o convey ideas effectivelyin a language, one must master both productive skills and receptive skills. 5 Importantly, insituations of endangerment, cultural knowledge may be less available than it had been inprevious generations and therefore should be explicitly taught.
Good communication needs speaking and understanding skills, and cultural knowledge should be taught directly.
In a speaking activity for beginners, roles in the dialogue areassigned to different learners and each is responsible for one part (i.e. one learns A linesand the other learns B). By mimicking and memorizing the lines, they can perform authenticlanguage and play the audio over and over to assist their practice.
For beginner speaking practice, students are given different parts in a dialogue. Each memorizes their lines, listens to recordings, and repeats them to practice real conversations.
If the orthography for numbers in the language usesEnglish Romanized symbols, then providing images that illustrate the number or spellingout the words can help learners stay in the target language. Figure 4 illustrates the imagesand Miami–Illinois numbers spelled out.
When a language uses English letters to write its numbers, learners might slip into thinking in English. To keep them thinking in the target language, teachers can show pictures of the numbers or spell the words fully in that language
bingo is, ofcourse, adaptable to a wide variety of vocabulary through written words or pictures.Other games provide opportunities for using more complex language. Consider ‘Go Fish’,in which players have to request cards by numbers. Functional language includes makinga request, responding with yes or no, telling other players to pick up another card, and soon.
Games like bingo and Go Fish can help teach language where bingo builds vocabulary, while Go Fish lets players practice real communication like asking, answering, and giving directions.
An initial challenge is that they maybe transcribed in an orthography that is not transparent to those who have not been trainedin its use. At the content level, some concepts may not be suitable for all potential learneraudiences. They also tend to be third-person narratives and may or may not include inter-active language. Finally, the structures might be too advanced for novice learners. Despitethese limitations, traditional stories can be a tremendous resource with some strategicmodification of orthography and content. We use an example from Kari’nja to illustrate theprocess of modification.Hoff (1968) includes a transcribed and translated text of De Goede Hoop, a Kari’nja story.The story in its entirety is not appropriate for all age groups in that it includes demons andmurder. However, the story also includes dialogue between characters that was modifiedfor use as a linguistic formula and for pattern practice.First, the story is ‘translated’ into the practical orthography currently in use by commu-nity members.3 Table 4 illustrates the practical orthography as well as a more useful format,from a teaching and learning perspective. The original was organized in side-by-side para-graph form, making it difficult to track the Kari’nja prose and English free translations. Asthe particular excerpt used here is a short conversation between characters, it is more usefulto teachers and learners to have it organized line by line rather than as a long string of prose. 4This exchange includes a common greeting for someone who has been away from thecommunity for some time. However, in the story, the exchange is in a more formal registerthan is common in everyday use. As such, the next step is to simplify the register for usewith novice learners. This includes eliminating the honorific markers common to the moreformal registers as well as adding in more formulaic responses, as illustrated in Table 5.
Old stories can be great language resources, but they often have challenges. They may use old or complicated writing systems, advanced grammar, or content that’s not suitable for all ages. Many are written as third-person stories and may not include dialogue for practice.
The authors use a Kari’nja story as an example. It had difficult writing and mature themes, so they changed the spelling to the modern system, focused on a short dialogue, and formatted it line by line to make it easier for learners.
An additional potential resource is the academic description of particular elements of alanguage. Standalone articles analyzing specific structural features tend to be too jargonheavy and narrowly focused to be of immediate use in revitalization. However, they ofteninclude functionally useful language in their examples. Articles tend to be formatted insuch a way that tokens of language used as examples are set apart from the rest of the text,making them easy to locate in a larger description. Although an article describing, forexample, nonconfigurationality in a Cariban language (Hoff 1995) may be too opaque fora novice linguist, it may provide examples that can form the basis for teaching and learningactivities.Although the article itself may be of interest to only a small subset of linguists, examplesin Hoff (1995) are peppered with useful vocabulary including kinship terms and possessivepronominal prefixes. These were extracted to create the word list of kinship terms in Table 1,as well as the paradigm of possessive pronominal prefixes in Table 2. Together, the examplesin Hoff (1995) form the basis for a variety of activities developed to teach and reinforcekinship terms.The focus of these examples is nouns and possession, but a more communicative approachwould include the use of verbs. Hoff (1995) also provides useful examples that includedifferent verb roots used in the same tense. Section 3.2 illustrates a mini dialogue based onthese terms. Although academic articles may at first glance seem opaque or irrelevant, ithas been our experience that simply skimming examples can provide a wealth of usefultokens of language.
Academic articles that study specific parts of a language are often full of technical jargon and can be hard to use for language revival.
The authors give an example from Hoff (1995), which contains vocabulary like kinship terms and possessive prefixes. They pulled these out to make teaching activities. Hoff’s article focuses on nouns and possession, but also has verbs that could make lessons more interactive.
Even though academic articles may seem too technical, examples can uncover a lot of helpful words and structures for creating learning materials.
A linguist’s field notes may not be readily available, and when they are, they are often orga-nized based on a system that is transparent only to the linguist who created them. Usingfield notes to locate functional language may be time-consuming as one must work todecipher what are often very idiosyncratic notational schemes. However, as they may alsocontain more contextualized language as well as examples that have not been publishedelsewhere, field notes may be worth the time investment necessary to comprehend them.Using Myammia as an example, Figure 1 illustrates highly functional language that is embed-ded in a documentary corpus of other information. The resource is part of the LeBoullengerdocumentation available in the Miami-Illinois Digital Archive (MIDA) and includes a listof numbers embedded within a larger stretch of documentation. Although this representsan extreme example, it is not unusual to find seemingly random tokens of functional lan-guage surrounded by documentation of something completely different.As numbers are highly functional and often among the first domains of language to belost when formal schooling introduces majority language numbers along with mathematicalconcepts, numbers such as those in Figure 1 represent an important discovery. This examplefrom the MIDA shows how archival contributions can make documentation more usefulto revitalization through organization and widespread availability of information. Inclusionof metadata about functional language found in sources such as field notes can providecontext, related expressions, and other potentially helpful linguistic cues. Detailed discussionin Baldwin, Costa, and Troy (2016) provides an overview of a process of transformingmanuscript documentation into searchable data. For those who have access to field notes,we suggest developing an organizational system that includes metadata about functionsand semantic domains found in particular corpora. In Section 3.3, we discuss the use ofnumbers in the development of materials and activities for language learning.
Linguists’ field notes can be hard to use because they’re written in personal systems, but they often include valuable, real life language that isn’t published anywhere else. The authors share an example from the Miami-Illinois Digital Archive, where useful words like numbers were found hidden in other notes.
Functional language refers to the range of constructions that are used to fulfill a variety ofcommunicative purposes. Functions are the answer to the question of, ‘What do peopleactually do with language’? In addition to greeting, as highlighted in our opening anecdote,people count, they tell stories, they complain, and they express likes and dislikes. Somefunctions are expressed through particular grammatical constructions found in academicdescriptions. Once located, these can provide immediately useful formulas or patterns(Hinton 2003) that foster interaction in the language.More traditional products of documentation are not typically organized in such a waythat functional language and corresponding structures are easy to find. Metadata may ormay not make clear what exists in a particular resource, and examples in academic descrip-tions tend to be context-independent. In the subsections that follow, we describe the processof extracting useful language from documentary sources including: field notes, academicdescriptions, reference grammars, and text.
Functional language means the ways people actually use a language, like greeting, counting, telling stories, or sharing opinions. These real-life uses often follow certain grammar patterns that can help learners communicate. However traditional records don’t organize language by how it’s used, so it’s hard to find these examples. The authors explain how they search through notes and texts to pull out useful, everyday language for teaching.
Finally, a particular resourceis only useful to the extent that metadata make clear what types of language it includes interms of semantic content, linguistic functions, and grammatical constructions. Extractingexamples of functionally relevant language can be like a treasure hunt, and useful tokensof speech may be embedded in a nonrelated stretch of discourse or descriptive prose. Ourgoal is to develop materials and activities that promote interaction in the language.
Old records often hide useful examples, so the authors aim to make clear, well-labeled resources that help learners actively use the language.
