

I especially like the way each chapter is organized, presenting the core information needed for each assignment, and following it with two writing skill sections that focus on a particular aspect of writing. In my case, it helped students become aware of what plagiarism is and the appropriate measures to take to avoid it. It is organized as a letter from a student to a teacher asking for writing advice, which is followed by examples and short exercises. 2000) and the General Service List (2013), and the grammar and common writing mistakes sections are derived from the Cambridge English Corpus.Ī unique feature of the text is the Avoiding Plagiarism section in each chapter. Vocabulary is drawn from the Academic Word List (Coxhead, n.d.

In between these writing activities are typical components of a writing text: topic warm-up and discussion at the start of the chapter, followed by vocabulary development, a short reading, writing skills practice, error correction practice, drafting and revising, and self-editing. This gradual progression of work on the assignment makes the writing task less daunting than the present-practice-write formula found in other writing texts. As a result, students can work gradually through the steps in preparing their assignment as they receive guidance from the text and opportunities to practice what they have learned in the supporting activities. Other writing activities specifically for the assignment appear throughout each chapter. Final Draft subscribes to the principles of the process writing approach (e.g., Bayat, 2014), which is evident in the writing prompt together with a cluster diagram or chart for brainstorming ideas at the start of each chapter. Both are helpful examples of the writing genre and the style that students should aim for in their paragraph or essay. Chapters include two short readings, one of which is a student model.
FINAL DRAFT STUDENT HOW TO
However, with careful selection, this turned out to be a very good text, even for a one-semester course such as mine, to help students learn how to write paragraphs and short essays.Įach chapter is organized around a theme and a writing genre and guides students in preparing and writing the chapter assignment (i.e., description paragraph, compare and contrast essay). Each chapter is approximately 30 pages long, and may contain more material than teachers have time for. Level 2 contains eight chapters that progress from paragraph writing to essay writing. I used Level 2 in a 1st-year, first semester, twice-weekly academic skills course focusing on reading and writing for intermediate level students.
FINAL DRAFT STUDENT SERIES
Final Draft is a 4-level textbook series that guides students through the writing process from paragraph to essay writing from pre-intermediate to advanced levels of English.
