When arranging supporting sentences in a paragraph, especially in a long paragraph in an academic context, it is also important that the information is organized in a logical order. This makes a student's writing fluent and easy to read. In this interactive resource students can look at different types of structure used within paragraphs, and practice putting sentences into the correct order according to those different structures. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

Thinking Outside the Box This activity will stretch students mentally and academically. They will get to practice the skills of observation and thinking, speaking, listening and taking notes, writing and reading. This lesson plan involves students looking at a photo for a short time and then talking about it, also listening to others describe their photo and writing a report based on what someone else said, and then error correcting someone else’s writing and writing in response to that piece of writing. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

Skimming and scanning in an academic context are two specific speed-reading techniques, which enable you to cover a vast amount of material very rapidly. They are similar in process but different in purpose. In this interactive resource skimming and scanning are explained and students are given a number of opportunities to identify each skills and to put these skills into practice. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

It is important for students to be able to recognize the difference between academic and non-academic language, and to be able to use the appropriate language in essays, presentations, discussions, etc. The information and practice activities in this resource will help students understand the differences between academic and non-academic language and to be able to use the language appropriately. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

Students are commonly asked to write compare and contrast essays. This resource explains the structure options and looks at the language we can use when comparing and contrasting information. The practice activities here take students through the process of discovering differences and similarities and then writing about them in a coherent and accessible way. This is an interactive set of exercises which will strengthen students’ skills in this type of essay writing. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

Writing the introduction and conclusion for an academic essay can be problematic for many students. Having informative, concise, well written introductions and conclusions can be the difference between success or failure when writing academic essays. This resource will help students understand the requirements of introductions and conclusions for academic essays, and give them practice at writing the different elements of these. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website. Other TES resources. Free: Finding the Right Word Paid: Efficient Reading

Correctly citing and referencing in essays is an essential part of academic writing. It is not a difficult skill once it is learnt, and this interactive resource provides explanations, advice and practice activities to help students master this skill. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

An introduction for an academic essay should introduce the topic and give some background information to the topic, introduce which focus of the topic this particular essay will look at and introduce specifically what the writer's stance is and what the writer will write about in the essay. This interactive resource leads students through the rationale for what is included in a good introduction, and provides a series of activities for students to learn and practice how to write an academic essay introduction. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

A good conclusion in an academic essay will let the reader understand the purpose of the essay, get a summary of the main ideas ad tell the reader what the writer’s opinion is. This resource leads students through the process of understanding and being able to write effective conclusions for their academic essays. This is an interactive resource in which students complete activities, answer questions and practice writing conclusions for themselves. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

Reading is something that takes a lot of our time. There is reading for classes, reading for fun and all the extra reading assignments for research projects and papers, and there may be limited time for other extra-curricular activities. Increasing the speed of reading will help cut back on some of this time! This interactive resource gives students practical information about why they should improve their reading speed, and practice activities to show them how. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

A key skill for students is the ability to paraphrase, and it is also one of the skills that students often report having difficulty with. This resource explains the logic behind paraphrasing and provides a series of activities for students to practice the different aspects of paraphrasing, leading towards the ability to be able to paraphrase effectively in their writing. This is an interactive e-learning resource that gives students the opportunity to try to paraphrase and to complete a variety of different activities within the resource. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

The aim of this lesson is to focus on the sentence and direct students’ self-study to improve their writing. In this lesson students will: • Review what makes a sentence • Consider ways to determine readability • Look at how to place information in a sentence • Review keys aspects of accurate sentences The materials here are designed for Foundation Year university students, but could be used for higher level high school students as either classroom materials or for students’ self-study. The materials include useful information about sentences and how they can impact on readability, and activities to help students write better sentences.

When you read, it is important to develop strategies to help you understand what you read. Without a good grasp of these different strategies, being an efficient reader becomes difficult or impossible. This interactive resource explains how students can improve their reading comprehension skills using different strategies, what to do with new vocabulary and how to better understand a text. The theory behind improving reading comprehension is backed up with a number of practical activities which give students practice with these skills. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

A paragraph is a group of related sentences that discuss one main topic. The ability to write coherent, well structured paragraphs is essential for students to be able to write academic essays. This interactive resource explains and demonstrates the purpose of the different parts of paragraphs and gives students the opportunity to practice using them. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

Cause and effect essays look at why things happen (causes) and what happens as a result (effects). The focus of these essays is on establishing connections and relationships between cause and effect, for example, what causes certain attitudes, or phenomena and then the consequences or effects that follow. This interactive resource explains the principles behind cause and effect, gives a large number of examples of the language used, and provides a series of activities to practice and reinforce the skills needed to write about cause and effect. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

An essay is a piece of writing which focuses on one main topic and contains a number of paragraphs. Because the topic is too complex to discuss in one paragraph, the content is divided into paragraphs and each of them discusses one main point. An introduction is added at the beginning to inform the reader of which aspect of the topic is being looked at in the essay, and a conclusion is included at the end of the essay to draw all the information in the essay together. This interactive resource provides information about essay structure and activities to help students understand how to put an essay together. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

This interactive resource looks at preparing sensibly for an exam, implementing a strategy for answering questions during an exam, and identifying what preparation strategies were successful/unsuccessful when reflecting on your exam results This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

In order to be able to summarize information, whether it is a passage, a list of statistics or a combination of the two, or any other written material, students need to be able to identify key words, the main ideas and how that information is organised. The interactive materials in this resource give students practice with the key skills involved in identifying key information in written texts, and practice at using that information to write summaries. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

Proofreading involves checking for mistakes with spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, formatting, and grammar, and correcting any errors. Learning how to proofread your own writing is a valuable skill. The information and activities in this resource will help students learn and practice how to proofread. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

Editing is the process of going through your text to make sure your writing is clear and easy to follow, and that the information you have included is factual. Editing may involve reorganization of ideas, linking of ideas and paragraphs, adding information that is missing, and removing unnecessary details. This interactive resource contains explanations and activities to give students information and practice to improve their editing of academic essays. This resource was designed for Foundation Year English as a Second Language students, although it could be used by any high school students. It can be used as a stand-alone self-study resource or to supplement classroom teaching. This resource is a Reusable Learning Object created on the Xerte Toolkits platform. You can access it via the URL provided or embed it into a VLE e.g. Moodle or a website.

The aim of this workshop is to highlight the importance of clarity in writing and the resources available to help you achieve this. In this lesson students will: • Consider what makes writing clear • Look at different language features you should consider when writing • Analyze your own writing to find your weaknesses • Identify resources in the SAC which can help you The materials here are designed for Foundation Year university students, but could be used for higher level high school students as either classroom materials or for students’ self-study. The materials include useful information about improving writing, different language features, helpful advice for students to analyse their own writing and activities to help students write better.