Writing

Level 100 = beginner/advanced beginner
Level 200 = intermediate
Level 300 = upper intermediate
Level 400 = advanced



Need a dictionary to help you with new vocabulary? Click here.

Level 100 and up

America Attacked 911 - This multimedia site is a memorial to those who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11. Watch and listen to the slide show and then follow the Interact writing assignment below. NOTE: This site must load a large file (7 MB). If you have a slow connection, be patient.
http://www.politicsandprotest.org/
See Su Jin Ha's reactions.See John Tan's reactions.See Luiz Gonzales' reactions. See Claudia's reactions.

Level 100 and up

Art Safari (NY Museum of Modern Art) - This cool site allows you to look at famous paintings involving animals and to write about what you see. You also can create art of your own.
http://www.moma.org/onlineprojects/artsafari/safari_menu.html

Click here if you need to download Shockwave® or Flash®.

Level 100 and up

D.FILM MovieMaker - OK, this is fun!!! With a few clicks and by writing your own dialogue, you can make a movie to send by email to your classmates, teacher, family, etc.!! Here are the steps: You choose 1) background 2) sky 3) plot (action) 4) characters 5) type dialogue and 6) music. NOTE: Now, you can add another scene if you want. You can repeat steps 1-6. Or if you are done, just click "Finish Movie." Finally, put in a title, director's name (that's you!) and title design. Now watch your movie and see what you think. Was it great!? http://www.dfilm.com/new_site/assets/mm2/movie_start_flash.html

Click here if you need to download Shockwave® or Flash®.

Level 100 and up

Dave's ESL Cafe (Dave Sperling) - This site is a great place to work on all of your English skills. It is visited by hundreds of ESL/EFL students every day. It also has many activities which specifically encourage writing. Chat with ESL students and teachers around the world at ESL Chat Central. Find an electronic pen-pal at the Student Email Connection Page. Choose from over 30 topics for written discussion at the ESL Discussion Center. Show your creativity by "painting" on the ESL Graffiti Wall. Post a message on the ESL Message Exchange. Enjoy your visit and use your writing to learn more about the world, thousands of other ESL/EFL students and yourself! http://www.eslcafe.com/

Level 100 and up

Electronic Postcards - Send an electronic card to anyone in the world who has an Email account and Web access. Practice your writing and help someone have a nice day! A portion of the money earned from advertisers at this site goes to the World Wildlife Federation. http://www.e-cards.com/site/

Free Greeting Cards - A huge assortment of greetings and cards. You will have to wade through a large number of pop up ads, but there is a lot of variety here and for free!
http://www.123greetings.com/

Java Lake Effects Greeting Cards - These greeting cards are really neat. These greeting cards have reflections of mountains and animals in lakes. You've got to see them! http://www.lakecards.com/
Choose a postcard and send it to a friend. Or send one to me at krauss@lclark.edu (I'd *love* to hear from you!)

BlueMountain eCards - Still can't find the card you want? Try BlueMountain--they have the largest selection of cards that I've seen! You can also attach a photo, video, or voice message! (a voice message is free from the U.S., but will be a long-distance international call for those sending from outside of the U.S.) NOTE: to use most of the cards on this site, you'll have to join for a fee. However, you can get a 30 day free trial, so have fun for 30 days!
http://www1.bluemountain.com/

Postcard Rack - Gorgeous paintings, contemporary art, photographs and more can be sent as eCards. If you are adventurous, you can also add images or fancy text to your postcards. If you like, you can save them to your local computer too! (Judith Donath, MIT Media Lab)
http://postcards.www.media.mit.edu/Postcards/Welcome.html

More E-Card sites: Pacific Products Gallery, Yahoo! Greetings, Amazon.com E-Cards, Hallmark E-Cards, American Greetings

Level 100 and up

Life Magazine - Classic Pictures- Every week, some of the classic photos from Life Magazine will be published on this Web site. Have a look at them. When you finish, complete the Interact activity below.
http://www.lifemag.com/Life/millennium/photos/alfred.html

Read Eric Philippoz's writing. Nice job Eric!

