Students can use the RADARS Framework described below to help them recognize, reflect upon, and defend the reliability and validity of the sources of information they use in their own academic and blog writing. With so much clickbait and false reporting being circulated on social media websites these days, writers need to make extra efforts
Read on »Posts By: Nicholas Walker
5 Persuasive Essay Writing Tools
Writing a persuasive essay is a complex task. Because the goal of a persuasive essay is to present one side of a tightly organized argument with supporting arguments and evidence, there are a number of skills you will need to write a good one. Sometimes called an opinion essay, the persuasive essay is widely used
Read on »How can I automatically evaluate opinion essays?
Do you teach opinion essays? Many teachers do. It is a common practice in English Second Language teaching to ask college level students to write a 4-5 paragraph opinion essay on a range of topics. An opinion essay goes by many names. Often, it is called the hamburger essay, the 1-3-1 essay, the persuasive essay,
Read on »Is my cover letter correct?
Let me help you write a better cover letter. I won’t give you a lengthy list of dos and don’t. Just submit the letter you have written and I will tell you how to improve it. If you teach cover letter writing, download a cover letter writing lesson that you can give to your students.
Read on »How should I use the Virtual Writing Tutor in 2020?
Here is how you can use the Virtual Writing Tutor in 2020.
Read on »How can I make an online glossary?
Learn how to make glossaries with terms, definitions, translations, parts of speech, images, and MP3 pronunciation models.
Read on »Interview with Canadian Poet Peter Van Toorn
Peter Van Toorn is the author of three books of poetry, Leeway Grass, (1970); In Guildenstern County, 1973; and Mountain Tea, 1985. As editor, he has published various collections over the years: Cross/cut: Contemporary English Quebec Poetry (with Ken Norris), 1982; The Insecurity of Art: Essays on Poetics (with Ken Norris), 1982; Lakeshore Poets, 1982;
Read on »6 Essay rating tools on the Virtual Writing Tutor
Many teachers would like to give better, more detailed feedback to students on their writing assignments but realize that there are not enough hours in the day to do so. With the arrival of artificial intelligence, faster feedback on essay writing tasks is now possible. The Virtual Writing Tutor offers six types of automated writing
Read on »How do students react to automated film-analysis essay evaluation?
Recently, I reported on the perils and promise of a project I have been working on with Dr. Frank Bonkowski. We created an automated film-analysis essay evaluation system to provide the correction and formative scoring of essays to his advanced English Second Language learners at CEGEP de St-Laurent, in Montreal, Canada. The idea was to
Read on »Keith Boeckner Award 2019
I’m proud to be this year’s Keith Boeckner Award winner for my contribution to the English Second Language community in Quebec, Canada. The award was issued by Société pour le perfectionnement de l’enseignement de l’anglais, langue seconde, au Québec (SPEAQ). Here’s a list of other winners of this award. See my other awards here. In
Read on »How can I evaluate an argument essay in 2 seconds?
Many college teachers assign either opinion essays or argument essays to their English Second Language students. These highly structured writing assignments give students practice organizing their ideas and defending a point of view. The goal is to prepare students to go on and write research reports or graduate theses at university. However, when it comes
Read on »How can I evaluate achievement in a Business English course?
Businesses use a variety of effective advertising strategies. They can take the form of audiovisual media like videos and radio ads and print media like posters, brochures, business cards, and flyers. Flyers can be single-sheet promotional tools that list products, descriptions, and prices. Flyers are simple yet compelling ways of helping businesses to announce sales
Read on »Glossary of Adjectives for Describing People
Hey, storytellers! When you want to tell a story about a family member or write fiction, the reader may need help imagining the characters in your story. The solution is to use descriptive vocabulary. Adjectives that describe people can help your reader quickly get a sense of your impressions of the people in your story.
