10 Fun Classroom Writing Games to Improve Literacy Skills
The best writing games to engage students
A colleague of mine recently shared these ten great writing game ideas to improve literacy skills in the classroom. They are simple to play and can be applied to nearly all year levels.
These are some of the best writing games that require minimal or no setup time and are an excellent option for substitute teachers looking to quickly break the ice with students or English teachers just seeking fresh ideas to brighten up their lessons. Enjoy.
Remember that if you are looking for more excellent free resources and structured guides to teaching all aspects of English, especially writing, be sure to visit literacyideas.com .
Sentence Stretching
Start with a short sentence or group of words. Pass it around to about 6 people, with the rule that each person must add (a word or a group of words) or change ONE word ( to another word or a group of words) to make the sentence more specific and more enjoyable.
Rebus writing
Students write sentences or longer texts and substitute drawings for nouns.
COMPLETE DIGITAL AND PRINT FUN WRITING UNIT
25 FUN and ENGAGING writing tasks your students can complete INDEPENDENTLY with NO PREP REQUIRED that they will absolutely love.
Fully EDITABLE and works as with all DIGITAL PLATFORMS such as Google Classroom, or you can PRINT them for traditional writing tasks.
It’s in the bag
Place an object in a bag- ensure the students don’t see it. Students feel the object in the bag and use words to describe how it feels. They take it out and add /alter their adjectives.
Touch and tell
An object is passed around a group of students. Each student suggests an adjective to describe it.
Alternative
Students provide an adjectival phrase or clause to describe the object
Students randomly select from a box a picture of an animal, person or object that moves. They brainstorm action verbs for the chosen object.
The students can supply verbs and adverbs
They can supply adjectives or adjectival groups
Read a text ( this case narrative ), and at a particular point, stop and ask students to select a character and suggest, for example:
- What the character is doing, thinking, and feeling ( focus on processes)
Change the meaning- change one word
Students locate and change one word that will alter the sentence’s meaning.
They share their alterations and discuss which part of speech was the most important in changing the meaning .
Locate and classify
Read a text and ask students to write nouns on cards ( red), adjectives (blue), and articles in orange. Rearrange words to create different noun groups. Students can also locate verbs ( green card) and adverbs (yellow). Rearrange all the words to create new sentences.
Students can locate adjectival phrases, clauses, or adverbial phrases and write these on other coloured cards.
Grammar toss- Sentence making
Players must throw a 1 before they can begin. The winner is the first person to make a sentence that includes all of the following:
- A group of words that tell what or who ( singular)
- A group of words that tell when
- A verb in the past tense
- An adverb telling how
- A group of words telling where
They can then rearrange the sentence parts to see how many ways they can make another meaningful sentence.
Other parts of speech can be used for each number thrown.
Toss and write
Before the activity, a cube is prepared. Upon each face of the cube, a task is written that requires specific grammar knowledge. For example:
Make a sentence
Make a question
Provide two adjectives
Provide two verbs
Create a noun group (e.g. article, adjective/s noun)
Provide a noun and an adverb
Students select a subject ( noun) from a tin. They throw the cube, and whichever side of the cube faces up is the task they must attempt.
OTHER GREAT ARTICLES RELATED TO WRITING GAMES
10 fun writing activities for the reluctant writer
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7 Fun Writing Sub Plans for Substitute Teachers
10-Minute Writing Games to Play with Your Students
Jen Schneider Blog , Writing writing 1
Want some quick games to share with your students during transitions or as attention-getters. Play these fun games independently or with groups! Here are a few of my favorites 10-minute writing games to play with your students. This post uses some affiliate links. Purchases from these links result in a small commission to help sustain this site.
Word Association Game
Word association games are perfect for 10-minute writing games! Start by giving students a random word and ask them to write down the first word that comes to their mind when they hear it. Then, have them pass their paper to the person next to them and repeat the process with the new word. Set a timer for 10 minutes and see how far around the circle they can go, building off of each other’s words. This game is a blast for generating vocabulary words or words to use in future writing prompts or stories.
Writing Roulette
My students beg to play writing roulette! I give each student five different colored sticky notes (or use this FREE Jamboard template ).
Each sticky note has a different topic. For example, here are the literary elements I use for my students. You can change these up depending on your grade level.
- Yellow: character
- Blue: quotation
- Pink: setting
- Green: conflict
- Orange: theme
Have your students each generate one of the literary elements on each colored sticky note. Make sure they write only one idea per note. Mix up the sticky notes, then give the students five sticky notes (one on each topic) to generate their own story. We LOVE sharing these with the class. As a bonus, expand on the quick stories and create a published, polished piece.
Literary Jenga
Literally playing a game when writing is so much fun! Write creative writing prompts on the sides of Jenga blocks (such as “Write a story in which the main character is an animal” or “Describe a place you’ve never been”) and stack them up. Students take turns pulling a block and then writing for 2-3 minutes based on the prompt they see. The game continues until the tower falls, and then students can read aloud what they’ve written.
Finish the Story Writing Game
This game is also called story or paper pass. I remember playing this writing game in school. I loved it then as much as I love it as a teacher! First, give students the first line of a story and have them write for 2-3 minutes. Then, have them pass their paper to the person next to them and that person continues the story for 2-3 minutes. Continue this process until everyone has contributed, and see how the story turned out in the end.
Random Word Stories
Use this random word generator to pick a fun, unique word. Have your students write a story using that word as a focus. You can have each student select their own word or use a class word.
Descriptive Writing Game
Many ELA curriculums have descriptive writing as an assessment. Why not teach descriptive writing skills with a 10-minute writing game! First, ask students to close their eyes and imagine a scene you describe to them, such as a beach or a forest. Give them 10 minutes to write a detailed description of what they see in their mind’s eye. Encourage them to use sensory language and descriptive adjectives to really paint a picture with their words. Share the stories, and as a bonus, have students illustrate their writing. You can also adapt this and share a picture as a writing prompt starter. Show students a picture or image and give them 10 minutes to write a story or poem based on what they see. Encourage them to be creative and use their imagination to build a story around the picture.
Character Creation Game
Students love creating their own characters! Have students brainstorm a character by answering questions about them, such as their name, age, occupation, likes and dislikes, fears, etc. Then, set a timer for 10 minutes and have them write a short story or scene featuring that character. You can add to the fun by having two characters team up together to create a new story or have a conversation with one another based on their characters’ backgrounds.
Six-Word Stories
Challenge students to write a complete story in just six words, such as “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Set a timer for 10 minutes and see how many six-word stories they can create.
Mad Libs Game
The old Mad Libs games are so much fun! I remember having paper Mad Libs books that my siblings and I giggled over with delight. Online Mad Libs games let students work independently to create funny stories. I love using Mad Libs online !
