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 Christmas worksheet was created for primary/elementary students. Students look at the picture and write a creative story to go along with it. They must also think of a title. The picture show ...
This a Powerpoint that I created in order to teach linking words and expressions with examples for my students. It contains some exercises at the end. They will need more practice but I think that ...
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Simple worksheet for writing a few simple sentences about Celine Dion based on given information. Each following sentence is based on the following information given at the top of the page. This e ...
Reduce, reuse, recycle! Students read the questions and write the answers on the lines provided. They are then asked to write the definition of 10 words. This will help kids understand the reasons ...
This worksheet is suitable for improving your students' writing skills. They are going to write three paragraphs about three types of life style in the past, present and future. They sho ...
This worksheet is helpful for practicing spelling celebrations and food related vocabulary items, and it helps to improve students writing skills. This is appropriate for young learners and beginn ...
This worksheet is helpful for practicing spelling toys related vocabulary items, and it helps to improve students writing skills. This is appropriate for young learners and beginners. Hope you fin ...
This worksheet is helpful for practicing spelling and it improves students' writing skills. This is appropriate for young learners and early beginners. Hope you find it useful.
This research activity was created for primary/elementary students. They are asked to use resources like the internet, library books, or magazines to help them answer the questions about the Sumat ...
This worksheet is helpful for practicing spelling animals related vocabulary items, and it helps to improve students writing skills. This is appropriate for young learners and beginners.  ...
This worksheet is helpful for improving students' writing skills, and it's appropriate for practicing simple present. Students should start each sentence with "there is" or "there are". It's ...
This worksheet gives students an opportunity to practice their models of obligation and recommendation while practicing airport vocabulary. Students start off with a conversation and then talk abo ...
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This research activity was created for primary/elementary students. They are asked to use resources like the internet, library books, or magazines to help them answer the questions about mountain ...
This will allow intermediate to advanced students to write about their favorite instrument. Completion time - 5 days or 1 school week. Please show youtube videos of instruments. I perso ...
In this worksheet students get acquainted with Tom Szaky's life, founder of Terracycle. After that they are shown a video that deals with the environmental issue, after which their comprehension i ...
This is a very interesting exercise to improve reading and writing skills. The texts are about different subjects in order to help students to discuss different topics. It can be used as homework ...
Students must make a good argument, keep the audience involved, and finally, gain the decision in their favour. Students speak for or against the topic. They must choose 2 topics and write their a ...
Students must make a good argument, keep the audience involved, and finally, gain the decision in their favour. Students speak for or against the topic. They must choose 2 topics and write their a ...
Students must make a good argument, keep the audience involved, and finally, gain the decision in their favour. Students speak for or against the topic. They must choose 2 topics and write their a ...
This is a worksheet about the "Tale of the three brothers" by J.K. Rowling. Page 1 includes the first part of the tale, a vocabulary exercise and a writing activity. Page 2 includes the rest of th ...
This worksheet is ideal to help students write about themselves using the present simple tense. Usually students struggle to brainstorm ideas what to write when asked to write about themselves. Th ...
It's a writing prompt to encourage students to write a story using past simple and past continuous. Students can read each other's stories after they've finished and suggest ways to make the story ...
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