Welcome to University Prep Writing! 

This textbook is a resource for teaching college-bound ESL students in an Intensive English Program. While much of the book can be geared toward traditional academic essays, we hope that you explore ways to implement the strategies and skills taught in this book in whatever format best serves your unique classroom needs. 

Scope & Sequence

The textbook begins with two units on the general process and products students will encounter in an English-medium university, regardless of what major they select. The remaining four units highlight modes of writing commonly used in academic contexts. Each unit includes mini-lessons to target timed and integrated writing. The appendices provide additional supplements commonly requested by teachers at this level.

It is up to the teacher to decide how to approach teaching the units. The textbook can easily be used in a linear fashion with the writing products being the traditional 5-paragraph essay. Alternative project-based writing options are provided at the beginning of each unit to demonstrate different applications of the strategies and skills found in the chapters. The exercises and examples found in the unit can be adjusted to fit the goal the teacher and students set.

This textbook aims to provide ample content for a semester at the BYU English Language Center (14-week semester). However, depending on student needs, teachers may need to supplement with additional texts or omit sections of the text.

A Note

The writing excerpts included in this textbook are produced by previous students in the University Prep level, with their permission. While some have been altered to create revision exercises or to provide pristine examples, they are all representative of student work at various stages of drafting. This was an intentional decision by the authors to use writing samples that are truly at level. However, this means that errors may be present in the examples. We believe that these can be great opportunities to draw attention to issues your students may have in their own writing.

More teaching tips can be found at: https://edtechbooks.org/UPWrtg_W_TG (in progress).