order for students to be able to do academic writing, they need a lot more than just good spelling and grammar. Several people talked about Academic Literacy, or understanding the academic conventions of a given educational system. Anastasia Riazantseva, for example, cited academic literacy as a key area of importance for long-term college success. …

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All the Feedback in the World

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All the Feedback in the World

If you’re like most writing teachers, you give your students a lot of feedback. This helps them edit their initial drafts better. It does not, however, help them to become better self-editors, which can be a recipe for disaster in mainstream courses. The solution is easier than you think.

Add An Extra Step
(Please don’t stop reading; this won’t add to your workload)

Before students turn in their first draft, require them to do a formal self-editing exercise. …

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Poll: Speaking and Writing Difficult for Students

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Poll: Speaking and Writing Difficult for Students

In a recent informal poll, teachers in the U.S. report that extended
speaking and writing continue to be difficult for students. The causes
can vary from student to student, but simple concrete steps can help learners across a broad spectrum. These same strategies were incorporated into the Third Edition of NorthStar and have contributed to the series’ widespread popularity. …

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