English Language I. Academic Paragraph Writing

Impresiones FL de Natalia Rondini

Lugar: Córdoba; Año: 2019 p. 76

978-987-1976-86-7

Writing is not only a linguistic but also a cognitive and social process. It isobviously a linguistic process because, when we write, we need to dealwith language. It is also a cognitive or thinking process since, while wewrite, we analyse ideas and draw on mental resources. This implies carefulresearch on topics. Finally, writing is a social process as, if we want tobecome a member of a certain linguistic community, we need to be wellinformedabout the sociocultural conventions of that community. Thismeans that we may have to write in a way that we may not be familiar withat the beginning. This is especially the case when writing in academicsettings, for example, at university. Writing is then linguistically,cognitively and socially challenging, and writing in another language iseven more challenging.Writing in English as a foreign language is demanding in more than oneway. First, it is important for the writer to be aware of conventions that aredifferent from the ones that rule the mother tongue. For instance, whileSpanish writing may be digressive, English writing tends to be linear.Second, while Spanish-speaking readers may value emotional impact,English-speaking readers would expect a style that is more direct and tothe point together with a fixed text pattern. Again, writing is a challengeand, as every challenge, it requires knowledge, preparation and practice.This handout is an attempt to provide students of English Language I withthe necessary knowledge, skills and strategies to write academicparagraphs in English. It contains activities that will help them practisewriting as they deal with the main topics of this course. The handout isdivided into three chapters: The Academic Paragraph, Paragraph WritingTasks and Self-monitoring, Teacher and Peer Feedback. We hope that thishandout can help students learn how to write academic paragraphs inEnglish in an organised and enjoyable way.