Improving Academic Writing at KS4 and KS5

Helen LinesUniversity of ExeterH.E.Lines@exeter.AC.UK

Developing literacy: a shared responsibilityAddressing literacy in curriculum subjects is not

about doing the job of an English teacher: it is about inducting learners into how knowledge is expressed and how thinking occurs in that subject’s disciplinary context.

Writing is powerful. Students who can write well are hugely advantaged in any subject which examines learning through writing.

Key teaching implications

What are the typical patterns of language that create a successful written analysis or explanation in your subject?

How can you teach these patterns of language alongside subject content?

TEACHING WRITING TO EXPLAIN AND ANALYSE

WASSILY

KANDINSKY

Referring to these examples, describe Kandinsky’s use of colour and shape. What impact do these paintings have on you?

Composition VII, 1913

White Zig-Zag, 1922

Resonance Multicolore, 1928

Grammar provides a way of describing what writers do with language in order to be successful in a particular type of text, and particular ways of thinking. The suggestion is not to teach a raft of terminology but to be explicit about important structures and patterns of language that students can imitate.

Language PatternsPurpose Text Level Word/Sentence Level

■ What is its

purpose?

■ Who is it for?

■ How will it be

used?

■ Layout

■ Structure and

organisation

■ Sequence

■ Typical cohesion

devices

■ Prevailing tense

■ Viewpoint (first

person, third person)

■ Active/passive voice

■ Typical sentence

structure and length

■ Typical verbs

■ Typical nouns and

adjectives

Task: Think about a specific written activity in your subject which is either an explanation or an analysis. How much can you say about the characteristics of this text, using the table above as a prompt?

Teaching subject vocabularyOne very obvious marker of weaker writing is that it has limited vocabulary, often related to speech.

Often what is needed is vocabulary which is more formal, more precise and more typical of writing.

What is the term for ‘the people who have moved to work in another place’?

Teaching subject vocabulary

Many classrooms already display key subject vocabulary. These are often nouns – consider the verbs needed in your subject, as they frequently relate to higher-order thinking skills and to appropriate ways to communicate in your subject.

What would be better verb choices here?

Many students lack a vocabulary for evaluating effects and effectiveness. If this is important for your subject, how might you develop one?

Teaching noun phrasestonality choral texture melodic device

noble gases covalent bonds forces of attraction

swash backwash constructive waves

an earthquake-proof building such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco

essential fatty acids

Teaching noun phrasesExplain, giving examples, how recycled

materials can be used in fashionable textile products

Describe the relationship between the magnitude of earthquakes and their frequency

Describe the negative effects of illegal blood doping used for enhancing performance

Outline the problems caused by the continued use of fossil fuels as an energy source

Teaching noun phrasesTeaching topic-related vocabulary in the form of

noun phrases can be more effective than teaching single words. Noun phrases are often used in questions, and represent concepts that students need to understand. They are also an important ‘grammatical chunk’, so encouraging students to use them contributes to improving clarity of sentence construction.

Teaching noun phrasesA noun phrase refers to all the descriptive information

attached to one ‘head’ noun. It is a chunk of a sentence and cannot form a sentence

on its own as it needs a main verb to complete it.Often this information comes before the head noun: Environmental issues (are a concern for consumers) adjective + nounAn earthquake-proof building (is designed to withstand....)determiner + adjective + nounConsumer concern about environmental issues (is increasingly...)adjective + noun+preposition + adjective + noun

Teaching noun phrases More sophisticated writing makes greater use of adding

information after the main noun. There are several grammatical structures that enable this e.g:

The Cold War, which intensified after Roosevelt’s death, (led to.....)

noun + relative clause

The Russian army, already weakened, (began to retreat...) noun + adverb + adjective

Heathcliff, despising Linton’s weakness, (reacts by....) noun + non-finite clause

Reconstruction after the Second World War (included....) noun + prepositional phrase

Thinking about the written activity you described earlier, or a topic/task you are soon to teach, list nouns, noun phrases and verbs you will want students to know.

How might you introduce these? How might you consolidate students’ use of them e.g. over the duration of the topic?

Teaching verbs and adverbials

breath rate and heart rate increase graduallythe athlete paces himself throughout the racehe needs to dispose of CO2 by breathing out

‘Adverbials’ is an overall term for single words, phrases or clauses that give additional information about how, when or where something happens. They can help students add detail to explanations, be more precise, or strengthen connections between ideas.

Initially, his muscles may begin to ache...Crucially....Later in the race....Eventually.....Consequently....As a consequence....

Teaching verbs and adverbials

Modal verbs: can, could, will, would, shall, should, may,

might, must

This could make his muscles ache but may improve the athlete’s range of movement.

His heart and lungs will need to work harder.

Modal verbs can help students speculate and evaluate possibilities, and connect and balance ideas.

WASSILY

KANDINSKY

Referring to these examples, describe Kandinsky’s use of colour and shape. What impact do these paintings have on you?

Composition VII, 1913

White Zig-Zag, 1922

Resonance Multicolore, 1928

Writing pedagogyCreate a classroom ethos in which writing

mattersTeach language structures and patterns

in context, clearly related to successful outcomes for your subject

Show patterns that students can imitate in their own writing

Use lots of ‘talk for writing’ – to gather ideas and organise them; to ‘rehearse’ writing; to discuss effectiveness.

Make it fun!

Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.

Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.