An important issue in the teaching of writing is whether students should prepare a plan before they start writing. Teacher guides generally recommend pre-task planning (PTP) but with provisos. Research that has investigated PTP, however, does not lend unconditional support to PTP. This article takes a look at the research and draws from it a…

Although it is a well-known fact that students' preferred learning styles vary, many instructors teach in the way that reflects their own learning style preferences despite the fact that mismatches in teacher-learner styles may result in lower student achievement. In a traditional ESL or EAP writing class, students who prefer to learn by reading…

Writing, and the vocabulary building that goes with it, is a more complex process than merely putting words on a page. In the process of acquiring vocabulary, for example, students need to understand not just what individual words mean but also which combinations of these words in sentences or paragraphs convey a meaningful message to the reader…

A flexible writing curriculum meets varied student levels and goals by basing courses on students' own written work. Activities in this type of curriculum include: prewriting activities, first drafts, peer critiques, instructor feedback, worksheet handouts, and second drafts. (Author/CB)

Describes a foreign language composition course which uses peer group teaching techniques at the pre-writing and revision stages as a supplement to teacher instruction and evaluation. (Author/CB)