Of the variety of revitalization activities communitymembers engage in, formal teaching is often the most visible. In addition, this may be theactivity that most needs teaching and learning materials. As such, our focus will be oncreating materials for formal teaching in a classroom setting. However, the techniquesdescribed may be used by anyone interested in using available documentation to developmaterials and activities to support revitalization.
Of all language revival methods, classroom teaching is the most visible and needs the most materials. The authors focus on making resources for classes, but their ideas can help anyone use old records for revitalization.
Such documentation may formthe basis for academic descriptions such as reference grammars. Ideally, language docu-mentation projects take into account a wide range of possible end users and are conductedin collaboration with a number of stakeholders. However, for many speech communities,the reality is that what is available is far from perfect. It is just this type of situation, one inwhich available documentation of a language does not provide ideal support for revitaliza-tion, that motivates this article.
Old records often form the basis for academic works like grammars. Ideally, they’d be made with input from both scholars and community members, but many are incomplete or not very useful for revival. This article looks at how to use imperfect records to still help bring a language back.
The division between ‘outsideracademic’ and ‘insider speech community member’ is often blurred as more and morespeech community members seek out the tools and training to conduct academic researchon their own heritage languages.
The gap between researchers and community members is shrinking as more Indigenous and local people learn to study and document their own languages.
As there is no ‘one size fits all’ in language revitalization, we aim to provide a variety ofreal-world examples that can stimulate additional ideas for readers’ individual situations.Rather than a replicable model to be followed to the letter, we explore varied ways in whichthose we work with have integrated documentation and support for revitalization. Ourfocus on practical application is grounded in theories of second-language acquisition thatfoster communicative competence and emphasize creativity and interaction in the languageover rote memorization of forms in isolation.
There’s no one-size-fits-all for language revival. The authors share real examples of using old records creatively, focusing on communication and interaction rather than just grammar drills.
For speech communities with few to no remainingfirst-language speakers, extant documentation and description may be the only availablerecord of the language. Even in communities that still have first-language speakers, anurgency to begin activities in support of revitalization leaves many community membersunable to wait for the products of a new documentation project to be complete befo
When few or no fluent speakers remain, old records may be all that’s left of the language. Even where some speakers exist, people must teach it immediately using the materials they already have.
For communities that no longer have members who speak the language with native-likeconfidence, there is unlikely to be new documentation forthcoming. The current trend inwork with speakers of endangered languages is toward more collaborative models that seekto meet the needs of a wider array of stakeholders in a language project (Yamada 2007,2010;1 Czaykowska-Higgins 2009; Florey 2004; Penfield et al. 2008; Rice 2011; Stebbins2003).
If a community has no fluent speakers left, they can’t expect new documentation to be made. Instead, recent work with endangered languages focuses on collaboration
The traditional triad in documentation and description of lesser studied languages is anacademic reference grammar, a word list or dictionary, and a collection of transcribed andtranslated texts of spoken language. Although these documents provide a wealth of infor-mation about a language for those with enough linguistics training to be able to decipherthem, those with more limited training may find such representations intimidatingly
Linguists usually document a language by creating a grammar, a dictionary, and written transcripts of speech, there are helpful for experts, but regular people without linguistics training often find them too difficult to understand or use.
As the language has no living first-language speakers, she and othersin similar situations must rely on existing documentation to develop teaching and learningmaterials. As documentation often was produced for an academic audience, it may not beimmediately useful to those most affected by language endangerment–speech communitymembers themselves. In this article, we address how documentation for an academic audi-ence might be used to support revitalization activities.
The author explains that many people trying to reconnect with an endangered language just want to learn basic everyday expressions, but because the language has no fluent speakers left, they have to depend on old documentation written by linguists.
The Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights also stresses the need for digital technologiesto “respect cultural diversity, promote linguistic inclusivity and prioritize underrepresentedcommunities’ perspectives”
The person in charge of cultural rights says that technology, like AI, needs to be built so it respects all the different cultures and languages.
Without careful implementation, the widespread use of AI in language processing “could lead to thedisappearance of endangered languages, local dialects, and tonal and cultural variations associatedwith human language and expression” (UNESCO, 2021b, para. 95). Consequently, policy measuresshould actively counterbalance these risks by ensuring that AI technologies support, rather thandiminish, global linguistic and cultural diversity.
UNESCO is worried that if we're not careful with how AI processes language, it could actually cause languages that are already rare, local accents, and unique ways people express themselves to disappear completely.
o achieve this, it is essential that digital educationaltools and platforms, particularly those using AI, be designed to incorporate multilingual support,ensure equitable access and uphold cultural sensitivity, thereby enabling students from diversebackgrounds to engage with learning materials in their native languages and cultural contexts.
To stop AI from wiping out languages, governments and organizations need to create rules and plans that make sure AI technologies actually help protect and promote the world's many languages and cultures, instead of hurting them
In the context of education, this also means leveraging AI to support culturally responsiveteaching and learning, ensuring that students have access to diverse linguistic and cultural materials.
AI should help create culturally relevant lessons and provide diverse language materials for students.
. Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’right to free, prior and informed consent in matters that concern them should be respected andprotected.
AI use with Indigenous cultures requires their full knowledge and free agreement beforehand.
The Recommendation calls for participatoryapproaches that engage institutions and the public in educational initiatives to incorporate AI for thepurposes of cultural preservation (
UNESCO wants schools. museums, and the public to collaborate on using AI for cultural prevention.
The UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI highlights the importance of integrating AI systemsinto the preservation and accessibility of cultural heritage, including both tangible and intangibleelements, as well as Indigenous languages and knowledge.
AI can help save and share our cultural history, like buildings, traditions, and Indigenous knowledge, making it accessible.
In this connection, attention should be given to “ensur[ing] broadaccessibility for all, including by diversifying the languages represented online to explain andcontextualize heritage assets” (Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, 2025, para. 84(f ))
AI should make cultural heritage info available in many languages online, so everyone can understand.
ChatGPT can use and cover around 100 languages, including several local languages, thereby expandingopportunities for access and participation.
AI tools like ChatGPT now support many languages, which can help with learning and saving languages.
The X5GON Project addressesthe exclusion of Indigenousand minority languages and culture from AIsystems by leveraging AI to create an OERnetwork that facilitates cross-lingual andcross-cultural learning. By employing AI-driven translation, speech recognition, andsemantic analysis, X5GON enhances accessto learning materials in multiple languages,ensuring that speakers of minority languagescan engage with digital education resources(X5GON, n.d.).
Projects like X5GON use AI to help people learn across different languages and give better access to speakers of minority languages. Using local languages in tech helps students understand and stay interested.
Linguistic diversity is an essential aspect of cultural heritage, yet AI technologies often fail toadequately represent the languages of marginalized groups, in particular Indigenous and minoritylanguages. There remains a major linguistic imbalance in digital content, with English constitutingover 50% of online material, while seven other languages account for another 30% (Snene, 2024).In contrast, over 30 languages spoken by millions of people represent just 0.2 to 2% of digitalcontent, and thousands of languages are barely represented at all (Snene, 2024). AI-generatedcontent may deepen the marginalization of underrepresented languages and the culturalexpressions they convey (Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, 2025, para. 48).The exclusion of Indigenous and minority languages from AI systems has profound implications. Firstly,it restricts digital access for speakers of these languages, reinforcing linguistic inequalities.Secondly, it accelerates the decline of endangered languages, as younger generations may be lessinclined to use them if they are absent from digital spaces. The preservation of linguistic diversity maydepend on its integration into technology, particularly educational technologies.
AI systems often ignore many languages, especially those spoken by Indigenous and minority groups. English is everywhere online, but lots of other languages barely show up. This makes it hard for people who speak these languages to access information and can cause their languages to fade away.
A significant risk of cultural homogenization in education lies in the reliance on algorithm-drivencontent curation by major digital learning platforms. AI-based recommendation systems prioritizeeducational materials that align with prevailing user preferences, often shaped by dominant culturalinfluences. This can lead to a self-reinforcing cycle, where certain narratives and learning approachesgain disproportionate visibility, while others remain obscured.
UNESCO warns that AI-driven educational technologies risk cultural homogenization, where dominant cultural narratives overshadow Indigenous and minority traditions.
