Changing Practices for the L2 Writing Classroom: Moving Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay

Nigel A. Caplan

ISBN 10: 0472037323 / ISBN 13: 9780472037322

Published by The University of Michigan Press, 2019

About this Item

2019. Paperback. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780472037322

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Changing Practices for the L2 Writing Classroom: Moving Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay
• Publisher: The University of Michigan Press
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0472037323
• ISBN 13: 9780472037322
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This volume was written to make the case for changes in second language writing practices away from the five-paragraph essay and toward purposeful, meaningful writing instruction. As the volume editors say, “If you have already rejected the five-paragraph essay, we offer validation and classroom-tested alternatives. If you are new to teaching L2 writing, we introduce critical issues you will need to consider as you plan your lessons and as you consider/review the textbooks and handbooks that continue to promote the teaching of the five-paragraph essay. If you need ammunition to present to colleagues and administrators, we present theory, research, and pedagogy that will benefit students from elementary to graduate school. If you are skeptical about our claims, we invite you to review the research presented here and consider what your students could do beyond writing a five-paragraph essay if you enacted these changes in practice.”
 
Part 1 discusses what the five-paragraph essay is not: it is not a very old, established form of writing; it is not a genre; and it is not universal.

Part 2 looks at writing practices to show the essay’s ineffectiveness in elementary schools, secondary schools, first-year writing classes, university writing courses, undergraduate discipline courses, and graduate school.

Part 3 looks beyond the classroom at testing. At the end of each chapter, the authors--all well-known in the field of second language writing--suggest changes to teaching practices based on their theoretical approach and classroom experience.

The book closes by reviewing some of the major questions raised in the book, by exploring which questions have been left unanswered, and by offering suggestions for teachers who want to move away from the five-paragraph essay. An assignment sequence for genre-aware writing instruction is included.