730 FREE Writing Worksheets
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FREE Writing Worksheets

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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ESL Articles
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Thanksgiving Flashcards

Thanksgiving Flashcards

Jeff Genet
A beautifully illustrated set of flashcards for Thanksgiving. Powerful tools for creative writing, storytelling, brainstorming, conversation starters, vocabulary building and pretty much anything! ...
1 Views 25,128 All
Reading and Writing Collaborative Activity Using Sticky Notes

Reading and Writing Collaborative Activity Using Sticky Notes

Lynn Bradshaw
This is a worksheet to get students thinking about what they read and write on a daily basis. It is particularly useful for students who claim they never read by getting them to explore what they ...
1 Views 26,009 Pre-IntIntAdv
Halloween Storytelling Flashcard Prompts

Halloween Storytelling Flashcard Prompts

Jeff Genet
High quality beautifully illustrated flashcards that can be used for icebreakers, vocabulary building, storytelling, creating writing, presentations, cultural awareness and a variety of other thin ...
1 Views 27,033 All
English Resource - Writing a Descriptive Paragraph 1

English Resource - Writing a Descriptive Paragraph 1

When writing a descriptive paragraph remember to: 1. Make sure that you choose a meaningful person, place, or thing. 2. Introduce the person, place, or thing you are describing. 3. Keep your reade ...
1 Views 27,198 Elem
A Single Life - Tell a Story with Sequencing Words

A Single Life - Tell a Story with Sequencing Words

A worksheet to accompany a short animated video.  Includes vocabulary for different life stages, sequencing words to help students write a plot summary of the video, discussion questions and ...
2 Views 38,744 Pre-IntIntAdv
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A Trip to the Hospital - Picture-Based Sequencing Activity

A Trip to the Hospital - Picture-Based Sequencing Activity

Jeff Genet
An awesome collaborative or individual exercise to practice writing, speaking, sequencing, storytelling, follow up questions and much more! Use the images as prompts to tell a story. Brainstorm vo ...
1 Views 28,036 All
The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe

The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe

iClassics Collection
The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of his sanity, while descr ...
1 Views 22,500 Pre-IntIntAdvExam
Superheroes and Superpowers - Video and Writing Prompt

Superheroes and Superpowers - Video and Writing Prompt

Tom Leventhall
Discussion/warmer activity centered around superheroes and their superpowers. Students begin by watching a YouTube clip, using it identify a number of superpowers. They then design their own sup ...
1 Views 39,739 Pre-IntIntAdvExam
Explanatory Writing Prompt - Hair Styles

Explanatory Writing Prompt - Hair Styles

Motivate students to write and to improve their explanatory writing skills with this creative writing prompt that asks them to write about their hair style. Why did they choose it? Is it unique? H ...
1 Views 17,904 Int
Christmas Story Picture - Small Chimney

Christmas Story Picture - Small Chimney

This Christmas worksheet was created for primary/elementary students. Kids look at the picture and write a creative story to go along with it. Santa is looking a bit worried...We think the chimney ...
7 Views 42,282 Elem
Teaching Gerunds Through Creative Writing

Teaching Gerunds Through Creative Writing

Michael Patrick
Lesson 7 in this 24 part series of exercises is almost all about gerunds which are very common in everyday usage and these different exercises will show your students just how much. I've also snu ...
7 Views 38,420 Pre-IntInt
Alien Welcome Committee Writing Prompt

Alien Welcome Committee Writing Prompt

This creative writing prompt will help students build language and writing skills by imagining that they are welcoming a group of aliens to Earth. They must write a song to welcome the aliens. Thi ...
1 Views 19,508 Elem
Song Worksheet: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson (Two Part Plan)

Song Worksheet: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson (Two Part Plan)

Dan Glucksnis
I used this lesson with middle school pre-intermediate and intermediate students. The worksheet has three parts, the first is a lyrics gap-fill to get students familiar with the lyrics. Part two a ...
6 Views 76,543 IntAdv
Dictation Practice Sheet

Dictation Practice Sheet

This worksheet is useful for practicing some vocabulary items and alphabet letters A-K. Hope you find it useful in your classes. It's appropriate for early beginner students. 
5 Views 62,256 Beg
What Did You Do on Your Last Vacation?

What Did You Do on Your Last Vacation?

LUZ ZUNICO TELLO
It's an amazing worksheet about what ss did on their last vacation.  You'll find here a wordsearch, questions about what people did last weekend, also activities such as reading comprehensio ...
10 Views 46,299 Elem
Icebreaking Dictation

Icebreaking Dictation

corinne hoffert
I use this activity at the beginning of the school year to make a revision of the basics: ame, age, expression of love and dislike, conjugation, etc.. Students usually love it. First I introduce t ...
16 Views 59,424 Int
Writing IV - Writing about Your City

Writing IV - Writing about Your City

Ursula Viessa
Writing is always a tough task regardless of the language. When it comes to English, it is worse, because students don't usually write in their native language (in my case, Portuguese from Brazil) ...
5 Views 48,651 Pre-Int
Writing III - Descriptive Writing

Writing III - Descriptive Writing

Ursula Viessa
Writing is always a tough task regardless of the language. When it comes to English, it is worse, because students don't usually write in their native language (in my case, Portuguese from Brazil) ...
7 Views 37,051 Pre-Int
Writing II - Writing Based on a Model

Writing II - Writing Based on a Model

Ursula Viessa
Writing is always a tough task regardless of the language. When it comes to English, it is worse, because students don't usually write in their native language (in my case, Portuguese from Brazil) ...
3 Views 27,718 Pre-Int
Writing I - Freewriting - Putting Things Together

Writing I - Freewriting - Putting Things Together

Ursula Viessa
Writing is not a very easy or simple thing. Students all over the world, regardless of their native language, have difficulty in writing in English. This worksheet gives some guidelines on the ste ...
4 Views 27,767 Elem
Editing: Giant Panda

Editing: Giant Panda

Editing and proofreading are essential aspects of effective writing. Students read the passages carefully and thoroughly and rewrite the passages correctly on the lines provided. This is great pra ...
9 Views 55,326 Elem
British Expression for Point of View

British Expression for Point of View

Jessica Parish
British words that help express your point of view that lead to writing a book review. The key is on  the last page. In the first activity a teacher can elicit the expressions by getting stud ...
9 Views 26,547 Adv
Valentine's Day Writing Paper (1)

Valentine's Day Writing Paper (1)

Valentine's Day Writing Paper. Make February 14th a special day with our fun printables and activities. This printable can be used to write a letter or a poem and given to a friend or family membe ...
3 Views 16,034 Elem
Parts of Paragraph

Parts of Paragraph

I have designed this PPT to teach my ESL students how to write a paragraph. It includes different parts of the paragraph, a sample, an exercise to check students' understanding of the title, topic ...
5 Views 29,524 Elem
Story Picture - Hanukkah

Story Picture - Hanukkah

Hanukkah is nearly here! Students are asked to look at the picture and write a story to tell what's happening. A Jewish family are celebrating Hanukkah. Do you know how families celebrate this Jew ...
4 Views 28,766 Elem

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