Cultural homogenization is exacerbated by the dominance of Western-centric data sets in AI training. AsAI models learn from vast corpora of online content, they often reflect and perpetuate Western culturalbiases, reducing the visibility of educational traditions and historical narratives. The 2025 AI Index Report,published by Stanford University, notes that the United States of America and European countries, closelyfollowed by China, have made substantial contributions to global AI research and innovation. As a result,there is a marked predominance of Western and Chinese influence in data resources and technologicaladvancement (HAI, 2025). Initiatives such as the Global South AI Directory, developed by the Knowledge4 All Foundation, aim to address this disparity by mapping and connecting AI researchers, projects andinstitutions across the global South to increase visibility and support for AI research and developmentbeyond Western-dominated AI hubs (Knowledge 4 All Foundation, n.d.). Ensuring that AI-driveneducational tools respect and represent cultural diversity is essential to fostering inclusivity,critical thinking and the right of all learners to engage with a broad spectrum of culturalknowledge (UNESCO, 2021a)
Most AI is trained on data from Western countries, which means non-Western traditions get less attention. Projects such as the Global South AI Directory try to fix this by helping researchers from other regions connect and share their work. Big online platforms can make this problem worse by showing mostly popular content, making it harder to find diverse educational materials
AI technologies can enrich cultural and creativeindustries, but can also lead to an increased concentration of supply of cultural content, data, marketsand income in the hands of only a few actors, with potential negative implications for the diversity andpluralism of languages, media, cultural expressions, participation and equality” (
Potentially AI can be a fantastic booster for creativity, but we need to be mindful of how it might centralize power and potentially limit the rich tapestry of human expression.
perspectives and knowledge systems of marginalized groups, particularly Indigenous Peoples andminorities, are often underrepresented or entirely absent (Foka and Griffin, 2024). As underlined in theRecommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, “AI technologies can enrich cultural and creativeindustries, but can also lead to an increased concentration of supply of cultural content, data, marketsand income in the hands of only a few actors, with potential negative implications for the diversity andpluralism of languages, media, cultural expressions, participation and equality” (UNESCO, 2021b, para.3c). Nonetheless, there are several promising initiatives that aim to enrich AI-training data sets withIndigenous and local knowledge, thereby fostering more inclusive learning technologies. The Papa Reoproject in New Zealand is an example of the efforts being undertaken to enrich AI-training data sets withIndigenous knowledge. Through collaboration with Māori communities, Te Hiku Media has developeda te reo Māori language data set to train speech recognition tools that respect cultural context andpromote linguistic inclusion (Papa Reo, n.d.).
Some projects, like Papa Reo in New Zealand, are working to add Indigenous knowledge into AI systems
The increasing influence of AI and digital platforms on cultural expression has raised concerns regardingcultural homogenization. Cultural homogenization is the process through which dominant culturalnarratives, primarily from economically and technologically powerful regions, overshadow andmarginalize diverse cultural expressions. This issue is particularly relevant in education, where AI-drivenlearning tools play a growing role in shaping children’s knowledge and worldview. As AI systems arepredominantly trained on data sets that reflect mainstream cultural norms, the unique traditions
AI and digital platforms can make one culture dominate over others, pushing aside different cultures. AI tools in education often show mostly mainstream views, leaving out Indigenous and minority groups.
educationserves not only to transmit culture, but also to shape cultural identities and promote interculturalunderstanding.
To me this shows education is not just about passing on knowledge; it also plays a crucial role in shaping how individuals perceive their own cultural identity. Moreover, it enhances their ability to appreciate and interact respectfully with other cultures.
Cultural rights are recognized as fundamental human rights in several international legal instruments,including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 31), the Universal Declaration of HumanRights (article 27), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (article 15).These legal instruments affirm that everyone has the right to participate in cultural life, enjoy the benefitsof scientific progress and its application, and benefit from the protection of the moral and materialinterests resulting from their creative work. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights also stresses the need to respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creativeactivity. Additionally, the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of CulturalExpressions (2005) highlights the need to promote cultural diversity through education (article 10),particularly in the face of globalization and technological advancements.
International laws say that everyone has the right to take part in cultural life and enjoy the benefits of science. Education should help protect and celebrate different cultures, especially now that new technologies like AI are being used. While AI can create new chances to include diverse groups and their cultures in digital learning, it also brings challenges in making sure these groups are fairly represented and not left out
The conclusion is your opportunity to summarize the essay and hopefully spur the reader to want to learn more about the topic. Be sure to clearly reiterate the thesis statement. In your introduction, you may have laid out what would be covered in the essay. Offer a sentence or two reiterating what was learned about those topic areas. Finally, work to avoid adding any new information and questions in this final section of your writing.
Without a solid conclusion, your paper can feel incomplete or unfocused. Give the reader why your paper matters
Begin with a topic sentence. Using one of the five Ws or H questions here will remind you and your readers what you will focus on in this paragraph. Introduce your sources in a sentence or two to summarize what the information revealed about your topic. Include a direct quote using P.I.E. and reflect on what the source illuminated about your question.
This explains how you to build strong, clear, and well-supported body paragraphs in your essay or research paper.
Define the topic. Provide short background information. Introduce who your intended audience is. State what your driving research question is. Create a thesis statement by identifying the scope of the informative essay (the main point you want your audience to understand about your topic).
This organizes your thoughts before you start writing, keeps your essay focused, and makes it easier for your readers to understand and remember your main idea.
textbooks written with students in mind, (2) monographs which give an extended report on a large research project, and (3) edited-volumes in which each chapter is authored by different people.
Textbooks help you understand the basics, research books give you detailed info you can use as evidence, and edited collections let you see different experts’ ideas.
objective is to highlight specific information about your topic. In this project, you may be asking “after researching general aspects about my topic, what do I want others to understand about it?”
After researching the basics, think about the specific message you want people to take away.
these essays aim to answer the five Ws and H questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how.
The essay explains the full story of the topic through the six main questions
. A report is written from the perspective of someone who is seeking to find specific and in-depth information about a certain aspect of a topic.
In your own words a way to investigate and describe one part of a bigger topic in detail.
Informative Research Report is a report that relays the results of a central research question in an organized manner through more formal sources
A research paper that focuses on one topic, is well organized, and uses trusted sources
Educational contexts came under the microscope in the majority of cases includingthe learning (or not) of Chinese and Japanese in Western Australian schools. For Chinese,the specific question asked by Zhang and Gong was why students failed to continue theirstudies by the final years of high school.
Finding specific topics can be a little tricky, as discussions of policy, practice, and people often overlap. Some readers might focus on the case studies, while others may be more interested in the research methods.
This edited book on the broad topic of Language Education, is narrowed down to particu-lar areas of interest by the contributors. The result is a collection of insights into heritageand minority language education, multicultural education and the teaching of specific lan-guages. Expressed in more academic terms, themes of culture and identity are interwovenwith responses from educational institutions. As promised in its publicity, this book,along with others in its series, ‘contains empirical research on multilingual languageacquisition’ (p. ii). Of the 14 contributors to the 10 chapters, all but one are based in Aus-tralia, and even more specifically 11 are from Western Australian universities, althoughtheir research interests often go beyond that state, including investigations in Singapore,Hong Kong and Vietnam. Another range is in the languages the contributors focus on:English, Chinese, Japanese, Malay, Tamil, Cantonese, African musical language andAboriginal English.
This book covers topics in language education like heritage and minority languages, multicultural teaching, and how culture and identity tie into schooling. While most contributors are based in Western Australia, their research also looks at places like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam, studying languages from English and Chinese to Japanese, Malay, Tamil, Cantonese, an African musical language, and Aboriginal English.
In summary, translanguaging seeks to honor and utilize all languages equitably. Itseeks to appropriate knowledge and create new forms of knowledge. It endeavors to chal-lenge traditional notions of hierarchical thinking and epistemic privilege by acknowledg-ing new sociopolitical realities. In this sense, teachers and students ‘engage in complexdiscursive practices that include ALL the language practices of ALL students in a class inorder to develop new language practices and sustain old ones, communicate and appropri-ate knowledge, and give voice to new sociopolitical realities by interrogating linguisticinequality’
The main goal of translanguaging is to respect all languages equally, help create new knowledge, and challenge old ideas about which languages are better. Teachers and students use all their language skills to learn, share ideas, and fight against unfairness in language use.