Fan Fiction
My students absolutely love writing fan fiction. This gives them a chance to explore stories on a deeper level, and change the outcomes to what they really wanted to happen in the book! Have students choose a favorite book or movie character and write a short story featuring that character in a new adventure or scenario. Set a timer for 10 minutes and see how well they can capture the voice and personality of the character in their writing.
Story Cubes
Use storytelling dice or story cubes with pictures on each side, and have students roll the dice to create a story. Set a timer for 10 minutes and challenge students to create a story that includes all of the pictures they rolled. Share the stories in small groups or with the full class.
Writing Prompts
Using writing prompts in the classroom is an effective way to encourage a love for writing in students. Here are five ways to inspire and engage middle school students:
Daily writing prompts
Start the day with a short 10-minute writing exercise that covers various genres and themes. Use this list of 25 daily prompts to get started.
Structured writing prompts
Use prompts as a starting point for more structured writing assignments such as essays or research papers. This encourages students to think critically and provides specific guidelines for the writing task. Use this list of 10 structured prompts to get started.
Group brainstorming
Encourage students to work together in small groups to generate their own writing prompts. This fosters collaboration and creativity.
Writing prompt dares
Students can create their own writing prompt dares or use these 15 writing prompt dare examples to get started. These are great for group brainstorming prompts.
Try out this 52 writing prompt workbook . You even get an editable Canva link to add your own unique prompts!
Get ready for 10-minute writing games to use in your classroom! These games can be scaffolded and differentiated for all grade levels. What writing games do you use in your classroom!
Creative writing games: A great way to unleash your creative side @
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Essay-Writing Games
Deanne lachner.
A standard essay contains five paragraphs: an introduction, three supporting paragraphs and a conclusion. Students learn this format as early as elementary school and, with the heavy reliance on standardized testing, they are increasingly taught only this format for writing. Creativity can quickly become stifled by formulaic writing. Bring some fun back into writing by showing your students that essays can vary from the standard format, contain interesting introductions and details that delight readers, and end up being fun--rather than boring--to write. The key to reigniting your students' interest in the essay is to introduce essay-writing games.
Explore this article
- Draw My Monster: Descriptive Essay
- Persuade Me: Persuasive Essay
- Guess Who I Am: Narrative Essay
1 Draw My Monster: Descriptive Essay
Perfect for middle school writers, the "Draw My Monster" game teaches kids the value of details in their descriptive essays. First, have each student draw a monster on a sheet of 8.5-by-11-inch paper. The monster should be drawn in color with the silly eyes, nose, mouth, ears, arms and legs of the student's choice. Tell the students not to show their monsters to anyone else yet. Next, the student must write a descriptive essay about the monster, going into enough detail that when another student reads it, she can recreate the monster on her own. Tell students to describe everything carefully, such as size, color, number of arms and legs, and the expression on the monster's mouth. To practice organization, have students describe the monster from top to bottom. Now comes the fun part--pass the essays around randomly to the other students in the room. Each student will have one essay (not his own), a piece of blank 8.5-by-11-inch paper, and colored crayons or markers. The students are to read the essays and recreate the monsters as described. Once the students are finished, they should find the original writer of the essay, compare monster drawings and see how well they did--both describing the monster and recreating it. Display the work on a bulletin board or wall, placing the essay on top and both the original and recreated monster drawings below it. Choose an outside judge or have students judge which monster drawings are the most similar, presumably because the essay written contains the best detail. Award a prize, such as a free homework pass or a monster pencil and eraser.
2 Persuade Me: Persuasive Essay
Teenagers naturally feel that school is unfair, teachers are mean and parents don't understand them. Here's their chance to persuade one person--their teacher--to change something. Tell the teens that they are going to write persuasive essays about something they'd like to change in the classroom environment. Give them examples of things that are changeable, such as policies, classroom assignments, seating charts and novels studied, for example, and others that aren't, like homework requirements, grades and school rules, for instance. Ask them to write a persuasive essay, with the teacher as the audience, advocating for a specific change in the classroom. Go over the elements of a good persuasive essay before setting them loose to write their own. When the essays are finished, go through them and choose the best 10 (or more--your choice). Ask an independent judge (another English teacher or a writer or businessperson in your community) to choose the essay that makes the most persuasive argument. Copy that essay for all students and use it as a teaching tool in class, analyzing the structure of the essay, its thesis, argument, supporting ideas and conclusion. As a "prize" for the author of the winning essay, institute the change requested in the essay.
3 Guess Who I Am: Narrative Essay
Elementary school students love to talk about themselves--it's their favorite subject. Have them "write what they know" while making a game out of it. Talk about the structure of a narrative essay and then ask each student to write a narrative describing a typical day. Tell them to include many details, but do not write in anyone's names--their own, a brother or sister, best friend--because the class is going to try to guess who wrote each narrative. The more detail they provide, the more likely the class will be able to guess the narrative's author. Once all students have finished their narratives, collect them, shuffle them and pass them back out. Each student will now read a narrative (not his own) and the class will guess who wrote it, based on the detail and the events in that student's typical day. The class must listen to the entire essay before guessing, and when the correct author's name is voiced, that student should stand up. This game works well during the second half of the school year, after the students have gotten to know each other well. They'll love learning new things about their friends while they are learning to write a detailed narrative.
About the Author
Deanne Lachner has been writing and editing fiction and nonfiction for more than 15 years. She has published articles in "Working Women," "Performance Magazine" and the "Direct Selling News." Lachner holds a master's degree in English from Texas Woman's University and is pursuing a second master's degree in instructional design and technology.
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5 Enjoyable English Writing Games That Turn Practise Into Playtime
Step into a world of fun while improving your English writing skills. Fun writing games let you practise and learn at your own pace, making studying an enjoyable experience. In this article, discover 5 English writing games that are suitable for all learning levels, so you can improve your English writing skills while having a blast !
How games can help you learn English
Games for learning English are a fun and effective way to improve your language skills. English creative writing games can help learners like you explore different writing styles and experiment with language, ultimately helping to build your confidence.
Games are a great way to help you remember what you learn in English. They are enjoyable, and when you have fun, it’s easier to remember things for a long time.
Game #1: Story Starters
Story Starters is an English creative writing game that works best with a group of players. This game involves taking turns to write a story with each player adding a sentence within a set time limit.
How to play
To play Story Starters, gather a group of friends, some paper, pens, and a timer.
You will start with a pre-written sentence (if you Google “Story Starter sentences” you can find plenty). You must add a sentence to this story within 2 minutes set on the timer. Once you have written your sentence, pass the paper to the next person and let them repeat the process by adding a new sentence of their own.