Read on »Physical Rehabilitation Glossary
After an accident or after surgery, you usually need help getting your mobility back. The person who helps you through your physical rehabilitation is a physiotherapist. Physiotherapists need to speak the language of their patients. Here’s a glossary to help you learn the vocabulary associated with this field of study. Glossary alternative medicine Alternative medicine is
Read on »Self-Defense Glossary
If you decide to enter the police force or military, you’ll need to learn self-defense. If you are worried about your personal safety, self-defense classes could help. Here is a glossary to help you talk and write about the concepts of self-defense in English. Glossary block Hinder or stop the movement or action of (an
Read on »Political Science Glossary
Are you interested in the government and politics? Are you interested in the economies of the world and how policies shape them? Perhaps, political science is for you. Learn the vocabulary related to political science with this political science glossary. Glossary racism The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific
Read on »Medical Records Archivist Glossary
Where do your medical records go when you leave the hospital? Ask a medical records archivist. All that stuff gets coded and filed away for quick access by medical professionals. Learn the specialized vocabulary used by medical archivists with this handy glossary of terms. active records Frequently used records required for day-to-day business, referred to
Read on »Graphic Design Glossary
When words and images are laid out on a page in a pleasing and easy to understand way, somebody with a special interest in graphic design did that for you. If you are interested in becoming a graphic designer, you will need to learn the language of your clients around the world: English. Here’s a
Read on »Film Glossary
So you like Hollywood and Netflix, eh? Maybe you love them. If so, you’ll want to be able to write about your passion in the most popular language on the internet: English. Here’s a film glossary that can help you get started with common film and cinema terms. actor a male whose profession is acting
Read on »Nursing Glossary
Doctors diagnose, but nurses do many of the medical procedures you will receive at a hospital. If you want to help people and would like a little more time with patients, a career in nursing might be for you. But what if your patient only speaks English? Learn words related to this field of study
Read on »Youth and Adult Correctional Intervention
If you would like to help kids avoid jail and escape their destructive, antisocial behaviours, you might like to become a street worker, social worker, or even a corrections officer. Similarly, if you want to help convicts integrate into society, you’ll be interested in the same list of jobs. You can learn many of the
Read on »Radiation Oncology Glossary
Oncologists are doctors who diagnose cancer, but the people who administer the radiation are radio-oncology technicians. If you are interested in helping people and love math and physics, this is the field for you. If you patients speak only English, you’ll need to know some vocabulary from this field of study. Glossary adenoma a benign
Read on »Psychology Glossary
Do you know how people think? If understanding how people think and you want to help people escape their fear and confusion, you might be interested in Psychology. If you would like to be able to discuss and read about psychology in English, you’ll benefit from a psychology-related glossary like the one below. Glossary abrecation
Read on »Prehospital Emergency Care Glossary
When everybody turns away in horror, paramedics rush in to save the day. Superheros are a fantasy, but paramedics are true heros. If you are interested in this field and in speaking the language of your patient when they are in distress, this glossary is for you. Glossary ache A continuous or prolonged dull pain
Read on »Police Glossary
So you want to become a cop, eh? Not all victims of crime or criminals speak your language. As a first responder, it would be a good idea to learn the most common second language in the world, or at least the words related to your field of study. Glossary accelerant A substance used to
Read on »Paralegal Glossary
Do you love justice? You you want to help the little guy get some justice in an unfair world? Paralegal Technology could be the field of study for you. Here is a glossary of legal terms every paralegal needs to know in English. accused The defendant or defendants appearing on a criminal charge. act A
Read on »Nuclear Medicine Glossary
Would you like to become a nuclear medicine technician? Well, you can at Ahuntsic College in Montreal. If you are looking for words related to this field, look no further. Glossary abnormal Not normal; deviating from the usual or typical. abnormality Deviation from the typical or usual; irregularity. absorb To take in all or part
Read on »How can I write an awesome thesis statement?
Writing awesome thesis statements involves knowledge and skill. It is a crucial step in learning to write high-scoring essays. To succeed, you have to know how to make a thesis statement well-structured, strong, action-oriented, and focused. What’s more, writing awesome thesis statements is a skill that takes practice to develop. Once you know what to
Read on »Can I evaluate a film-analysis essay automatically?
This article discusses automatically scoring film analysis essays. Here are links to other automated evaluations on the Virtual Writing Tutor. Pen pal exchange project IELTS practice tests Argument essay evaluation system Lately, I have been developing automatic essay evaluations for IELTS and now for college-level academic writing. I sent an email to colleagues in my
Read on »Clichés to Avoid
Second language speakers of English demonstrate an impressive familiarity with English when they use clichés in their speaking. Using common expressions shows people that you have been exposed to a lot of English in your life and suggests that you have achieved an intermediate level of proficiency. Nevertheless, advanced second language writers and first language
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