The book is filled with tantalizing semiotic representations in translanguaged forms,helping the reader through the authors’ explanations. The book’s readability makes itaccessible to service providers in the field of education. However, despite its accessibility,the reader is still left questioning the ‘how’ of translanguaging. Even though the authorscite Canagarajah’s point (2011) that there is a lack of taxonomic structures of translan-guaging strategies, readers hopeful of concrete application in a classroom are left with alingering after-taste wanting to learn more about the concept. The justice oriented teachermay sympathize with the transformative/transgressive premise of the book, but after theread, practically speaking, with respect to the unsound reality of urban education today,one is left asking, ‘now what?
The book is easy to read and uses lots of examples, but it doesn’t give many specific tips for teachers. Readers may finish the book still wondering exactly how to use translanguaging in real classrooms.
In teaching, Garcıa and Wei point out that while there are no specific pedagogicalpractices that can be ascribed to translanguaging, it would be wise to look from theground up as these are developed and later theorized into practice. The authors do pointto strategies like pairing students with greater English proficiency; grouping students ofsimilar language repertoires to discuss meaning; highlighting cognates; and incorporatingmultimodal ways of communication. Above all, the essence of translanguaging demandsopenness to co-learning with students in an atmosphere that is safer for taking risk andopen to resistance and social justice. The historic marginalization of certain languagesnecessitates a proactive stance towards justice education in the classroom.
There aren’t strict rules for teaching with translanguaging, but the authors suggest things like pairing students by skill level, grouping them by language background, using words that sound similar in both languages, and using different ways to communicate. They stress the importance of being open, taking risks, and focusing on fairness and justice in the classroom. However, schools rarely teach or test translanguaging directly.
By the second half of the book, the authors look at translanguaging in education as ameans of learning and teaching. The authors emphasize that translanguaging refers tonew ways of looking at language practices, beyond code switching, that position mixedlanguage practices as normative rather than simply a synthesis of languages or a hybrid.The translanguaging turn features trans-spaces, where meaning-making, creativity, andcriticality, all occur in a fluid motion. So, as bilinguals learn in a translanguaging envi-ronment, they are better able to show what they know. In a study to which the authorsrefer, kindergarteners used translanguaging for six metafunctions
In the second half of the book, translanguaging is shown as a way to learn and teach. It’s not just switching between languages; it makes mixed language use normal and helps students be creative and think critically. For example, young children used translanguaging to work together and create new meanings.
Garcıa and Wei deviate by taking a Derridian view and believe that while we are all‘inscribed’ with language, ‘languaging’ is not enough to capture the complexity multilin-guals faced today. Instead, ‘A translanguaging approach to bilingualism extends the rep-ertoire of semiotic practices of individuals and transforms them into dynamic mobileresources that can adapt to global and local sociolinguistic situations. At the same time,Language and Education, 2015Vol. 29, No. 6, 566576
The authors argue that just talking about ‘languaging’ isn’t enough. Translanguaging means using all your language skills in flexible ways, depending on the situation, and recognizing that language and bilingualism are shaped by society.
As Garcıa and Wei explain, language crossing was seen to be straying from structural-ist notions of language autonomy. This dual vision of language has slowly evolved to adynamic vision, where ‘the language practices of bilinguals are complex and interrelated;they do not emerge in a linear way or function separately since there is only one linguisticsystem’ (14). They borrow from dynamic systems theory and admire the radical idea pro-posed by Makoni and Pennycook (2007) that language is a European invention havingbeen forged to perpetuate and enhance colonial thinking. English is only English when itis contrasted with other languages like French or Chinese. All languages exist among andborrow from each other. Labels used by linguists and never by speakers themselves onlyserve to fortify nation-state interests
The authors explain that the way people think about language has changed over time. They mention that languages are not natural categories but are created by society, often to support things like colonialism or national identity we see even today.
From the beginning of the book, Garcıa and Wei begin to ground translanguaging onfirm theoretical underpinnings. Challenging Saussurean notions of the formal system oflanguage (signified and signifier) and Chomsky’s proposal of one Universal Grammar,the authors instead embrace Bakhtin’s heteroglossia, which is explicitly context drivenand dynamically conceived. The term ‘languaging’ was coming into use by the middle ofthe twentieth century. Language was no longer conceived as monolithic or context-free,but as agentive and capable of making new meaning in a rapidly changing world.
García and Wei base their ideas on newer theories about language. They disagree with older thinkers who saw language as fixed and separate. Instead, they support the view that language is always changing and shaped by its social context
The book is written in two parts. The first part addresses the concept of ‘languaging’as it pertains to the multitude of ways that it is used. Bilingualism, multilingualism, andplurilingualism are examples of the terms that have been used and continue to be used toaddress the epistemological negotiations involved to understand this practice. The secondpart of the book takes on bilingual education and conceptualizes translanguaging as aninfluential practice for the transformation of learning for multilingual students. The bookfurther suggests that translanguaging, through its insistence upon the fluidity of all com-municative repertoires, has the potential to challenge dominant ideologies by reposition-ing notions of assumed power.
The book has two main parts. The first part explains different terms like ‘language', ‘bilingualism,’ and ‘multilingualism,’ and what they mean for understanding language.
The second part looks at how translanguaging can improve learning for students who speak more than one language, and how it can question traditional ideas about language power
Ofelia Garcıa and Li Wei argue for a dynamic style of bilingualism rooted in what theyrefer to as ‘translanguaging’. The authors begin the book with the Welsh origins of theterm and progress through its treatment by various scholars. They point out that becausepeople translanguage all the time, it is a resource that should be utilized in the classroom.Indeed, teachers use translanguaging as a scaffolding technique to help students accesscontent. What the authors are more interested in working toward is beyond translanguag-ing as scaffold or technique. It is the acceptance of translanguaging as a legitimate prac-tice, at once transformative and transgressive as it seeks to challenge dominant narrativesand communicative structures
The book “Translanguaging: language, bilingualism and education” by Ofelia García and Li Wei introduces the idea of translanguaging. The authors believe it’s more than just a teaching trick it should be seen as a powerful classroom tool that can change how we think about language and challenge old rules about which languages matter most.
And just as in college, the quality and usefulness of your synthesis will depend on your accuracy and organization.
Organize your ideas that lead to the facts behind it clearly Ex: Uses correct facts about nutrition and organizes them into clear sections, like benefits, food types, and tips.
Whether one is proposing to open a new store or expand a product line, the report will synthesize information and arrange it by topic rather than by source.
You combine information from different places and set it up by topic instead of by source.
Synthesis is related to but not the same as classification, division, or comparison and contrast. Instead of attending to categories or finding similarities and differences, synthesizing sources is a matter of pulling them together into some kind of harmony
Blend ideas from different sources into one big picture
drawing together particular themes or traits that you observe in those texts
Find what’s similar in different texts and put those ideas and connect them
synthesis involves combining two or more summaries
Connect two main points from different pieces and put them as one main understanding
I don’t think any of us disagree that it’s nice to have international students but then what arethe implications for teaching and learning because this course in its current format does notwork for that class. So does it mean that we change the learners or do we change the course?And then what does that mean for more local learners? Because we can’t do everything foreverybody.
This is basically saying that Kota’s experience shows how important instructors are in helping international students get fully involved and feel included in class. But it also points out that not all teachers or native-speaking students automatically have the skills or resources to help second-language learners and it’s not only international students who need to adjust to the academic community. Since classes are becoming more diverse, teaching should be flexible. Instructors might need to change the way they teach, adjust course content, or adapt requirements to fit both international and local students’ needs. Dr. Evans says that while it’s great to have international students, the way the course is set up right now doesn’t work well for a mixed group. She wonders whether the answer is to change the students or change the course and reminds us that we can’t meet everyone’s needs all the time.
Because I want them to understand what foreign students like myself are going through... . Ithink that local students can show more understanding to foreign students if foreign studentstalk to them privately outside the classroom.