This is a great game for letting your imagination run wild and getting your creative juices flowing !
Game #2: Scategories
Scategories is a quick and creative game where you think of words that start with a given letter and that fit into specific categories to earn points for answers that are unique.
A group of players is given a list of prompts such as “things babies need”. Then, a letter from the alphabet is picked at random (using a lettered die or an online letter generator). Once the letter has been chosen, the timer is set, and each player must quickly come up with a word starting with the chosen letter to answer each of the prompts.
To make things a bit trickier, you only get a point for your answer if nobody else has put the same answer. Playing this game challenges you to think fast to find the most creative and unique answers.
Game #3: Picture Prompts
Picture Prompts is a fun writing game that involves using pictures to create imaginative stories or descriptions. This game can be played by yourself or with a group of people.
Each player is given a picture or an image. Next, a timer is set for a specific amount of time – 5 to 10 minutes usually works well. The players must then write a creative story or description based on their picture. The goal is to be as imaginative as possible. Once the time is up, players take turns reading their descriptions or stories to the rest of the group.
Game #4: Consequences
In the game of Consequences, players take turns writing words or phrases on a piece of paper, then hiding what they have written to collaboratively create a funny and often silly story.
Each player takes a turn writing a word or phrase on a piece of paper, then folding the paper after each turn to hide what they’ve written. Then, it’s passed on to the next player, who adds their part before folding the paper and passing it on again. This continues until all players have contributed. Finally, unfold the paper and read out the funny story you created together.
Game #5: Rewrite The Ending
In this English writing game, players are encouraged to choose a favourite film or book and then rewrite the ending.
Rewrite The Ending is a game that does what it says on the tin . Quite simply, you get to rewrite the ending of your favourite book or film. You can change the story, add new characters, or create exciting twists. It’s a creative way to practise writing and using your imagination while having fun with stories that are already familiar to you.
Ready to take your English writing skills to the next level?
While games offer a fun and interactive way to practise and improve your writing skills, combining them with structured learning is even more powerful.
If you’re serious about mastering English, check out our English Online courses. Choose between group classes or private, one-to-one tutoring and experience expert-led learning and personalised guidance to help you perfect your English writing skills in no time at all.
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3 Hands-on Essay Writing Activities Your Students Will Love
Turning essay writing into an engaging learning experience is definitely a challenge. The content requires a certain amount of lecturing, modeling, reading, and writing. But your essay writing unit doesn’t have to be one long sit-and-get; you can use hands-on essay writing activities to help invigorate your unit!
In this post, I will share three activities that require students to move or use their hands.
You can find more tips for teaching essay writing here.
(Looking for a whole essay writing unit that incorporates these activities? Grab my Five-paragraph Essay Writing Bundle here! )
Hands-on Essay Writing Activities #1: Exemplar Gallery Walk
You’ve probably done a gallery walk in your classroom before, but if not, here’s a quick refresh.
For a gallery walk, you hang up artifacts for students to examine around the room. They are sometimes done in silence (students might use post-its to leave comments on the “gallery”).
As students walk around and look at each artifact, they’ll complete some kind of task.
You can use the gallery walk to show students examples of what an essay should look like. For example, I use a gallery walk activity to teach students what a strong thesis statement looks like.
First, I post a variety of thesis statements around the room. As students read them, they decide if each statement is a “strong” or “weak” example of a thesis statement.
By the end of the activity, students clearly understand what makes a great thesis statement and how to spot problems with weak ones.
(If you’d like this activity for Writing Strong Thesis Statements, you can grab my no-prep resource here!)
You could do this activity with any part of the essay–or whole essays. Regardless of how you use the gallery walk, it’s nice to get your students up and moving while they reflect on writing.
Hands-on Essay Writing Activities #2: Unscramble Activity
Who doesn’t love a good puzzle? Another engaging essay-writing activity is to take an essay and turn it into a puzzle!
I take an example literary essay or research paper and cut it up. Basically, each part of the essay is on its own strip of paper.
Students form groups and each group is given one of the cut-up essays. Together, they must figure out how to unscramble the essay.
( Grab this Unscramble the Five-paragraph Essay Activity here if you don’t want to create your own. )
This not only forces them to remember the organizational structure of an essay, but shows them the importance of clear writing, using transitions, and following a rigid format. Plus, students get to use their hands as they manually move around their strips of paper and collaborate with peers.
You could have students unscramble any kind of essay (save excellent student examples for this!) or even just Works Cited pages if you want them to focus on citation formats.
Hands-on Essay Writing Activities #3: Stations
Stations are just what they sound like–stations set up around your classroom. Each station includes the directions and materials needed to complete a different task. In order for students to complete all of the required tasks, they have to rotate to each station.
While you’ve probably done stations in your classroom before, you may not have considered using them for essay writing. But there are a ton of ways you could set up essay-writing stations.
Each station could guide students through writing a piece or a step of an essay. Stations could each focus on teaching part of the essay writing process. You could even have stations in which students focused on exploring different types of essays or essay topics.
Stations are an engaging activity because they force students to move around the room. They also break up the class period into smaller chunks (a ninety-minute class becomes three thirty-minute stations, for example).
They are especially helpful when you want students to really dive into a specific topic. That’s why they’re also great for essay peer editing.
My peer-editing stations include four tasks: checking essay structure, checking citations, proofreading, and improving diction and fluency. Alternatively, you could set up peer-editing stations that focus on any four common essay issues.
Students trade papers and have to complete each station or task. The stations force students to focus on honing in on each problem area leading to better and more specific feedback for one another.
( Skip creating these stations on your own by grabbing the Five-paragraph Essay Peer-editing Stations here. )
Once you know how many stations you want to use and what topics/tasks will be covered at each, be sure to gather materials students may need. Provide highlighters, markers, and any specialty items students will need.
You’ll also want to create very specific, step-by-step directions for each station. You might also want to provide students with a checklist of the stations, so they can keep track of which ones they’ve completed and which ones they still need to do.
Essay writing might never be your students’ favorite unit, but it certainly doesn’t have to be boring. You include movement and hands-on activities just like you would for any other content topic.
If you’re looking for no-prep essay-writing resources, check out my Five-paragraph Essay Writing Bundle.
Making English Fun
- The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.
ESL teacher are always looking for innovative ways to enhance your students’ writing skills?
Our comprehensive guide introduces 17 dynamic writing games, each designed to spark creativity, improve language proficiency, and make writing an enjoyable experience for ESL learners. From crafting Acrostic Poems to participating in a Collaborative Writing Blog, these activities cater to a range of interests and skill levels.
Whether you’re teaching young beginners or advanced adult learners, these writing games are perfect for adding a fun twist to your ESL curriculum.
