Online Advanced Composition Class: Writing Academic Essays, a class beginning in mid-August 2008 at http://eslbee.com/academy (will open in new window).

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This web site is for non-native speakers of English who want to write in English for academic purposes.  The material in this site is aimed toward high intermediate or advanced English learners who have never taken a formal English writing course and whose TOEFL score is about 500 or more. 

The main objective of this site is to help non-native English speakers write for an English speaking academic audience which necessarily includes organization of ideas, the single greatest weakness among many non-native English speakers. 

Thus, the material in this site begins with the organization of the classic five-paragraph essay, an excellent foundation for all academic writing.  (See my essay, Rationale for the Five-Paragraph Essay.)  After organization of ideas, this site also contains reviews of "local" aspects of writing such as sentences, adjective clauses, appositives, etc., including many short online quizzes.  While the organizational aspects of academic writing contribute most toward noticeable improvement, local aspects of writing contribute significantly as well.  For example, the use of sentence variety including simple, compound, and complex sentences, appositives, and even parallel structure always creates a good impression on experienced readers!  Second, sentence variety enlivens an essay so the reader can remain interested in what the writer has to say.

If you are visiting this site for a specific answer to a specific writing assignment, begin with the "Introduction" in the "How to Library" (top right) and work through the essay genres which are arranged by degree of difficulty.  For models of the five-paragraph essays, refer to the "Students' Essays" as needed.  And for local aspects of writing and quizzes, navigate through the items of interest to you.

Thanks for visiting.  I hope the material in this site works for you.

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