Writing in English: More than just words on a Page:

Writing skills:

Hi, if you're here, it's because you’re looking for help. Here, you can find some hints to help you organize your ideas, whether you're planning to help students improve their writing skills or use this material in general.

Now, it's quite important to remember that writing is not only about choosing words on a page, paper, or whiteboard; it’s a process of discovery, organization, and, most importantly, expression. In the EFL context its necessary to develop writing skills not only for academic success but also for cultivating learners’ ability to communicate creatively and confidently, now as Jeremy Harmer (2004) remind us, writing is both a product and a process, now this certainly requires attention to mechanics, coherence, and purpose.

So, how could we meaningfully foster writing in our classrooms? It seems easy, but we need to catch up on some practical points:

What are Writing Skills?

In EFL teaching, writing skills are divided into:

Mechanics: spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure. Don’t forget that little dots and commas are the ones that help us catch the idea.

Coherence and organization: logical applications on flowing ideas, structured paragraphs, so your reader doesn’t get lost.

Clarity of Purpose: adapting language to genre and audience, you can use some organizational questions as: Who am I writing for? What do I want to say/express?

Creativity and Expression: Using writing as a tool to explore thoughts and communicate meaningfully, it is a key to share your opinions, feelings, or how can I say this? With others, so you can also connect with them.

It is not only about accuracy- it’s about giving learners the tools to express who they are, how ideas are organized in their heads.

How to start? How could we get better at Writing?

From process to Purpose: This could be seen as the process before cooking, what are the steps we follow to get the final product? We have to pay attention to ingredients, recipients, tools, and others. Let’s say in here is the same, good writing is a process, not just a final product, let’s check it: 

Pre-writing: Brainstorm, draw mind maps, and use keywords and prompt analysis; remember you won’t find perfection. 

Drafting: Initial ideas emerge; they may be messy, and we need to be very empathetic to assist with spelling.

Revising and Editing: Shape the content, check the flow, polish the intention, and clearly assist in fixing grammar and punctuation. 4. Presenting or Sharing with Others: Share it with classmates, and it can also be digital. It's quite important: Don’t forget the audience—who will read this? Always remind students of the established intention; this will aid them in finding the intention, tone, vocabulary, and structure. 

Fun and creative writing ideas for class:

Here are some engaging activities to spark meaningful writing:

Photo story prompts:

Caption for students:

-Write the elements you see there:

-Write where the elements are located

-Can you write what is happening?

2. Real Life journals:

Write about your weekend. Do you have a pet? What do you do first on a day? 

Tell us about it: 

Here, the narrative around it will be challenging, but it helps them to recognize the vocabulary around them

3. Pass the story game:

Each person writes one sentence on a small paper, then passes it to the other, and then the final student will organize what they received into a short, creative story. This collaborative story circle will engage students and also, and they will naturally help each other.

4.     Writing for a digital audience: 

      Ask students to compose blog posts, or social media captions related to a theme, for example, “My dream Job”, “My English learning experience”

The teacher should show an example of what we normally read on the internet or apps.

Final thoughts:

Writing in English shouldn’t be boring or scary, it is like learning how to dance- starts with the basics, you follow the lead and what you feel, then you dance as you wish, when we write, we’re not just practicing grammar- we’re exposing our ideas, style even our voice.

So, where is your pen and notebook?

Bibliographic Sources and Resources for Teaching Writing in the EFL Classroom

·       Harmer, J. (2004). *How to Teach Writing*. Pearson Education ESL.

·       Murray, D. M. (1980). Writing as Process: How Writing Finds Its Own Meaning. In T. R. Donovan & B. W. McClelland (Eds.), *Eight Approaches to Teaching Composition* (pp. 3–20). National Council of Teachers of English.

·       Hyland, K. (2003). *Second Language Writing*. Cambridge University Press.

·       Nation, I. S. P. (2009). *Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing*. Routledge.

·       Raimes, A. (1983). *Techniques in Teaching Writing*. Oxford University Press.

·       Ferris, D., & Hedgcock, J. (2014). *Teaching L2 Composition: Purpose, Process, and Practice* (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Web Resources for Teachers and Students

·       British Council – TeachingEnglish: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/

·       TESOL International Association: https://www.tesol.org

·       Purdue OWL – Online Writing Lab: https://owl.purdue.edu

· Cambridge English Teacher Resources: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/resources-for-teachers/

·       ReadWriteThink: https://www.readwritethink.org

·       Colorín Colorado: https://www.colorincolorado.org