Just before we jump into these 17 ESL Writing Games and Activities we have the four skills covered on the site. Speaking, Reading, Writing and Listening.
You can access the pages from the links below or click on the image to download them all in one PDF file for $2.99 or the price of a coffee ( a good one we admit! )
The Best ESL Games and Activities – 4 Booklets in 1
- The Best ESL Listening Games and Activities.
- The Best ESL Speaking Games and Activities.
- The Best ESL Reading Games and Activities.
Get ready to explore these engaging games that promise to transform your writing lessons into captivating educational adventures!
17 of the Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.
We have given full breakdown for these writing games and activities in each section including resources, numbers and time to play to help you speed up and make sure if these games suit your class and students.
1. Story Starters
Overview : Story Starters spark creativity by providing students with the first sentence of a story, which they then continue to develop into a complete narrative.
- Setup : Prepare a list of engaging opening sentences for stories.
- Time to Play : 20-30 minutes.
- Number of Players : Individual activity.
- Resources Needed : List of story starters, paper, and pens.
Description of Story Starters ESL Writing Game :
Distribute different story starters to each student.
Students use the given sentence to start their story and continue writing, developing their own plot and characters.
This game helps students practice narrative writing and encourages them to use their imagination.
2. Group Story Writing
Overview : Group Story Writing fosters collaboration and creativity. Each student contributes a sentence to a communal story, passing it around the classroom.
- Setup : Start with a blank sheet of paper for each group or pair.
- Time to Play : 15-25 minutes.
- Number of Players : Works best in small groups or pairs.
- Resources Needed : Paper and pens.
Description of Group Story Writing ESL Writing Game :
Begin with one student writing a sentence to start the story.
The paper is then passed to the next student, who adds their own sentence.
The process continues, with each student adding to the story.
This game enhances creative thinking and helps students learn how to write cohesively in a group context.
3. Writing Prompts Jar
Overview : The Writing Prompts Jar is an engaging way to inspire writing. Students pick a prompt from a jar and write a short piece based on it.
- Setup : Prepare a jar filled with a variety of writing prompts on small pieces of paper.
- Number of Players : Individual activity, but can be shared in groups after writing.
- Resources Needed : A jar, writing prompts on paper strips, paper, and pens.
Description of Writing Prompts Jar ESL Writing Game :
Each student picks a prompt from the jar.
They then write a short story , poem, or descriptive piece based on the prompt.
After writing, students can share their pieces with the class or in small groups.
This game encourages individual creativity and can cater to a wide range of writing styles and interests.
4. Picture-Inspired Writing
Overview : Picture-Inspired Writing uses visual stimuli to spark creativity. Students write a story or description based on an image.
- Setup : Select a variety of interesting and thought-provoking images.
- Number of Players : Individual activity, but can involve group discussion afterward.
- Resources Needed : Images (photographs, paintings, illustrations), paper, and pens.
Description of Picture-Inspired Writing ESL Writing Game :
Distribute different images to students or display them in the classroom.
Students write a narrative, poem, or descriptive piece inspired by their image.
This activity helps students practice descriptive writing and storytelling, encouraging them to interpret visual information creatively.
5. Dialogue Development
Overview : Dialogue Development challenges students to write a dialogue for a given scenario, focusing on conversational language and character interaction.
- Setup : Prepare a list of scenarios or situations for dialogues.
- Time to Play : 15-20 minutes.
- Number of Players : Can be done individually or in pairs.
- Resources Needed : Scenarios for dialogues, paper, and pens.
Description of Dialogue Development ESL Writing Game :
Provide each student or pair with a scenario.
Students write a dialogue that could take place in that scenario, paying attention to how people might speak in that context.
This game enhances understanding of conversational language and the nuances of spoken communication.
6. Postcard Writing
Overview : Postcard Writing is a creative and personal writing activity. Students write a postcard to a friend or family member describing a recent experience or a fictional trip.
- Setup : Have postcard templates or blank cards available.
- Resources Needed : Postcard templates or blank cards, pens.
Description of Postcard Writing ESL Writing Game :
Students choose a real or imaginary destination they’ve ‘visited.’
They write a postcard to someone describing their experiences, sights, and feelings.
This exercise is excellent for practicing descriptive language, informal writing, and past tense narratives.
7. Word Limit Stories
Overview : Word Limit Stories challenge students to create a story using exactly a set number of words, such as 50 or 100. This game enhances precision in language use and creativity within constraints.
- Setup : Decide on a word limit for the stories.
Description of Word Limit Stories ESL Writing Game :
Inform students of the word limit for their stories.
Students write a short story that precisely meets the word count requirement.
This activity encourages students to think carefully about word choice and sentence structure , fostering conciseness and clarity in writing.
8. Haiku and Poetry Creation
Overview : Haiku and Poetry Creation encourages students to express themselves through poetry, focusing on simplicity and imagery. Haikus, with their specific structure, are an excellent way to introduce poetry writing.
- Setup : Explain the structure of a haiku (three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern) or other simple poetry forms.
- Number of Players : Individual or small groups.
Description of Haiku and Poetry Creation ESL Writing Game :
Students write their own haikus or simple poems on given themes or topics.
Encourage them to focus on imagery, emotion, and brevity.
This game is great for practicing syllable counting and creative expression in a structured format.
9. Two Perspectives Writing
Overview : Two Perspectives Writing involves writing about the same event from two different viewpoints. It helps students explore perspective in narrative and develop empathy and understanding for different characters.
- Setup : Provide a basic scenario or event for students to write about.
- Time to Play : 25-35 minutes.
- Number of Players : Individual activity, but can involve group sharing afterward.
- Resources Needed : Scenarios for writing, paper, and pens.
Description of Two Perspectives Writing ESL Writing Game :
Students write about a given event from the perspective of two different characters or observers.
This encourages them to consider how different characters might perceive the same situation differently.
It’s an excellent exercise for exploring narrative voice, character development, and the subjectivity of experience.
10. Email Exchange
Overview : Email Exchange is a practical writing activity where students write emails to each other, practicing formal or informal language based on different scenarios.
- Setup : Prepare a list of scenarios for which students might write an email (e.g., writing to a friend, a teacher, or for a job application).
- Number of Players : Pairs or individual activity with teacher feedback.
- Resources Needed : Scenarios for email writing, paper, or computers if available.
Description of Email Exchange ESL Writing Game :
Assign each student or pair a specific scenario for their email.
Students write an email appropriate for the scenario, focusing on tone, structure, and relevant language.
This activity is great for teaching the nuances of written communication and the differences between formal and informal language.
11. Diary Entry
Overview : Diary Entry encourages students to write a diary entry from the perspective of a character from a book or a historical figure, enhancing creativity and empathy.