Kota explains that language was his biggest challenge, so he tried various strategies: taking ESL/EAP courses, auditing classes, hiring private tutors, and speaking English at home. These helped somewhat, but they took time away from his main doctoral work, and ESL classes didn’t always match graduate-level needs. Private tutors were especially effective they offered a safe space to practice speaking, refine research ideas, and learn about Canadian academic culture. Kota also built connections by talking one-on-one with classmates outside of class. This allowed him to clarify course material, get feedback, learn about their backgrounds, and better understand the local academic community. He even reached out to those least interested in him, believing private conversations could help local students empathize more with the challenges faced by international students like himself.
She insisted on feminist perspectives. She also wanted to convince her students about herperspectives. I sometimes felt that there were limitations to discussing the history of universitiesonly from a feminist perspective.
Kota is saying he was critical of Dr. Evans’ teaching because she didn’t make enough use of international students’ unique viewpoints, focusing instead on their difficulties with the course material. He also felt she wasn’t open to perspectives beyond feminism and that looking at the history of universities only through a feminist lens was limiting.
There’s a gender issue. . . . It’s happened before and it’s with international students, male, andtheir respect for female instructors. ... The rules are different than they are in other culturesand it’s a problem for the student and for the instructor.... And it’s hard to confront. Notrespect as... it’s not a different sort of respect but just general respect for the teaching andlearning experience and sometimes that isn’t present.
I think this means that male international students sometimes struggle with respecting female instructors in the same way that’s expected here. It’s not always intentional disrespect, but cultural differences in views on teaching and learning. This can cause problems and is hard to address.
A third perspective, gender, provides another interesting way to look at Kota’s academicsocialization. There were two contexts where gender issues surfaced. One was the doctoralseminar where Kota felt particularly powerless mainly because of his self-percetvedlimited language skills and his minority status as the only international student. Asdiscussed earlier, another significant reason for his marginality seemed to be relatedto the gap between his research interest and the kinds of research approaches that hadcurrency in the department. Interestingly, gender seemed to be also relevant to thisgap in a subtle but potentially significant way. Whereas feminism, critical theories, andissues of minority education were popular in the department, Kota was interested inexploring university—industry collaboration from a perspective of economics — a viewpointthat he felt might be considered as ‘a male perspective’
This part is talking about gender as another way to understand Kota’s experience in grad school. Gender came up in two situations. First, in the doctoral seminar, Kota felt powerless because he thought his language skills weren’t good enough and he was the only international student. Second, his research focus was really different from what most people in the department were doing. While others focused on topics like feminism, critical theory, and minority education, Kota studied university industry collaboration through an economics lens. He felt this might be seen as more of a “male” perspective, which made him stand out even more. So, his sense of being on the outside wasn’t only about language or culture the type of research he did, and how it might be gendered, also played a part
Researching the micro is very popularhere. ... Feminism is also popular. ... I gradually understood this tendency. .. .
Kota begin to understand and accept these important trends and academic culture.
I was isolated in that sense. ...
Because his interest was unique, he felt intellectually alone and disconnected from the others.
In the doctoral seminar I was the only one who was interested in looking at education from aperspective of economics.
In the seminar, Kota focused on studying education using economics theories, but nobody else was interested doing the same.
I have always made a point to bring [international students’ experiences to the class.
The Kota deliberately includes the perspectives and stories of international students in classroom discussions.
probably because ofmy own background, I’m much more aware of that.
Kota personal experience maybe his multicultural background, they are more sensitive to lack diverse perspectives and try to address it.
We talk about globalization and internationalizationand much of what’s going on in the classrooms is purely Canadian ....
Even though terms like "globalization" and "internationalization" are discussed, the reality is that classroom content often reflects only Canadian viewpoint, ignoring other culture perspectives.
They areimportant not only for them because they have a sense of participation and ownership, but it’salso very important for Canadian students.
This matters for international students because it helps them feel involved, valued, and equally valuable for Canadian students so they can broaden their understanding.
I felt so uncomfortable ....
The situation made him feel isolated and uneasy.
I couldn’t say anything. The best I could do was to ask what they were talkingabout.
He just stayed quite, his only contribution was asking for clarification, rather than adding to the conversation.
t theparties] they were all having fun talking about different things of which I had no backgroundknowledge.
At social gatherings, his classmates chatted about topics he wasn't familiar with, so he couldn't follow or join in the conversations.
But there’s no such responsibility when we meet in a pub at night ....
Outside of class, like in informal setting, people aren't expected to stop and listen to him in the same way.
... in the classroom environment, people have the responsibility to listen and respond to me ifI start talking.
In class, there's an unspoken rule that if he speaks up, others will pay attention and respond; it's part of the structured environment.
so I feel psychological resistance to thisapproach.
Because of training, it feels mentally and emotionally uncomfortable for him to just throw out comments without preparation.
But I’ve been trained to speakJapanese very precisely at a high academic level. ..,
In Japan, his academic background taught him to speak only after careful thought, making sure everything is well formed.
speaking up would at least help to appeal my presence. ...
Talking more might make others notice him and acknowledge that he's there and engaged.
If my goal was to saysomething whether or not it makes any sense, I would be able to do so right now ...
He knows that if he didn't care about weather his comments were meaningful, he could speak up at any moment just to have his voice heard.
I feel as if I’m the only one outside the circle, simply listening....
He feels excluded from the main group in the seminar. Instead of being part of the active discussion, he's just sitting there listening from the sidelines.
It is also possible that Kota became more awareof and proactive about his participation and positioning through his engagement in thisresearch project, especially through interactive reporting with the researcher.
Being part of the study itself may have increased his self-awareness and proactive behavior, with researcher dialogue acting as a reflective tool.
Importantly,however, Kota continuously attempted to analyze and understand the difficulties he wasfaced with, and implemented various strategies in order to improve his participation as wellas to construct a more positive identity.
He reflected on problems and took intentional action to change, aiming to see himself as a more confident and involved doctoral student.
He was able to participate more actively in his other graduate courses, but alsofaced different kinds of challenges in different courses,
His engagement varied by course type, suggesting participation was strongly influenced by class structure, format, and expectations.
His reports also indicated that he oftenfelt overwhelmed and frustrated with his studies in general and his class participation inparticular.
This reveals the emotional side of the struggle stress and frustration likely lowered his motivation and confidence.
During the first year of his doctoral studies, Kota generally found it very difficult toparticipate actively in his courses. According to his weekly reports, he found it mostchallenging to participate in class discussions in his doctoral seminars; he often reportedthat he was the only person who did not provide any comments, while the rest of the classengaged in active and sometimes heated discussions.
In his first year, Kota struggled most with speaking up in seminars, often staying quiet while classmates debated, which made him feel separate and unsure how to join in
In both professional and academic settings, the penalties are severe.
Why plagiarize when you’re intelligent!
Remember: you are writing this paper. Your words should be the most prominent aspect of your paper
When you write your paper, make sure your own ideas stand out the most, and use sources only to support what you’re saying.
Clearly indicate the specific sources also referenced in the works cited Specifically identify the location of the information that you used Carefully create a clear and concise citation, always confirming its accuracy Check out the video below for more discussion of your in-text citations.
Accurate citations that match your Works Cited and show where each detail came from.
The in-text citation is offset with parentheses, clearly calling attention to itself for the reader. The reference to the author or title is like a signal to the reader that information was incorporated from a separate source
Citations are placed in parentheses so they stand out to the reader. It gives credit to the original author and lets the reader find the source if they want to learn more.
summarize or paraphrase source material instead of quoting directly. Doing so shows that you understand your research well enough to write about it confidently in your own words.
Using your own words shows you understand what you’ve read.
paraphrased source differs from a summarized source in that you focus on restating the ideas, not condensing them.
Rewrite the information in your own words but keep all the details
Your paper must explain what you think, or it will read like a disconnected string of facts and quotations
Writing should show your own ideas and opinions. If you only include facts and quotes without explaining what you think about them, your paper will lack a clear point
A surprising fact A thought-provoking question An attention-getting quote A brief anecdote that illustrates a larger concept A connection between your topic and your readers experiences
Within starts of an introduction these are ways to catch the reader’s interest and make them want to keep reading. It helps draw people in and gets them thinking about the topic right from the start.
Hidden agendas are goals that are not immediately obvious but influence how an author presents the facts.
There intentions that affect how someone tells the story, even if they don’t say them directly.
Bias refers to favoritism or prejudice toward a particular person or group
Initially unfairly favoring or judging someone because of personal feelings.
