Improving Academic Writing at
KS4 and KS5
Helen Lines
University of Exeter
H.E.Lines@exeter.AC.UK
Developing literacy: a shared responsibility

Addressing literacy in curriculum subjects is not
about doing the job of an English teacher: it is about
inducting learners into how knowledge is expressed
and how thinking occurs in that subject’s disciplinary
context.

Writing is powerful. Students who can write well are
hugely advantaged in any subject which examines
learning through writing.
Key teaching implications
What are the typical patterns of language that
create a successful written analysis or explanation
in your subject?
How can you teach these patterns of language
alongside subject content?
TEACHING WRITING
TO EXPLAIN AND
ANALYSE
Referring to these examples, describe Kandinsky’s use of colour and shape.
What impact do these paintings have on you?
W
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Composition VII, 1913
Resonance Multicolore, 1928
White Zig-Zag, 1922

Grammar provides a way of describing
what writers do with language in order to
be successful in a particular type of text,
and particular ways of thinking. The
suggestion is not to teach a raft of
terminology but to be explicit about
important structures and patterns of
language that students can imitate.
Language Patterns
Purpose
Text Level
Word/Sentence Level
■ What is its
■ Layout
■ Active/passive voice
■ Structure and
■ Typical sentence
purpose?
■ Who is it for?
■ How will it be
used?
organisation
structure and length
■ Sequence
■ Typical verbs
■ Typical cohesion
■ Typical nouns and
devices
adjectives
■ Prevailing tense
■ Viewpoint (first
person, third person)
Task: Think about a specific written activity in your subject which is
either an explanation or an analysis. How much can you say about the
characteristics of this text, using the table above as a prompt?
Teaching subject vocabulary
One very obvious marker
of weaker writing is that it
has limited vocabulary, often
related to speech.
Often what is needed is
vocabulary which is more
formal, more precise and
more typical of writing.
What is the term for ‘the
people who have moved to
work in another place’?
Teaching subject vocabulary
What would be better verb choices here?
Many classrooms already display key subject vocabulary.
These are often nouns – consider the verbs needed in your subject,
as they frequently relate to higher-order thinking skills and to
appropriate ways to communicate in your subject.
Many students lack a vocabulary for evaluating effects and effectiveness. If
this is important for your subject, how might you develop one?
Teaching noun phrases
tonality
noble gases
swash
choral texture
covalent bonds
backwash
melodic device
forces of attraction
constructive waves
an earthquake-proof building such as the Transamerica
Pyramid in San Francisco
essential fatty acids
Teaching noun phrases

Explain, giving examples, how recycled materials can
be used in fashionable textile products

Describe the relationship between the magnitude of
earthquakes and their frequency

Describe the negative effects of illegal blood
doping used for enhancing performance

Outline the problems caused by the continued use
of fossil fuels as an energy source
Teaching noun phrases

Teaching topic-related vocabulary in the form of noun
phrases can be more effective than teaching single words.
Noun phrases are often used in questions, and represent
concepts that students need to understand. They are also an
important ‘grammatical chunk’, so encouraging students to
use them contributes to improving clarity of sentence
construction.
Teaching noun phrases

A noun phrase refers to all the descriptive information
attached to one ‘head’ noun.

It is a chunk of a sentence and cannot form a sentence on
its own as it needs a main verb to complete it.
Often this information comes before the head noun:

Environmental issues (are a concern for consumers)
adjective
+ noun
An earthquake-proof building (is designed to withstand....)
determiner + adjective + noun
Consumer concern about environmental issues (is increasingly...)
adjective + noun+preposition + adjective + noun
Teaching noun phrases

More sophisticated writing makes greater use of adding information after
the main noun. There are several grammatical structures that enable this e.g:
The Cold War, which intensified after Roosevelt’s death, (led to.....)
noun +
relative clause
The Russian army, already weakened, (began to retreat...)
noun +
adverb + adjective
Heathcliff, despising Linton’s weakness, (reacts by....)
noun +
non-finite clause
Reconstruction after the Second World War (included....)
noun +
prepositional phrase

Thinking about the written activity you described
earlier, or a topic/task you are soon to teach, list nouns,
noun phrases and verbs you will want students to know.

How might you introduce these? How might you
consolidate students’ use of them e.g. over the duration
of the topic?
Teaching verbs and adverbials
breath rate and heart rate increase gradually
the athlete paces himself throughout the race
he needs to dispose of CO2 by breathing out

‘Adverbials’ is an overall term for single words,
phrases or clauses that give additional information
about how, when or where something happens. They
can help students add detail to explanations, be more
precise, or strengthen connections between ideas.
Initially, his muscles may begin to ache...
Crucially....
Later in the race....Eventually.....
Consequently....As a consequence....
Teaching verbs and adverbials
Modal verbs:
can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must

This could make his muscles ache but may improve
the athlete’s range of movement.
His heart and lungs will need to work harder.

Modal verbs can help students speculate and evaluate
possibilities, and connect and balance ideas.
Referring to these examples, describe Kandinsky’s use of colour and shape.
What impact do these paintings have on you?
W
A
S
S
I
L
Y
K
A
N
D
I
N
S
K
Y
Composition VII, 1913
Resonance Multicolore, 1928
White Zig-Zag, 1922
Writing pedagogy

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

Create a classroom ethos in which writing matters
Teach language structures and patterns in context,
clearly related to successful outcomes for your
subject
Show patterns that students can imitate in their
own writing
Use lots of ‘talk for writing’ – to gather ideas and
organise them; to ‘rehearse’ writing; to discuss
effectiveness.
Make it fun!

Explain one of the processes by which
water can be made safe to drink.
Flirtation makes water safe to drink because
it removes large pollutants like grit, sand,
dead sheep and canoeists.