- Setup : Choose characters or historical figures that the students are familiar with or have studied.
- Time to Play : 20-25 minutes.
Description of Diary Entry ESL Writing Game :
Students select or are assigned a character or historical figure.
They write a diary entry from that person’s perspective, reflecting on a day or a significant event in their life.
This exercise helps students explore different perspectives and practice writing in the first person.
12. Descriptive Writing Challenge
Overview : Descriptive Writing Challenge tasks students with describing an object, place, or person in detail without naming it, focusing on sensory details and adjectives.
- Setup : Select a range of objects, places, or people for students to describe, or let them choose their own.
Description of Descriptive Writing Challenge ESL Writing Game :
Students write a detailed description of their chosen subject, using sensory details and vivid language.
The challenge is to convey the essence of the subject without directly naming it.
Other students can guess what is being described, adding an interactive element to the exercise.
This game enhances descriptive writing skills and encourages careful observation and creative expression.
13. Instructional Writing
Overview : Instructional Writing is a practical exercise where students write clear and concise instructions on how to do something, such as making a sandwich or tying shoelaces.
- Setup : Choose simple, everyday tasks that students can write instructions for.
Description of Instructional Writing ESL Writing Game :
Students select or are assigned a task.
They write step-by-step instructions on how to complete this task.
Emphasis is on clarity, sequence, and the use of imperative sentences.
This exercise helps students practice a practical aspect of writing and understand the importance of clear communication.
14. Sequencing Writing Game
Overview : In the Sequencing Writing Game, students put pictures or sentence strips in order and then write a story or description based on the sequence. This game enhances narrative skills and logical thinking.
- Setup : Prepare a series of pictures or sentence strips that can be arranged to tell a story or describe a process.
- Number of Players : Can be done individually or in small groups.
- Resources Needed : Pictures or sentence strips, paper, and pens.
Description of Sequencing Writing Game ESL Writing Game :
Distribute the pictures or sentence strips to students.
They arrange them in a logical order and then write a story or description that follows this sequence.
This game encourages students to think about story structure, cause and effect, and chronological order in writing.
15. Role Play Writing
Overview : Role Play Writing assigns different roles to students, who then write from their assigned character’s perspective. This game fosters creativity and empathy, allowing students to explore diverse viewpoints.
- Setup : Create a list of characters or roles for students to write from, which can be related to a theme, book, or historical event.
- Number of Players : Individual or pair activity.
- Resources Needed : Character descriptions or role profiles, paper, and pens.
Description of Role Play Writing ESL Writing Game :
Assign each student or pair a character or role.
Students write a narrative, letter, diary entry, or dialogue from the perspective of their assigned character.
Emphasis is on understanding and conveying the character’s viewpoint, emotions, and experiences.
This game enhances creative writing skills and the ability to write from different perspectives.
16. Acrostic Poems
Overview : Acrostic Poems are a fun and creative writing activity where the first letter of each line spells out a word related to a topic. This game encourages creativity and helps students focus on vocabulary related to specific themes.
- Setup : Choose words or topics for the acrostic poems.
- Number of Players : Individual activity, but can be shared in groups afterward.
Description of Acrostic Poems ESL Writing Game :
Assign each student a word or let them choose one related to a current theme or topic.
Students write an acrostic poem where each line starts with a letter from the word.
This game is excellent for exploring vocabulary and encouraging creative expression through poetry.
17. Collaborative Writing Blog
Overview : Starting a class blog where students contribute posts on various topics is an excellent way for them to practice writing in a real-world context. It enhances their ability to express ideas clearly and coherently.
- Setup : Set up a blog platform that all students can access and contribute to.
- Time to Play : Ongoing, with specific time allocated for writing and posting.
- Number of Players : Whole class.
- Resources Needed : Computer and internet access, a blog platform.
Description of Collaborative Writing Blog ESL Writing Game :
Each student or group of students contributes a blog post on a designated topic.
Topics can range from personal experiences to opinions on current events.
Students practice writing in various styles, from informal to persuasive, depending on the post.
This activity also allows for peer feedback and collaborative editing.
Don’t Forget you can access the pages for all our ESL games and activities from the links below or click on the image to download them all in one PDF file for $2.99 or the price of a coffee ( a good coffee we admit! )
These 17 ESL writing games provide an range of creative and effective methods to enhance writing skills in the ESL classroom.
By incorporating activities like Letter Writing Exchange and Collaborative Writing Blogs, teachers can offer students diverse and practical writing experiences.
These games not only promote language development but also encourage students to express themselves with confidence and creativity.
Further Writing Games and Activities
- https://www.eflsensei.com/?category=28
- https://eslauthority.com/blog/esl-writing-activities/
- https://blog.vipkid.com/10-creative-esl-writing-activities/
- https://enchantedesl.com/9-exciting-efl-esl-activities-for-writing-spelling/
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GAMES, BRRRAAAINS & A HEAD-BANGING LIFE
10 Quick Writing Games for Students and Teachers
Academic writing expert Lauren Bradshaw recently researched quick writing games for university or college students and teachers. These games do not require plenty of energy to set up and can be applied to students of all ages. Figuring them out is as easy as ordering answers for mymathlab .
The main goal is to improve the writing skills of students and according to Bradshaw, she said: “Substitute teachers who want to establish a connection with students or bring something fresh to the table can use writing games”. With the help of a professional essay writing service like CustomWritings .
1. Stretching sentences game
In this game, academic writing services or tutors can give students a group of words to work with or some short sentences. These can be passed around to a group of between 6 – 8 students and the rule is each person has to add or remove a word to make the sentence make sense or more appealing.
2. Rebus writing game
The second quick writing game that tutors and students can play together is called the rebus writing game. It is known by many names like picture riddles or picture puzzles because of its concept of incorporating pictures and words to convey meaning. To emerge victorious in this game according to essay services, students have to take their time and look at everything carefully. Things like color, word placement, and size all play an important role in getting it right while playing this game. With rebus writing, there is no limitation on what types of sentences can be made; all that matters is that each picture is used appropriately to make a complete thought. Rebus writing offers players endless possibilities for creative wordplay and strengthens their understanding of types of sentences in the same enjoyable format.
3. In the bag
This game is very much self-explanatory and is one of those that have been around for many years. It is played all across the world and to successfully implement it, objects are placed in a bag out of the view of the students. Once that is done, the tutors will ask their students to feel the objects in the bag with their hands and explain what it feels like. It is as simple as that plus it’s a very good way to teach students about adjectives according to professional writing services.
4. Touch and tell
This game is similar in concept to the one above, the only difference is the object is not in a bag. To play this, college or university tutors will give their students an object that they will pass around to each other. When that is done, the students will be asked to write adjectives that perfectly describe the object being passed around.
