ELL: Proven

Writing Practices
to support Academic
English Learners
Dr. Kate Kinsella
Author, English 3D; Co-Author, Read 180®; Teacher Educator,
Researcher; CEO, Dr. Kate Kinsella & Associates
Kate Kinsella, Ed.D., provides consultancy to state departments of
education throughout the U.S., school districts, and publishers on
evidence-based instructional principles and practices to accelerate
academic English acquisition for K–12 language minority youths.
Her numerous publications and instructional programs focus on
career and college readiness for academic English learners, with
an emphasis on academic interaction, high-utility vocabulary
development, informational text reading, and scholarly writing
across subject areas. She can be reached at
drkate@drkatekinsella.com.
Direction Words in Writing Prompts
Response Frames
 Formal Writing Prompt
Where do you tend to complete your most
challenging homework? Evaluate your regular study
place and determine changes you should make to
create a productive environment for completion of
challenging assignments.
 Long-Term English Learner Writing Sample
Response to Formal Prompt
Well actually I study in my living room almost sometime. Cause I don't always do my
homeworks. Every time when I picked up my pen to work on my homeworks. I got
disturb from my little bros., and sister. They come into the living room and chasing
each other aroun. Man I was like sitting in hell with a demon. In my living room I had a
table. Which it is about 6 ft. by 3, a lamp, dictionary, pen and school stuff. had a 27
inch TV in front of me.
9th grade (7 years in U.S., Level 3 for 5 years)
 Well actually I study in my living room almost sometime. Cause I don't always do my homeworks.
Every time when I picked up my pen to work on my homeworks. I got disturb from my little bros., and
sister. They come into the living room and chasing each other aroun. Man I was like sitting in hell
with a demon. In my living room I had a table. Which it is about 6 ft. by 3, a lamp, dictionary, pen and
school stuff. had a 27 inch TV in front of me.

What do we notice about this student's writing and English proficiency?

Imprecise vocabulary use: school stuff
Inconsistent and inaccurate use of present tense to describe habitual actions: I study; I had a desk

Errors with:
● Adverbs of frequency: almost sometime
● Noun usage: homeworks
● Verb phrases: I got disturb from
● Sentence fragments: Cause I don't do my homeworks.
● Conversational register:
Well actually; Man I was like...
 Syntax Support:
Evaluating Your Study Environment
● I (regularly, typically) complete my most demanding homework assignments
in_____
● I prefer to study in this location because ____
● One challenge I face working in_____is_____
● To create a more productive study environment, I should _____and____
● A positive change I could make would be to _____
 Features of a Response Frame
1 ) A scaffold for a sentence in academic register
2) Focused on a specific topic (not generic)
3) Embedded precise word choices
4) Clearly specified grammatical target(s)
5) Opportunities to apply original content

In my experience, group _____(plural noun: e.g. tasks) are more productive and
rewarding when every classmate ____ (verb +s: e.g., focuses on…)
 Prompt, Response Frame, a Precise Word Banks

Who is someone you respect in your family or community?

One person I respect in my (family/community) is my______ because (he/she)_______.

(noun: coach)
(verb+s: helps)

NOUNS (people) VERBS (action words)

• mother • cousin • teacher • helps • gives •understands
• father • aunt • neighbor • makes • knows • creates
•grandfather • brother • tutor • shows •tries • speaks
Writing Rubrics