To evaluate your research sources, use critical thinking skills consciously and deliberately. You will consider criteria such as the type of source, its intended purpose and audience, the author’s (or authors’) qualifications, the publication’s reputation, any indications of bias or hidden agendas, how current the source is, and the overall quality of the writing, thinking, and design.
carefully use your critical thinking skills, maybe think to where * What kind of source it is (for example, a book, article, or website) * How up-to-date the information is * How trustworthy the publication is * Why it was created and who or what it’s meant for
“Tips for Skimming Books and Articles” explains how skimming can help you obtain a quick sense of what topics are covered.
Quickly looking over a book or article can help you quickly figure out what are the main ideas included, without having to read everything in detail especially if your kinda in a rush
the content will still be presented in an objective style and formal tone
Even though the writing uses special terms, it’s still written in a fair and professional way. The authors don’t let their personal feelings show, and they keep the language serious and formal
When you search for periodicals, be sure to distinguish among different types.
Each type is different some are more reliable or detailed than others. Knowing the difference helps me pick the right sources for my research when I know I can get a more accurate answer and understanding
To locate shorter sources, such as magazine and journal articles, you will need to use an online database.
Database is pretty useful, it organizes the information and makes it easier to look up specific topics, authors, or dates, so I can find what I need for my research more efficiently.
Ask yourself which sources are most likely to provide answers your research questions.
It’s important you know based on sources what information has been gathered and the truth of that topic
Secondary sources discuss, interpret, analyze, consolidate, or otherwise rework information from primary sources.
These materials that take information from original sources and then explain or talk about it in more detail. They more so focus on the original content to help people better understand it.
Primary sources are direct, firsthand sources of information or data
Basically original materials or evidence that come straight from the people or events being studied.
Next, in step four, you generate sub-questions from your main question. For instance, “During the 19th century, what were some of the competing theories about how life is created?,” and “Did any of Mary Shelley’s other works relate to the creation of life?” After you know what sub-questions you want to pursue, you’ll be able to move to step five.
Breaking down these questions are like pieces, and when you put them all together, they help you see the full picture
Your main research question should be substantial enough to form the guiding principle of your paper—but focused enough to guide your research. A strong research question requires you not only to find information but also to put together different pieces of information, interpret and analyze them, and figure out what you think.
Writing a paper should make you think more deeply, connect different ideas, and share your own thoughts about what you’ve learned
You may also use the list as a starting point to help you identify additional, related topics. Discussing your ideas with your instructor will help ensure that you choose a manageable topic that fits the requirements of the assignment.
Your instructor teacher knows what the assignment requires, so their advice can help you pick a topic that meets all the guidelines.
Another part of your research plan should include the type of sources you want to gather. The possibilities include articles, scholarly journals, primary sources, textbooks, encyclopedias, and more
Different types of sources serve different purposes. Choosing the right ones helps you gather strong, reliable evidence for your paper.
You would also not want to search for a single instance of surgery because you might not be able to find enough information on it. Find a happy medium between a too-broad or too-specific topic to research.
Don’t pick a topic that’s so specific you can’t find enough information. Choose one that’s focused but still has enough sources to research.
Narrow the scope of your argument by identifying the specific subtopic you will research. A broad search will yield thousands of sources, which makes it difficult to form a focused, coherent argument, and it is not possible to include every topic in your research
The narrowed topic is easier to research and allows you to create a clear, focused thesis statement.
The research process allows you to gain expertise on a topic of your choice, and the writing process helps you not only remember what you have learned, but also understand it on a deeper level.
Become knowledgeable about a topic you’re interested in, and writing about it helps you remember what you learned and understand it better.
As a researcher, you have countless resources at your disposal, and it can be difficult to sift through each source while looking for specific information. If you begin researching without a plan, you could find yourself wasting hours
If you don’t have a plan before you start, you might waste a lot of time looking for the info you actually need
it is important to develop a research plan to ensure your final paper will accomplish its goals
It’s a good idea to make a research plan so you can stay on track and make sure your paper does what you want it to in the end.
it is important to develop a research plan to ensure your final paper will accomplish its goals.
It’s a good idea to make a research plan so you can stay on track and make sure your paper does what you want it to in the end.
Boundless Writing explains that a research paper is an expanded essay that relies on existing discourse to analyze a perspective or construct an argument.
research paper uses information from other sources to help build and support your own point of view
You will need to put your thoughts together in a logical, coherent manner. You may want to use the facts you have learned to create a narrative or to support an argument
You need to organize your ideas clearly and use facts to tell a story or support your argument.
A research paper presents an original thesis, or purpose statement, about a topic and develops that thesis with information gathered from a variety of sources.
A research paper shares your main point or purpose about a topic, and you back it up with information you find from different places.
trying to solve a mystery—you want to know how something works or why something happened. In other words, you want to answer a question that you (and other people) have about the world
Figuring out a mystery, you’re trying to understand how something works or why it happened. You’re asking a question about something in the world that you and others want to understand better.
The writer should ask himself or herself questions in order to replace the linking verb with an action verb, thus forming a stronger thesis statement, one that takes a more definitive stance on the issue
Using strong verbs helps your thesis stand out. It shows exactly what you’re arguing or claiming, rather than just stating a general fact.
A joke means many things to many people. Readers bring all sorts of backgrounds and perspectives to the reading process and would need clarification for a word so vague. This expression may also be too informal for the selected audience.
reader approaches writing with their own perspective. As a result, your message could become unclear or misunderstood.
Pinpoint and replace all non-specific words, such as people, everything, society, or life, with more precise words in order to reduce any vagueness.
Don’t use broad words that could mean anything—pick exact words so your reader knows exactly who or what you’re talking about.
By challenging your own ideas and forming definite reasons for those ideas, you grow closer to a more precise point of view, which you can then incorporate into your thesis statement.
When you question your own opinions and find solid reasons to support them, you end up with a clearer viewpoint to use
Your thesis will probably change as you write, so you will need to modify it to reflect exactly what you have discussed in your essay
An Ex would be: Social media has a big impact on teenagers.
As you write, you focus more on how social media affects teenagers’ mental health. So, you update your thesis to:
Social media negatively affects teenagers’ mental health by increasing anxiety and lowering self-esteem.
you must also use confidence in your claim. Phrases such as “I feel” or “I believe” actually weaken the readers’ sense of your confidence because these phrases imply that you are the only person who feels the way you do. In other words, your stance has insufficient backing
You should make your point directly and confidently, without using those phrases because they can make your argument sound less convincing.
The tone is authoritative and takes a stance that others might oppose.
Your writing should be assertive and sure of itself, even if your viewpoint challenges what others think.
For any claim you make in your thesis, you must be able to provide reasons and examples for your opinion.
Every idea or point you include in your thesis, you need to have reasons and examples to support and prove it.
A thesis statement must present a relevant and specific argument. A factual statement often is not considered arguable. Be sure your thesis statement contains a point of view that can be supported with evidence.
Your thesis should clearly show your viewpoint, not just give information. It needs to present an argument you can support with evidence.
Your thesis statement should be in your introduction because you must make sure that the audience is aware of your paper’s intent so that there is clarity from the outset.
This sets the stage for your entire paper and gives your audience a clear sense of direction from the very beginning.
thesis is not your paper’s topic, but rather your interpretation of the question or subject.
whatever your topic may be, it’s your own viewpoint or claim about that subject and gathering as much information of truth to back up your point.
The textbook Successful Writing explains that writers need a thesis statement to provide a specific focus for their essay and to organize what they will discuss in the body of their writing. A thesis statement is an argumentative central claim in a paper; the entire paper is focused on demonstrating that claim as a valid perspective. Your thesis statement should be in your introduction because you must make sure that the audience is aware of your paper’s intent so that there is clarity from the outset
writing says a thesis statement helps you stay on track with your topic and keeps your ideas organized. It’s basically your main point, and putting it in the intro lets readers know what your paper’s about right from the beginning.
Read your paper aloud to catch errors, and use spell check on your computer to correct any typos.
Reading out loud in general or when trying to memorize things does help you catch errors or either thing how it can be better
Revising Your Body Paragraphs As you build support for your thesis in the body paragraphs, always ask yourself if you are spending your readers’ time wisely.