Another very easy game to play, and the object could be anything the tutor wants as long as it is safe. The last thing any tutor wants is to bring something that causes injuries to the students. Careful consideration is needed when it comes to picking the object but for the most part, many tutors are wise and always pick objects they know are safe to be around students as no college or university wants lawsuits on their hands.
5. Verb draw
This quick little writing game involves pictures being placed in a box by the college or university tutors. The idea of this game is for the students to pick a picture at random from the box and come up with action verbs for what they have picked. This picture could be of a particular object, a person, or even an animal. To spice things up a bit or make the game more exciting and challenging, on top of verbs, students can be asked to come up with adverbs and adjectives too.
6. Hot seat
This game is a bit complicated to play but very fun nevertheless as long as it is explained to students properly. In the hot seat, tutors will read a phrase, which can be from a story, and ask students to listen attentively. They will stop reading the story at a certain point and then ask students to pick a character from the story that was being read to them and write about what the character was feeling, thinking, or doing. This game teaches students how to grasp information quickly which is a good quality to have when they eventually start working.
7. Change one word – change the meaning
In this game, students will be asked to locate a word in a sentence and then alter it to see if it changes the meaning of the overall text. Once a word is changed, they will share their versions of the sentence with their tutors to see which part of the text was crucial when it comes to changing the overall meaning.
8. Locate and classify
In the located and classifying game, tutors will read a paragraph to their students and give them red and blue cards. They can write nouns on the red cards and adjectives on the blue ones or vice versa whichever way a student prefers. Students can also be asked to locate verbs and adverbs which they can also write down on cards of different colors like green and yellow. It is a great way to teach students about adjectives, adverbs, verbs, and nouns at the same time.
9. Grammar toss and sentence making
To play this game, one student needs to toss a ball and then write down a sentence they want with the correct punctuation. The game will carry on until a particular group of students creates up to 20 sentences on their paper. After that, the students will run and sit down because the group that gets their work done the quickest and has twenty correct sentences written down is declared the winner.
10. Toss and write
Before beginning this game, tutors and students need to prepare a cube. On each face of the cube, tasks need to be written which will require grammar knowledge from the students. For example, the task can be, to provide an adverb and a noun, provide two verbs, make a question, construct a sentence, provide two adjectives, and more. Students will then select a subject from the tin and throw the cube. Whichever side the cubes land on or face, they will have to do that task.
Final thoughts
There are so many quick writing games out there that can be played during the semester or term but these 10 in this article are some of the most popular. The whole idea of playing these games is not just to educate students, but to make writing fun while they still improve. During the holidays, students can get in touch with various online writing services. As long as an online essay service is reliable, they will be more than happy to play some games above with students so that they can polish up their writing skills to produce better essays. Writing is a skill that goes under the radar, but it is a very important skill that makes students attractive candidates for many employers once they graduate.
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Essays About Video Games: Top 12 Examples and Prompts
Video games have revolutionized the way we have fun today. If you are writing essays about video games, check out our guide to inspire your writing.
Few can contest the fact that video games have taken over the world. From the basic, almost “primitive” games of the 1970s like Pong to the mind-bending virtual reality games of the 2020s, they have been a source of entertainment for all. Moreover, they have proven quite profitable; countries like Japan and the United States have made tens of billions of dollars solely from the video game market.
Despite their popularity, much has been debated over the potentially harmful side effects that video games may have, particularly on children. One side argues that playing certain video games can lead to people exhibiting violence in the future, while others believe that video games teach players essential life skills. Regardless, they will continue to be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future.
For engaging essays about video games, read the essay examples featured below for inspiration.
1. What electronic games can teach us by Kendall Powell
2. designers are imagining video games without guns by keith stuart, 3. playing video games all summer won’t make you feel worse by nicole wetsman, 4. violent video games bad by andrea newman.
- 5. The health effects of too much gaming by Peter Grinspoon
Writing Prompts For Essays About Video Games
1. video games: good or bad, 2. the benefits of video games, 3. what is your favorite video game, 4. do video games cause people to become violent, 5. video games in your life, 6. video games vs. traditional games, 7. is the video game rating system enough.
“In other studies, researchers found that gamers who trained on Tetris were better at mentally rotating two-dimensional shapes than those who played a control game. Students who played two hours of All You Can E.T., an educational game designed to enhance the executive function of switching between tasks, improved their focus-shifting skills compared with students who played a word search game.”
Powell explains a few possibilities of applying video games to education. As it turns out, certain video games can improve players’ skills, depending on the mechanics. Researchers are inspired by this and hope to take advantage of the competitive, motivational nature of gaming to encourage children to learn. New games are designed to help kids improve their focus, coordination, and resilience, and game designers hope they will succeed.
“Imagine a game where you’re a war reporter seeking to capture the most iconic, representative images in a battle environment: You’d still get the sense of peril that audiences expect from action adventures, but your relationship with the environment would be more profound. It would be Call of Duty from the perspective of a creative participant rather than a violent interloper.”
The graphic nature of some video games is said to make kids violent, so it is only natural that some creators try to change this. Stuart writes that it is possible to maintain the fun that shooter-type games induce without using guns. He gives examples of games where you do not kill your enemy, simply stunning or capturing them instead. He also suggests photography as an alternative to killing in a “shooting” game. Finally, he suggests basing video games around helping others, making friends, and doing more peaceful, creative tasks.
“Any role video games play in skewing well-being that did pop up in the study was too small to have a real-world impact on how people feel, the authors said. People would have to play games for 10 more hours per day than their baseline to notice changes in their well-being, the study found.”
Wetsman counters the widespread belief that video games “destroy your brain.” Research done with a sample of 39,000 players over six weeks has shown that whether one plays video games for long or short periods, their mental health is not impacted much. There are some exceptions; however, there are not enough to conclude that video games are, in fact, harmful.
“Some people believe that the connection between violent games, and real violence is also fairly intuitive. In playing the games kids are likely to become desensitized to gory images;which could make them less disturbing, and perhaps easier to deal with in real life. While video games aren’t about violence their capacity to teach can be a good thing.”
In her essay, Newman writes about the supposed promotion of violence in some video games. However, she believes this violence does not cause people to be more aggressive later. Instead, she believes these games expose children to certain atrocities so they will not be traumatized if they see them in real life. In addition, these games supposedly promote connections and friendships. Finally, Newman believes that these “harmful” can make you a better person.
