As ESL teachers, we’ve all had those students who do great on their grammar exams, speak up confidently in class, and are always first to raise their hands for activities - and yet, when it comes time for a writing assignment, they can barely squeeze out a few short sentences. This can be frustrating for the student and teacher alike - but it’s the symptom of a problem that’s well-known in every teaching community: Speaking and writing are two very different skills.
As with any new skill, practice is key - but students who have trouble writing aren’t usually keen to take on even more writing practice. After all, they might think, if their grammar and vocabulary are correct, and they don’t need to write in English for their jobs, what’s the point of drilling this skill? The answer is, of course, that the ability to write in English is key in the world and the workplace - from writing cover letters and CVs to drafting emails and client presentations. The responsibility is at least partly on you, the teacher, to provide assignments that draw your students into the writing process.
BusyTeacher.org is your number-one stop for exactly those kinds of assignments. Our 730 writing worksheets will provide your students with intriguing writing prompts, and with a variety of writing exercises that’ll help them watch their own improvement as it happens. Our worksheets even break down the writing process into its core components, so you can figure out exactly where in the process each student is struggling, and intervene with exercises to help him or her through that trouble spot.
The writing worksheets here on BusyTeacher.org will help familiarize your students with all the sub-skills involved in writing - from choosing a topic and constructing that first paragraph, all the way to writing movie reviews and short poems. Some of our worksheets even cover basics like handwriting and sentence structure - so no matter how much your students need to brush up on their fundamentals, we’ve got worksheets to meet them where they are.
You’ll find worksheets on any topic you can imagine, from daily routines and holidays to pop culture, news, and even poetry and song lyrics. Some worksheets just help you lead simple fill-in-the-blank exercises, while others present thought-provoking topics for full essays, or include plans for your students to create their own newsletters. And for students who need help with English school assignments, you’ll also find worksheets on writing essays and test responses.
You can browse all of our 730 writing worksheets in thumbnail view, so you don’t have to wait for any of them to load to get an idea of what they’re like. As you scroll down the page, just click on any worksheet that catches your eye - they’re all completely free to download, print, and share in any way you like. And they’re all created and classroom-tested by real ESL teachers all over the world - which means you can be confident they’ll work in your classroom, too. If you’ve got a worksheet of your own that you’d like to share with your fellow ESL teachers in the BusyTeacher.org community, just click the “Submit a worksheet” button at the bottom of this page.
All of these writing worksheets are here to help you - so pick out a few that look interesting, and give them a try in your classroom today. We’re sure you’ll love them as much as the other ESL teachers in our community already do.
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This worksheet can be used for a listening activity based on the poem Ithaka by Cavafis. It includes a gap-filling activity and reading comprehension questions, after which you could engage studen ...
To be used with the film Little Pig Is Flying. The children are to discuss then write the thoughts the squirrel is having when he meets little pig. The thoughts of the squirrel are to be wrote in ...
This worksheet is for practising different vocabulary, eg. appearance, clothes, dwellings, seasons... can be used with all levels except begginers and elementary students. Students can use their i ...
Describing Big Ben is a writing prompt for Elementary and Pre-Intermediate levels. The students have to write a paragraph based on the facts and a picture they see in a box. Moreover they can fo ...
This handout has been developed to guide students when they have to write a summary in English from a narrative text. It divides the process into different stages to make it easier and more meanin ...
This is a range of activities for all levels of students based on the plot by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Use the activity for your level of students. There are various activi ...
Group the students and task them to make their own poem about their pastime following the given sample. In this activity, they will be able to express their opinions about various pastime. They wi ...
This is a creative writing worksheet that practices descriptive adjectives and simple present verbs. You have to create a new flavor of jellybeans. Using the simple present tense, you can practic ...
When you work to inspire young writers in school, you may find this presentation useful. I have made an excerpt from Sol Steins advice on how to write in an interesting way. I have used this prese ...
a worksheet I use it with grade 7 to give them a sample of first person narrative . In addition to some questions to focus on what the student suppose to write in the introductory paragraph of a s ...
Simple worksheet that explains the characteristics of fictional text. It includes two skills: reading and writting. It contains well known fictional stories: The Ant and The Grasshopper, Little Re ...
I made this using the excellent BBC animation which looks at verb usage, prepositions and spelling. The participants watch the film while completing the exercises. The teacher can pause it between ...
Level: Good beginner/Intermediate. A simple activity which at first sight looks like a grammar-type exercise. However, the students must complete one of the 25 unfinished phrases of passages of s ...
This is a compilation of the main words and structures that are used in English to connect and relate ideas within a text. There are several squares according to the different functions, and withi ...
I wish I could upload the whole kit in one file! I use this in the first day of class, but you can use it any day. This is how I do it: The students get: -One copy of this worksheet; -One card fr ...
This worksheet is an introduction to descriptive writing. The first section shows an example of how it is used. Then students are asked to describe their lunch in detail. In the second section stu ...
If you what your lower-level students to write, this is an excellent worksheet. The main theme is music and they will love that! This worksheet will help them to make comparisons between music gen ...
When students start to write, they often have troubles with making grammatically correct sentences. That's why they need to learn about fragments and run-on sentences. My worksheet will help you w ...
This is an activity for the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". It's nice to show the movie (subtitles in English on) to the class and do the activities in the class that follows. This two sheets of ...
Reviewing a favorite (or not so favorite) book helps a child’s reading comprehension. It also gives him or her the opportunity to express an opinion through writing and develop his or her wr ...
This worksheet helps the students to write film/ book review using the adequate language and following an organised layout. Students first discuss their favourite book/ film and then they are giv ...
This sheet provides the suggested layout for opinion writing. After listening to the song and asking students to discuss their opinions of the topic of capital punishment, students are asked to lo ...
This worksheet is intended to encourage students to discuss capital punishment and what they think of it. The lesson is introduced by a song called " The Iron Lady" and then students are given an ...
The worksheet is intended to teach argumentative writing and the suggested layout. Students are prompted to the lesson by a short video about the topic of "Euthanasia". They first watch the video ...
This worksheet presents two different ways of saying the same thing: formal and informal language. It is followed by a practice exercise. Students need to tell the difference between formal and in ...
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