Transcript Cooperative Online Writing Lab

Cooperative
Online
Writing Lab
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 minithesis 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
Variety
types of sentences are hard to read and write.
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.
Bluefield College COWL, 2005
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
Come back to
Writing Center or 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)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Bluefield College COWL, 2005