We all think differently and as you write and develop your body paragraphs, make sure every detail truly strengthens your main point and respects your readers’ time by being clear and meaningful.
Make sure you draw your readers in from the beginning and follow with interesting and supportive information. If readers are not intrigued from the very beginning of the piece, they will quickly become distracted and avoid reading any further.
You want to hook your readers from the very start and keep giving them cool and helpful info. If the beginning is not as interesting, it then becomes a story collecting dust. Sadly..
Another helpful technique in the final revision process is to have someone read your paper aloud to you. This practice will force you to go over the material more slowly and allow you another chance to absorb the content of the paper.
Having someone read your paper out loud helps you review it more carefully and gives you a better chance to understand and catch any mistakes.
Revising and editing are two separate processes that are often used interchangeably by novice writers. Revising requires a significant alteration in a piece of writing, such as enriching the content, or giving the piece clarity; editing, however, is not as involved and includes fixing typos and grammatical errors.
Adding more details, reorganizing ideas, or making things clearer, so the message comes through better.
T = “What’s all this about?” E = “How do you know?” A = “Why should I care?” R = “What does this have to do with anything?”
So for example my dog again lol, love that dog. T: My dog is very friendly. E: He always greets people by wagging his tail. A: This makes visitors feel welcome at my house. R: That’s why I think having a friendly dog is important.
Before using a particular transitional word or phrase, be sure you completely understand its meaning and usage. For example, if you use a word or phrase that indicates addition (“moreover,” “in addition,” “further”), you must actually be introducing a new idea or piece of evidence. A common mistake with transitions is using such a word without actually adding an idea to the discussion. That confuses readers and puts them back on rickety footing, wondering if they missed something.
Only use transition words when they fit what you’re saying, so your writing stays clear and easy to follow.
In the end, you want your body paragraphs to build (like blocks) to your conclusion. Transitions are the glue that hold these blocks together. You should work on building topic sentences that both develop and support the thesis in a logical manner. Avoid such easy, empty transitions as “firstly,” “secondly” and “finally.”
Example for instance: My dog is the best companion I could ask for. Every morning, he waits by the door and wags his tail as soon as he sees me, showing how excited he is to start the day together. For example, last weekend, he brought me his leash and barked until I took him for a walk around the neighborhood where he usually greets other dogs. His friendly and loyal nature always brightens my mood, knowing I never could ask for a better companion.
Take a look at the picture above. Notice anything? No two slices are the same. So it should be in your essay. Each paragraph should do its own job, have its own focus.
Each essay should be unique and in its own way where the story makes sense towards the end.
While you’re writing, think of each paragraph as a self-contained portion of your argument. Each paragraph will begin by making a claim (your topic sentence) that connects back to your thesis. The body of the paragraph will present the evidence, reasoning, and conclusions that pertain to that claim. Usually, paragraphs will end by connecting their claim to the larger argument or by setting up the claim that the next paragraph will contain.
As you write your first paragraph it should cover one main idea that supports my thesis. I start with a sentence that says what the paragraph is about, then give facts or reasons to back it up. At the end, I connect it to my main argument or get ready for the next point.
Testimony consists of direct quotations from either an eyewitness or an expert witness. An eyewitness is someone who has direct experience with a subject; he adds authenticity to an argument based on facts
Quoting someone who was there or really knows the subject helps prove your point and makes your argument more trustworthy.
Judgments are conclusions drawn from the given facts. Judgments are more credible than opinions because they are founded upon careful reasoning and examination of a topic.
Judgments = conclusions based on facts and reasoning. Opinions = personal thoughts or feelings, sometimes without proof. Therefore judgments are more believable because they use facts.
explain, or prove your main argument without delving into irrelevant details. When faced with lots of information that could be used to prove your thesis, you may think you need to include it all in your body paragraphs.
Go straight into the most important evidence and examples that clearly back up your thesis. Don’t get sidetracked by adding extra information that doesn’t really help prove what’s the point.
Ideally the end of your first paragraph will clarify the thesis statement you will support in the rest of your paper.
After reading my introduction, it should be obvious to the reader what my essay is about and what side I’m taking. My thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph should lay out my main idea.
Not all people like to begin writing their introduction. Some writers like to begin the body paragraphs and then return to the introduction and conclusion once they know what it is they would like to focus on. There is no one right process. Find the process that works for you.
Some start with an outline, some with the thesis, others with the conclusion, or even just by brainstorming ideas. Everyone has their own way of getting started.
The best way to revise your thesis statement is to ask questions about it and then examine the answers to those questions. By challenging your own ideas and forming definite reasons for those ideas, you grow closer to a more precise point of view, which you can then incorporate into your thesis statement.
ask yourself questions about it and think about the answers. When you challenge your own ideas, you figure out exactly what you believe and why.
Ability to be argued
It needs to show your opinion or point of view, and you should be able to back it up with evidence.
Precision
Making sure your message is specific and leaves no room for misunderstanding. It’s about saying exactly what you mean, without being vague or general
Specificity
It helps your audience understand the purpose and scope of your writing.
A formal outline is a detailed guide that shows how all your supporting ideas relate to each other. This outline helps you distinguish between ideas that are equally important and ones that are less important
It helps me figure out which points are the most important and which ones are just supporting details
Three common ways to structure a paper are chronological order, spatial order, and order of importance. Choose the order that will most effectively fit your purpose and support your main point.
You tell things in the order they happened, from first to last.
You describe things based on where they are located or how they are arranged in space.
Order of importance: You start with the most important point and move to the least important (or the other way around).
When you write, your goal is not only to complete an assignment but also to write for a specific purpose—perhaps to inform, to explain, to persuade, or to achieve a combination of these purposes.
Writing isn’t only about completing the task; it’s also about having a clear purpose, whether that’s to inform, explain, persuade, or achieve several of these at once blending these together.
Order refers to your choice of what to present first, second, third, and so on in your writing. The order you pick closely relates to your purpose for writing that particular assignment.
The way I organize the points in my writing deciding what comes first, second, and so on depends on what I’m trying to accomplish with my assignment. The order I choose should help me achieve my purpose, whether that’s explaining something clearly or convincing someone of my opinion.
The textbook English for Business Success explains that your prewriting activities and readings can help you gather information for your assignment. The more you sort through the pieces of information you found, the more you will begin to see the connections between them.
When I spend time gathering information and thinking about my topic before I start writing, I begin to notice how different ideas are related. The more I look through what I’ve found, the easier it is to see connections between the facts and details, which helps me organize my assignment better. You can adjust the wording to match your style, but the key idea is that sorting through your notes and research helps you understand your topic and structure your writing.
You may receive an assignment prompt that asks you to write from your memory, recapturing the experience of reading a special book or text from your childhood or adolescence. Think of this as a chance to recapture something significant from your past, to explore its importance, and to reconstruct it in writing for others to appreciate.
Treat the assignment as an opportunity to look back on a meaningful experience from your past.
Basic Orienting Facts-Lets the reader know who, when, where, and what is happening. Organization-The reason you order your content the way you do. Structure-The order in which you choose to present your events to your reader Scene-Vivid descriptions of the setting and what you said in order to feel immersed in a story. Scene is the opposite of summary. Use scene sparingly when you want to slow down and focus on an important part of the story. Summary– A way to manage time. When you tell the reader what used to happen in your family, for example, you could explain, “My mother used to cook Sunday dinner for the family. She often made a roast.” You are summarizing what used to happen in the past. If you were to write about a specific Sunday, and you fleshed out what happened in scene with dialogue, included details about the sound of vegetables being chopped, described the smells in the kitchen, and told the reader what your mother was wearing, and reflected on the conversation you had, that would be a scene. Summary condenses information in both academic and creative writing, but in creative writing, summary is linked to time management. Persona– The character of you that you construct. It’s not literally you, because you are not words on the page, right? You are flesh and bone and you have a rich inner life. Use that rich inner life to develop your persona. Persona comes from the Latin word for mask. It’s the version of you that you would like to illustrate for the reader in your memoir. This is a complicated concept. One way to think of your persona is you in relationship to the situation or people in the story. The persona can also be shaped by time: who and what you were like when you were twelve, for example. It can be shaped by relationship to your topic: who and what you are like in relationship to your mother or third grade teacher or your sergeant in boot camp. Readers Trust in You-Readers won’t automatically question your credibility as a narrator on the page, but if you seem very infallible or somehow superhuman while everyone else in the story is tragically flawed, then the reader will wonder about the truthfulness of your own self-depiction. You are accountable to telling the story to your reader as truthfully as you can, while using craft elements to engage the reader. It’s a daunting task. Also, readers like protagonists who are flawed, so be truthful about your mistakes. Setting-Where and when the story takes place. Mood-The emotional weight or atmosphere of a story, created through details, description, and other craft features, for example, sometimes setting can help create a mood. Imagery-An image in a story, or in a poem, is a description that appeals to one of the five senses. An image should also convey additional meaning, either emotional and/or intellectual. It’s not an image to say green gelatin. Green gelatin is meaningless until the reader injects the gelatin with meaning. You can, however, create an image if you were to write, “The Frog Eye Salad recipe that my beloved grandmother used to make for Sunday picnics.” The latter description is specific and contains emotional content. Reflection-The sense and interpretation that you make of the events that transpired in your memoir and how you feel and/or think about them. You can also reflect on the story and relate the events to the universal meaning or theme you would like to include in the story.
