Reflection on Chapter 8 – Academic Writing
Comments(1) A good friend of mine, who was an ELL, had a difficult time in our writing-heavy courses (such as History and English) because of the large essay and research assignments we had. Therefore when I think about writing expository genres, I think of his experiences and how I want to be very conscience of how I approach my writing assignments (as a Socials Studies teacher) and how it will affect differentiated learners. I realize that at times, academic writing can have seemingly arbitrary rules, appear disconnected from life, and flat-out boring. And this is coming from somebody who enjoyed and continues to enjoy writing academic and research papers. Therefore I hope to find the right balance of choosing good expository essays that are highly informative, academically sound, well-organized, rich in content and detail––but also creative in language, in including a more narrative element, etc. I also think about the chapter’s emphasis on always teaching things in context––such as grammar rules––and to not utilize isolated and abstract writing exercises. Therefore the chapter highlights the importance of immersion and how ELLs and students in general just need to encounter good writing, again and again and again. I think that literature or popular fiction can be engaging and informative tools to help with academic writing.
I think therefore I would want to incorporate more examples of popular culture such as screenplays, comic books, TV shows, movies, and other rich narrative elements and sources in my lessons. Through the dissection and analysis of what makes these examples good writing and good stories, my students will learn more about organization, about clarity, about perspective, about setting up a problem or tension––all of which is involved in academic writing. Students therefore need good teachers who are not only passionate about writing, but who can use the right tools, examples, and methods to cultivate the passion and skills in the students for academic writing yes, but also writing in general.
Michael Yang
I enjoyed reading your post and as an English teacher, I agree that academic writing can be tough to read and reproduce particularly for ELL students. In a tutoring training program I went through with UBC Writing Centre, we specifically talked about the ways in which ELL students can develop and improve academic writing skills. One thing that stuck with me is that many of these students may already have developed academic writing styles in their native language, styles that may be quite different from English academic styles. For example, the typical five paragraph expository essay introduced and reiterated throughout secondary education emphasizes a linear approach to academic papers that is conventional to the English language and thought process; however, many languages present ideas in nonlinear ways.
For instance, I recall writing in Chinese in elementary school and the one thing teachers typically emphasized is being indirect and elusive. This pattern is also reflected in the students I have tutored where linear ways of presenting ideas are not as entrenched as it may be in an English context. Therefore, I agree with your point about exposing ELL students to conventional, academic writing in English, giving these students a template that they can refer to and learn from. I also believe that as important as it is to promote academic writing in the English language, it is also important to acknowledge other styles of academic writing — in other words we are not necessarily teaching to replace the student’s writing style but rather providing guidance in recognizing and using different styles of expression depending on the context.
Lucy Yang