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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A worksheet to encourage story writing as a class/group activity. It can also be used as a speaking exercise for story-telling. Each box contains a set of vocabulary and students must create a sto ...
The following worksheet contains two exercises on the use of commas in English. The first one is a set of 20 sentences, and the second is a short text. The learner is supposed to put commas in the ...
This game is appropriate for all levels, but absolute beginners. There are some items; name, fruit, animal, etc. The teacher says a letter, like "M", then all students would try to write words tha ...
This worksheet focuses on the revision of the following grammar points: can/can't, like+ing, dislike+ing, degrees of ability, imperative, free-time activities, why/b ...
Full lesson plan for intermediate level, but could be used for advanced levels as well. Lesson is orientated around the ability to give excuses (imaginitive ones!).Poetry - past tense - compound ...
The worksheet is reading fun with well-known characters from fairy tales to motivate young learners.There are also some illustrations of the characters. Little Red Riding Hood held a party but Sn ...
This is a worksheet for elementary level students (specially to kid audience). The task is explained inside the document attached for more references on how to do the exercise. There are 6 rows wi ...
It simply gives some basic instructions on what language to put in a story and how to organise the text itself. It's for writing practice. I designed it for further practice in a classroom, though ...
Halloween worksheet - This creative writing exercise asks students to write about the best Halloween costume they have ever been in and go through the entire process of creating it and the reactio ...
This worksheet aims at practising different skills, after having read some information about the Titanic accident. It includes comprehension questions, vocabulary exercises, past simple and past c ...
I made this worksheet when my students were learning about inventions. They watch the video about 1001 inventions made by Arabs and fill in the blanks or answer the questions. After watching the v ...
The worksheet aims at facilitating learners' writing through illustrations of means of transport. They will have to describe in a simple way how each one of them is used by people. An example ha ...
Extensive listening practice for American Headway pre-intermediate level. The file provides the link where audio tracks are available for download. For each track I wrote the related questions. Ex ...
This is a test given to visually impaired pupils in a preparatory school. The passage is about a voluntary kid who helped a blind child see the world. The writing is about founding a club to help ...
Just a test I made for my class of 3rd graders. This reviews some grammar, spelling and science information from the Grade 2 Spectrum series of textbooks. Included is a fill-in-the blanks activity ...
This writing worksheet asks students to present the given information using the appropriate tenses. It can be adjusted to include targeted vocabulary and expressions. "You are applying for a ...
This worksheet is an adapted version of the Business Alibi Game originally by UsingEnglish.com. Yesterday at 2:35 pm a laptop with very important data on it was stolen from a manager’s desk. ...
This exercise asks your students to use the simple past tense in writing. This can be adjusted to include targeted vocabulary or expressions. Write about what Peter did last Saturday using Simple ...
This exercise asks the students to describe several pictures using present continuous. You can add specific requirements for the task, e.g using targeted vocabulary or conjunctions such as 'while' ...
This is a simple exercise to help your students practice writing using the simple present tense. It can be adjusted to include the targeted vocabulary or expressions that they have learned. " ...
It's a test for the beginning of the year- a placement test- for students who learnt English for 3 years. Exercises can be used for the appropriate grammar or vocabulary part. It contains some gap ...
This worksheet is used by our staff for teaching writing the first words in English for very young learners.. It is based on pronunciation in order to make it easier for kids to get used to differ ...
This is a creative writing template I made for my intermediate ESL students. It's a 4 page worksheet that includes: topic, brainstorm, timeline, key points section, first draft, final draft and ed ...
This a debate writing outline I made for my intermediate/advanced ESL students. The intent is for students to be able to write arguments and supports for both sides of the debate topic. It include ...
Extensive listening practice for America Headway Elementary. The file provides the link where audio tracks are available for download. For each track I wrote the related questions. Exercises range ...
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