Level 100 and up

MakeBeliefs Comics - Bill Zimmerman has just launched a free new web site where students can create their own comic strips. The site offers fun animal and human characters with different moods, thought and talk balloons to fill in with words, and story prompts. It's a wonderful resource to spur children and adults to write, read and communicate their ideas and to practice English It is also being used as a tool by educational therapists who work with deaf and autistic children to help them understand concepts and communicate at
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com

Level 100 and up

The Miniature Earth - If the world had only 100 people, how many would be Asian, African, European, American, etc.? How many could read, have enough food, or a bed to sleep in? Watch this 3 minute slide show to find out--beautiful photos and music. Then complete the Interact activity below.
http://smart.tin.it/luccacos/miniatureearth/miniature_earth.htm

Vocabulary you will need to understand the slide show (suggested by students):

  • poverty - not having enough resources (food, shelter, clothing, etc.).
  • famine - a very serious shortage of food
  • torture- to purposely cause severe physical or mental pain
  • passion - A powerful emotion, such as love, joy, hatred, or anger.

Response by Myung Joon Lee, Korea Response by Takashi Fukushima, Japan
Response by ChoYeon Kim, Korea Response by Mari Kawamura, Japan Response by chail1225@hanmir.com

Level 100 and up

My Brochure Maker - Currently free, this tool lets you create a brochure online. You can choose a template then customize the text and graphics. It only takes a few simple steps to create a high-quality color brochure. Requires Flash and Microsoft Word. Sponsored by Hewlett Packard, created by Doodlelab. This is fun! I tried it and found it easy to use. Any student can make a brochure using his/her level of English.

Click here if you need to download Shockwave® or Flash®.

Level 100 and up

PIZZAZ (Leslie Opp-Beckman) - Free, printable creative writing activities (Here are samples of student writing using these materials). Students (or teachers) try out some of these creative writing assignments!
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/pizzaz.html

Level 100 and up

RhymeZone - Like a Swiss Army Knife, this site helps you do many things in one place. Example: Enter the word "bear". You can get the following information: rhymes, synonyms, antonyms, definition, related words, similarly spelled words, homophones (words that sound alike), quotations using the word, photos illustrating the word, and more! A great place to improve your vocabulary and to provide information for your writing.
http://www.rhymezone.com/

Level 200 and up

Make your own web page! (EON Foundation) - You can make your own web page and practice your writing at the same time! Just click here and follow the easy steps. To practice your writing, be sure to complete at least 3 of these sections: What's new, About me, About my school, Awards, Resume, or Cool Links. If you want to change you web page at any time, click here. Don't forget to write down the address (URL) of your page so you can find it on the Web!
http://www.e-o-n.org/htmauler/new.html

Level 200 and up

On-line Reference Tools - When you are writing, you might want to know the meaning of a word, find words with similar meanings, find a rhyming word, or even a quotation or proverb. Click the link and you will find all of these and more! http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/tesol98/wrtools.html#ref

Level 200 and up

Political Cartoons.com - Looking at political cartoons is a great way to keep up with current events around the world while giving your sense of humor a workout. Click on any cartoon and you'll be able to send it to someone as an email card. There is a message box on the email form so you'll have a chance to practice your writing too. Send one to me at krauss@lclark.edu because I'd love to hear from you! http://cagle.slate.msn.com/politicalcartoons/

Level 200 and up

Purdue University On-line Writing Lab (OWL) - Although designed for native speakers, there is much information here for you to use! There are many handouts designed for ESL students on Using Articles (A/An/The), Adjectives with Count and Non-Count Nouns, Count and Non-Count Nouns, Appositives, Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives, Prepositions of Direction: To, On(to), In(to), Prepositions of Location: At, In, On, Verb Endings, and a Verb Chart. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index.html

Level 200 and up

SchMOOze University (founded by Julie Falsetti, Hunter College) - A "virtual university" where English as a second language learners type on their computers to "talk" with each other, explore the university, and have a good time!
http://schmooze.hunter.cuny.edu:8888/

Level 300 and up

Never Say Neverisms - When writing English, there are things we are supposed to *never* do! William Saffire gives excellent examples, such as "Don't use no double negatives" and "Verbs has to agree with their subjects." Get it?! Follow Saffire's suggestions and your writing will improve! http://www.mapping.com/never2.html

Level 300 and up

TV411 Writing - (ALMA- Adult Literacy Media Alliance) - Interactive activities that help you learn to plan and write business emails, complaint letters, personal letters, an autobiography and more! You'll need Flash v. 6 or later.
http://www.tv411.org/writing/
Click here if you need to download
Flash®.

Do you want more?

See Writing Resources for English Language Learners (John McVicker - Ohio University) - There are links to Tips for writers, Organization and style, Mechanics, The Writing Process, Topics for Writing, Research and Writing, and Writing for Special Purposes. You are sure to find what you need. http://www.ohiou.edu/esl/english/writing.html

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AES, Academic English Studies, Lewis & Clark College
Michael Krauss Home Page

Created by:
krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 2/24/07