5. The health effects of too much gaming by Peter Grinspoon
“Gamers need to be educated on how to protect their thumbs, wrists, and elbows, their waistlines, their emotional state, their sleep, and their eyes. Simple education around taking breaks, stretching, eating healthy snacks, and resting and icing your thumb, wrist, or elbow when it starts hurting can address injuries early, before they become significant. For the eyes, gamers can try the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, try to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.”
Grinspoon discusses both the benefits and the health risks of gaming. Video games allow people to interact with each other remotely and bond over specific missions or tasks, and some research shows that they have cognitive benefits. However, some gamers may develop vision problems and hand and wrist injuries. Gaming and “staring in front of a screen the whole day” is also associated with obesity. Overall, Grinspoon believes that gaming is best done in moderation.
Looking for more? Check out these essays about hobbies .
Many parents believe that their children’s “bad behavior” is because of video games. Based on your experience and others, decide: are video games good or bad for you? Make sure to read viewpoints from both sides and write an essay based on your position. Would you encourage others to play video games? Discuss these pros and cons for an interesting argumentative essay.
Like anything else, video games have both positive and negative aspects. Explain the good that video games can do for you: the skills they can equip you with, the lessons they can teach, and anything else. Also, include whether you believe their benefits outweigh the disadvantages they may pose.
For your essay, write about your favorite video game and why you chose it. What is its meaning to you, and how has it affected your life? Describe the gameplay mechanics, characters, storyline, and general impact on the gaming community or society. You can write about any game you want, even if you have not played it; just ensure the content is sufficient.
Many claim that playing violent video games can make you violent in the future. Research this phenomenon and conclude whether it is true or not. Is the evidence sufficient? There are many resources on this topic; support your argument by citing credible sources, such as news articles, statistics, and scientific research.
Video games have been a part of almost all our lives. Recall a treasured experience with video games and explain why it is significant. How old were you? Why do you remember it fondly? How did this experience make you feel? Answer these questions in your own words for an exciting essay.
There are stark differences between video and traditional games, such as board games and card games. For an engaging essay, compare and contrast them and write about which is more entertaining, in your opinion. Be creative; this should be based on your own opinions and ideas.
The video game content rating system is used to classify video games based on their appropriateness for specific ages. However, parents complain that they are not strict enough and allow the display of violent content to children. Explore the criteria behind the rating system, decide whether it needs to be changed or not, and give examples to support your argument.
If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !
Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.
Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.
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- Knowledge Base
The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples
An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.
There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.
The essay writing process consists of three main stages:
- Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
- Writing : Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
- Revision: Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.
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Table of contents
Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.
The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .
For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.
Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.
Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:
- Understand your assignment: What is the goal of this essay? What is the length and deadline of the assignment? Is there anything you need to clarify with your teacher or professor?
- Define a topic: If you’re allowed to choose your own topic , try to pick something that you already know a bit about and that will hold your interest.
- Do your research: Read primary and secondary sources and take notes to help you work out your position and angle on the topic. You’ll use these as evidence for your points.
- Come up with a thesis: The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
- Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.
Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.
The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.
1. Hook your reader
The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.
Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:
The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.
2. Provide background on your topic
Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.
3. Present the thesis statement
Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:
As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.
4. Map the structure
In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.
The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.
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The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.
Length of the body text
The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.
Paragraph structure
To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.
That idea is introduced in a topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.
After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.
Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.
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The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :
- Returns to your thesis
- Ties together your main points
- Shows why your argument matters
A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.
What not to include in a conclusion
To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:
- Including new arguments or evidence
- Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
- Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”
Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.
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Checklist: Essay
My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).
My introduction sparks the reader’s interest and provides any necessary background information on the topic.
My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay.
I use paragraphs to structure the essay.
I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.
Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.
I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.
My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.
I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.
I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.
I have included a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.
My citations and references are correctly formatted according to the required citation style .
My essay has an interesting and informative title.
I have followed all formatting guidelines (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).
Your essay meets all the most important requirements. Our editors can give it a final check to help you submit with confidence.
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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.
In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.
Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.
The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.
The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.
Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:
- An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
- Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
- A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.
The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .
A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.
The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:
- It gives your writing direction and focus.
- It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.
Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.
A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.
At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).
Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.
The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .
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Writing an essay
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How to Write an Essay About Your Favorite Game
Writing an essay is a difficult task, especially if you are writing about your favorite game. Drafting a game essay is not always as easy as you might think. It takes dedication, commitment, and sheer will if you want to pull off the perfect game essay in English. Luckily, we have come up with some best tips.
Brainstorming
When it comes to brainstorming, not many people pay attention to this part of writing an essay. Of course, professional writers always start their work with brainstorming, but teen students nowadays often tend to neglect this crucial part. However, there are many reasons why brainstorming is imperative and inevitable if you want to write the perfect favorite game essay. Think about it. If you do not have the content in your mind, how do you suppose to jot it down in the paper? For instance, let us take an example of a situation. Imagine you are a very athletic person, and you have an interest in several games. After a while, you come down to two topic options. However, you are still unable to decide between basketball or football. So, what do you do in such a situation? Yes! You start brainstorming. Start jotting down the points you have in mind about both the topics and choose whichever you find the most suitable. To make it easy for you, below are written some of the steps which will help you in brainstorming,
- Start jotting down anything that comes up to your mind about basketball and football.
- Use the technique of mind-mapping to come up with the essay idea.
- Once you have the list of potential ideas or topics, start further elimination until you find the right one.
So, brainstorming can be much more beneficial than you think. It can help you ace your essay without any inconvenience. So, the myth about brainstorming being a wastage of time is not true. If anything, brainstorming enables you to save time.
Opt The Desired Type Of Essay
One of the second and most essential parts in initiating the essay on my favorite game is choosing the story’s writing style. Yes! Some of you might not be aware, but there are several styles you can conduct writing an essay. It is imperative that you choose the type according to your desired topic; otherwise, your whole work would be irrelevant, consequently getting rejected by your teachers. Students worldwide struggle with this task, as it is challenging to choose a style and start writing on it. It would also help if you did thorough research, which takes up a significant amount of your time. However, worry no more because, luckily, we have come up with some of the most used and universal essay writing styles. After reading the points below, you would easily pick a style for my favorite game essay.
- Narrative essay – A narrative essay is mainly used for stories that need a background voice to guide their audience. The narrative essay type is primarily used for biographies and autobiographies. To use it in telling about your favorite game would be a smart move.
- Persuasive essay – A persuasive essay is pretty much self-explanatory. This style of writing is mainly used to convince someone for something or to request someone for something. You may have seen people using this style for writing letters or doing academic work. So, using this writing style in a favorite game essay would be irrelevant as you do not need to convince anyone.
- Descriptive essay – An essay with many adjectives and words that describe something is a descriptive essay. Using this style for your favorite game paper would be a wise move as it would keep the reader hooked through the description.
