How to Teach Essay Writing to ESL Students Better
Teaching essay writing to ESL students is no easy feat. There's a lot of things to consider, such as making sure the language is correct, of course, as well things like structure, accurate covering of the topic, the context of the essay, and how well the points are represented.
Throughout this guide, I'm going to detail some of the ways you can make every essay writing task as beneficial as possible. Your students can take on board these tips with the aim of making their essays better than ever before.
There are lots of tips and advice I could share, but today I'm going to focus on the most important, hopefully giving you a great place to get started when it comes to improving your students essay writing abilities
Start with the Basics
The absolute first place you want to start is with improving your student's sentence structure since sentences, after all, are what go into making an essay what it is. You'll want to start with teaching your students about basic sentences and then move onto compound and then complex.
Build it up slowly and highlight the key differences between each sentence type and why they would be used and what effect each sentence type has.
There's plenty of information online on how you can approach the basics of essay writing, such as on websites like Revieweal, Boomessays, Studydemic, Ukservicesreviews, and Assignment writing service, or you can simply ask a question you may have in your preferred search engine.
Understanding the Topic
A student will not be able to write a proper essay if they don't truly understand the topic they're writing about. Whether your students get to choose their topics or not, it's important that you explain that they should take their time to research and have a proper grasp on the topic they're writing about.
"It's important to remember that you can also suggest topics if the students are struggling to think of their own, ones that you believe will play to their strengths. Remember, essay writing within the ESL community is all about building confidence. If the students believe they can do a task, then they will be able to do it," explains Fergie Marie, a writer at Ukwritings and Custom Writing.
It's all about overcoming that first hurdle.
Break the Essay Down
Most essays are written in the same way, very similar to how stories are written. They have a start, a middle, and an end, and highlighting this structure form is a great way to make essays seem a little less daunting.
After all, being tasked with a 1,000-word essay can feel overwhelming at first, but when you break it down into three main sections that can be focused on individually, the task seems a little more manageable.
Of course, each section of the essay has a specific purpose. The introduction is meant to grab the reader, hook them into the writing, and sets the tone for the essay ahead. The middle is for laying down and explaining the points that would answer the question of whatever the essay topic is about.
Finally, you have the conclusion, which wraps everything up, answers any questions that were asked, and rounds off the essay nicely. Focusing on these points can help massively when it comes to writing an essay because there's less thought needed on what you need to write and more focus on what the actual writing will be.
Practice, Practice, Practice
"It might seem a bit mean to set regular essays all the time, and you don't want to be that kind of teacher, but the best way to get better at essay writing, as with everything else in life, is to practice. This means giving your students essay tasks to complete, and then reviewing the mistakes and highlighting what they did well," shares Duncan Turner, an educator at Assignment Help and Essayroo.
And that's the important bit. Not only do you want to highlight the areas where your students can improve or perhaps correcting mistakes they made, you always want to make sure you're showcasing what they did well and congratulating them on the bits they got right.
This inspires confidence and will encourage your students to keep trying, keep writing, and keep getting better.
Katherine Rundell is a book writer at Essay Writing Service and BigAssignments. She writes about teaching and helping ESL students make the most of their educational efforts. Also, she is a proof-reader at Essay writing services reviews.
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