Writing Prompts: Some Background and an Example
Janice Penner, pennerj@douglas.bc.ca
Editors' note: As explained in the "News From CETC" column elsewhere in this issue, CETCer Janice Penner won the 2007 TESOL Mary Finocchiaro Award for Excellence in the Development of Pedagogical Materials. We asked her to comment briefly about her award-winning work, and are grateful for the opportunity for others to learn about it here.
Background
For the past 20 years I have required fluency writing in my academic preparation ESL classes. Over this time I have developed a system and created many topics that students have found fun, meaningful, and challenging. I have also presented workshops on fluency writing and finally decided to compile the topics for teachers to use. Heather Barnes, my colleague at Douglas College, has used my topics over the years, so I asked her to help me in the final stages of putting a book together. I self-published it as Think First, Then Write: 101 Writing Topics to Photocopy (Penner & Barnes, 2005), but I hope that a major publisher will consider it so that it can have wider distribution.
Description
The book uses prompts in order to help students develop fluency in their ESL writing. There are actually 114 topics divided into 13 themes, including self, beliefs/values, celebrations, cultural reflections, education, family, friendship, global issues, language learning, life experiences, technology, travel, and work. Each prompt is divided into two main parts. The first part, "Think First," offers a set of questions that provide a schemata or context. The second part, "Then Write," gives them the opportunity to write their ideas in different formats such as lists, poems, letters, paragraphs, sentences, brochures, responding to quotes, sketches, and charts. I have provided an example on spirituality below. The teachers' guide provides ideas for setting up a systematic fluency writing program, evaluating the writing, and using the topics for research, discussion, and process writing tasks.
Actually, I think the CD version of the book is the best to use because teachers can cut and paste and even change the questions and formats. One peer has used the CD for developing student blog projects. The book and CD can be purchased through Delta Systems, Inc. (www.delta-systems.com) or through my own distribution company (AACE - All About Communicating in English, aacejgtp@telus.net). I spent thousands of dollars on this project but I feel it was worth it because I do like sharing materials.
Students always tell me that they will keep their fluency writing journal forever. Here are a few comments from students:
- "The topics are a very good way to help teachers know what the students are thinking and doing, which is necessary for students to reach their goals." (PRC male EFL teacher)
- "The topics helped me develop my ideas in writing. Fluency writing directly improved my writing ability." (Russian male)
- "Through writing journals I am not so scared about writing anymore. I put all my heart into writing my topics." (Chinese female)
Indeed, the journal is a special "record" of a student's thoughts and English skills at a particular time in his or her life, and I encourage others to use fluency writing in their classes, whether they use their own prompts or those I have developed.
Janice Penner is an ESL instructor at Douglas College in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, where she covers mainly Canadian studies, global issues, and cross-cultural communication in her classes. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and photography.
Reference
Penner, J. G. T., & Barnes, H. A. (2005). Think first, then write: 101 writing topics to photocopy. Vancouver, BC: All About Communicating in English (AACE). ISBN: 1-0-973769-1-X
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Sample Writing Prompt
(Source: Penner & Barnes, 2005)
Title: Spirituality
Think First
Most people believe they have physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. A spiritual life helps some people understand the meaning of life. To be healthy, they eat (physical), learn (mental), and express their feelings (emotional). To take care of their spiritual needs, they may follow a religion, pray, meditate, do yoga, go on a silence retreat, and so on. What about you? What do you do to fulfill your spiritual needs?
Then Write
Imagine your close friend is healthy, wealthy, and very educated. However, s/he feels "empty" and feels there is no meaning to life. S/he has never thought about meeting the spiritual needs in her/his life. Write a letter to your close friend about what you think may help her/him explore the spiritual side of life.