By understanding and using these craft features like scene, summary, persona, setting, mood, imagery, and reflection you can write stories that are clear, engaging, and meaningful not just to yourself but the reader as well. These tools help you organize your story, bring it to life, and connect with your readers on a deeper level
you will definitely need transitional words and phrases to guide the reader through time.
When moving through different times or events in a narrative, words and phrases are important to use to make your own writing visible.
As always, it is important to start with a strong introduction to hook your reader into wanting to read more. Try opening the essay with an event that is interesting to introduce the story and get it going. Tell the story with scene and engaging details. Finally, your conclusion should help resolve the central conflict of the story and impress upon your reader the ultimate theme of the piece.
You really want to hook the reader at the beginning; something that really catches there eye, make the middle engaging with detailed storytelling, and finish with a meaningful ending that ties everything together.
You want your audience to be moved by your story, which could mean through laughter, sympathy, fear, anger, and so on. The more clearly you tell your story, the more emotionally engaged your audience is likely to be.
You need to tell your story clearly and vividly. The better your narrative, the stronger the emotional response you’ll inspire in your readers or listeners for sure.
Notice how the analysis does not simply repeat information from the original report, but considers how the points within the report relate to one another
The analysis doesn’t just restate the report’s information; it examines how the various points are linked and interact with each other.
This diagram illustrates the relationship between Audience, Tone, and Purpose in writing, highlighting how each element influences the content and interacts with the others to create effective communication.
These elements help determine both the content of your message and the way you express it, so your communication is clear and effective.
Your teachers will likely introduce different purposes for your writing, and different conventions they want you to follow depending on the disciplines in which they teach.
Different subjects have different rules and expectations for writing. We must see communicating your ideas clearly in the way that’s expected in each field are you being able to know what your talking about.
As you are reading, highlight areas where you have questions, and also mark words you feel are particularly important. Ask yourself why your professor assigned this task. How does it relate to what you are studying in class? Pay attention to key words, such as compare, contrast, analyze, etc. Who is your audience? Should the paper be written in a formal or informal tone? Is there documentation required?
You’re setting yourself up to write a more focused, clear, and successful paper. It helps you avoid confusion, stay on track, and meet your professor’s expectations. When reading know exactly what you would want your child to understand and question.
regardless of genre, one can use some basic strategies to approach these assignments constructively.
By planning, organizing ideas, and thinking about your audience, you can handle any kind of writing more successfully
Once you figure out what works best for you, try to repeat that pattern each time you find yourself in a situation where you must write.
This approach will definitely help in the long run, it’s all about progression in your work.
Our brains respond differently to the task of writing. Some people like to outline, some people like to create idea maps, and some people like to write all their ideas down and organize later.
In different ways helps you find the process that works best for you. This reminds you that writing is a process because you want your sentences or essay to be genuinely meaningful it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong it just means you might need a different approach that fits your thinking style.
asks a friend or colleague to read what she has written
Sure, they can offer fresh eyes to catch mistakes, unclear ideas, or awkward wording that you might miss.
Your essay should “flow” in the sense that the ideas connect to each other, but not in the sense that the style seems like listening to the waves of a lake lapping against the shore at steady intervals
The focus should be on clear connections between ideas, not on making the writing sound overly poetic or soothing.
usually leaves the opposite impression that you are spending too much time with the thesaurus and not enough with the actual substance of the essay.
I agree with this statement, overusing complex or unfamiliar words can give the impression that you’re more focused on using big vocabulary than on expressing meaningful ideas in your essay.
That means you should avoid unnecessary informality like first and second person usage, use of slang, and the temptation to write like you are texting, tweeting, emailing, blogging, or engaging in any other genre that is typically characterized by a less formal style.
Okay fine, when writing formally for a class or work I should avoid casual type of words but yes that just makes us who we are and how we learned our language while growing.
Your writing style, especially your word choice (diction), should reflect the audience you are writing to. Always imagine who your hypothetical audience is (what type of publication would the content of your essay fit into?) and that will help you determine the specifics of your writing style.
The way you write and the words you pick should fit the readers you have in mind. Imagine the person who will be reading your word.
A friend who tells you about her weekend may speak excitedly about a fun skiing trip. An instructor who means business may speak in a low, slow voice to emphasize her serious mood. Or, a coworker who needs to let off some steam after a long meeting may crack a sarcastic joke.
Depending on the situation like in speaking, your tone in writing can show excitement, seriousness, or even sarcasm. The example shows how people naturally change how they communicate.
Saying each writer has a unique voice does not mean that each writer has a radically different style from anyone else. In academic writing, voice comes down to small habits and personal preferences. Think about it this way: if all the students in your class were told to explain a complex concept, none of them would do it in the same way. Each one would use different language and syntax to describe the concept, and as each student makes individual choices in language and syntax over a period of time,
Every writer has their own way of writing, but that doesn’t mean their style is totally different from everyone else’s. In school writing, your voice shows up in the little things like the words you choose and how you put your sentences together.
Voice refers to elements of the author’s tone, phrasing, and style that are recognizably unique to her or him. Having a distinctive, persuasive voice is crucial to engaging your audience — without it, your paper risks falling flat, no matter how much research you’ve compiled or how well you’ve followed other directions
Even with good research and structure, your writing can feel dull if it lacks a clear, engaging voice that connects with the reader. You must be able to show a sharper tone in your voice even when writing. It’s able to connect you as a writer or a speaker to your audience.
As a writer, it is important to know your audience and to consider which content will be appropriate for that audience. Once you have determined these basic steps in your writing process, you can begin to consider how to shape and develop your voice to be academic and appropriate to the discipline in which you are writing.
Know who you're writing for, choose content that fits them, and shape your voice to match the academic style of your subject.
you update your status on a social networking site with the awareness of who will digitally follow the post. If you want to brag about a good grade, you may write the post to please family members. If you want to describe a funny moment, you may write with your friends’ senses of humor in mind. Even at work, you send e-mails with an awareness of an unintended receiver who could intercept the message.
When you write, you make choices about what to say and how to say it based on who will read it. We want to keep our audience engaged and focused on what the author is saying.
Even in everyday writing activities, you identify your readers’ characteristics, interests, and expectations before making decisions about what you write.
Your decisions about what and how to write your tone, vocabulary, level of detail, structure, etc. Whether you're texting to a friend or a writing professor in an email, you're always adjusting your message to fit the audience better.
Even the best students, however, need to make big adjustments to learn the conventions of academic writing. College-level writing obeys different rules, and learning them will help you hone your writing skills. Think of it as ascending another step up the writing ladder.
I’m definitely aiming to improve my writing and reading skills. Perfection isn't the goal, but by continuously striving for progress, we can develop our own unique approach to writing a paper.
Regardless of your field of study, honing your writing skills—plus your reading and critical-thinking skills—will help you build a solid academic foundation.
This statement emphasizes the importance of writing, reading, and critical thinking is; no matter the specific area of study. Writing is crucial because it helps you clearly communicate ideas, while reading deepens your understanding of various topics. Critical thinking allows you to analyze, evaluate, and form reasoned conclusions.