NCTE 2023

Academic and professional writing are often neglected in integrated-skills English language curricula, where the focus tends to be on basic writing tasks (e.g. filling in forms or applications) or short responses to prompts. More extensive writing is often limited to short narratives or descriptions. English learners who are preparing for workplaces, career training, or postsecondary education need preparation in the complex writing demands they will encounter, such as making claims and writing an argument supported by evidence, writing clear procedures, making comparisons, or reporting information. What are some bridges to academic and professional writing in English and how can we provide practice with these writing demands in any curriculum? The presenter highlights three practices that have been shown to scaffold academic and professional writing: 1) starting lessons with rich oral language development, 2) using graphic organizers to plan and organize thinking, and 3) providing sentence and paragraph frames at the early stages of writing for academic and professional purposes. Workshop participants experience sample activities and they are invited to identify concrete ways to apply the practices presented in their settings.