- Argumentative essay – An argumentative essay style is one of the most commonly used by students. Here, you have to use the kind of language which will support your claim. In addition, it means that you have to be defensive about something throughout the essay.
So, in short, out of all these essay types, it would be better if you used the argumentative, narrative, and descriptive essay style. However, if you are new to this type of writing, you can always find argumentative essays for sale on any topic at EssayZoo.org.
Researching
‘I want to write about my favorite game essay in English. Will you help me?’ A question we all have been asked by our juniors at least once during student life. However, many fail to help them as they are unaware of the main component of writing a perfect game essay. If you are one of these people, do not worry because we are here with the answer, researching! Yes, when it comes to writing about games, researching helps you a lot, even if you know a lot about the topic.
There are two types of teachers, one who lets you decide your own topic, the other who assigns you one. If your teacher is the latter, you have tough luck, as now you would have to start researching from scratch. On the other hand, if your teacher gives you the option of opting for your own topic, you can easily pick the easiest one, something you remember around the back of your head. In such situations, researching can be disadvantageous. For instance, if you have a little time and already know a lot about the topic, then it is suggested that you go on without researching. This will save you a lot of time and resources. Some of the benefits of researching are,
- Widens your knowledge base
- You have the updated information
- Your content is more credible
- Your scope gets narrow
Creating an Outline
When it comes to writing an essay about your favorite game, an outline is crucial. An outline may not seem as impactful as you think, but in reality, it is the forty percent reason why your essay is good. The outline of your essay is like a road map to your work. Wherever you get off track, you can always track back from where you drifted off. That is why it is highly significant that you always draft an outline before starting.
Proofreading and Editing
Proofreading is one of the crucial parts if you want to ace your essay about your favorite game. So, to gain an unbiased opinion of your essay, ask anyone but your friends to proofread your work. A teacher would be better because they would tell you about your mistakes from the point of view of an expert.
Writing an essay will always be a daunting task, especially if it is about your favorite game. However, that does not mean that you stop trying after the first few tries. Remember, nothing is perfected overnight; everything takes time. Apart from that, you can always take help from the points mentioned above.
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My Favourite Game Essay for Students and Children
500+ words essay on my favourite game.
My Favourite game essay-Playing games are very important for a human being. It keeps a man fit. Moreover, it keeps him away from diseases. Having some physical hobby is essential for a person. Most importantly many nutritionist and doctor recommend it. Children play many games. Some of them are cricket , basketball, football. Tennis , badminton, etc. Since in India the famous game is cricket many children are having it as a hobby. But my favorite is football.
My Favorite Game – Football
When I was a child I liked cricket too but was never good at it. So I changed my hobby to football . Football was new to me in class 3. I did not play well in the beginning. But I liked the game very much. So I started practicing it. As a result, I began to play it well.
In class 5 I became the captain of my class football team. At that time I was so much excited to become the captain. With time a learned a lot about football.
In Football total 22 players play. Division of players is in two teams. Each team has 11 players. These players have to play with the ball only with legs. They have to kick the ball in the other teams’ goal post. Football is not like cricket. Weather is not an issue in football. Due to which players can play it the whole year.
In addition to football is a game of stamina. The players have to run on the field for the whole game. Also for 90 minutes too. Since 90 minutes is a lot there is a division in time. There are two halves. The first is of 45 minutes. Likewise, the second half is of 45 minutes too.
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Rules in the Game
Like all the other games there are some rules and regulations too. First of all, the ball should not touch the ball by hand. If the ball gets touched by hand the other team gets a free-kick. There is a small area near the goal post. ‘D’ is the name of that area. The boundary of the ‘D’ is at least 10 yards from the goal post. If the player touches the ball there the opposite team gets a penalty.
Moreover, there are other rules. The second important rule is the ‘Off-Side Rule’. In this rule, if the player crosses the defender line it becomes an offside. If you are a true fan of football you must know what are defenders.
In the game, the players are into three subcategories. The first category is Forward. Forward are players who put the ball in the net of the goal post. The second category is a Midfielder. Midfielders are players who pass the ball to the forward player. The third category is the defenders. Defenders stop the other team players to put the ball in the goal post.
In addition to all the players playing on the field, there are other players too. These are substitute players. Football is a harsh game. Because of which many players get injured. When players get injured the substitutes take their place for the rest of the game.
Furthermore, there is a referee on the field. Whenever any place does a foul the referee whistles and stops the game. The referee then gives the penalty or a free-kick to the team foul against.
Moreover, if a player injures and fouls the other team player the referee gives him a Yellow or Red Card. The yellow card is a warning card. The red card is a suspension card. This card suspends the player for the rest of the game.
Questions on My Favorite Game
Q.1 Which is the best team in the world? A.1 The team that wins the FIFA CUP held every 4 years.
Q.2 How many players play on the field? A.2 11 from each team.
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ESL Writing Worksheet: Opinion Essay About Video Games (Intermediate)
In this writing worksheet, you are going to find exercises that will help students elevate their writing skills and practice the structure of an opinion essay on the topic “Are Video Games Good for Youngsters?”.
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There is an example of a short opinion essay on this topic, plus a multiple section where students can check their understanding of this type of writing, a section for practicing useful words and phrases for opinion essays plus practical tips for writing an opinion essay. The exercises are tailored to intermediate (B1) students.
Preparation Notes for the Teachers
Required time: 45 – 60 min
To prepare:
Prepare a discussion that covers the topic of the pros of video games.
As a warm-up, tell students that you all know that playing too many video games for too long can be harmful for the mental and physical being of a person. However, this activity is also fun and some games are really engaging and intelligently made, so players see many good reasons about why they should play them.
Ask students: How many hours per day do they play video games? What is their favorite video game and why? Are video games a good way to socialize? Are video games a good way to learn new English words? Are there any other benefits?
An Opinion Essay: Are Video Games Good for Youngsters?
In this worksheet, you will find exercises that will help you strengthen your writing skills and learn how to write an opinion essay on the topic “Are Video Games Good for Youngsters?”.
You will also learn some useful words and phrases for opinion essays, plus practical tips for writing an opinion essay.
What is your favorite video game and why? Are video games a good way to socialize? Are video games a good way to learn new English words? Are there any other benefits?
Discuss briefly with your teacher and the class, then answer the questions in Exercise A, B, C, D, and E.
Read the questions before answering to make sure you understand them.
Are Video Games Good for Youngsters?
Today, many young people play video games on their electronic devices, at home, at their friends’ houses and many of them say that playing video games is their favorite activity. These games are good for young people because of several reasons.
First of all, I think that video games are a good way to train your brain. There are many popular games in which players need to have high levels of thinking, follow instructions, solve complex problems and use logic. In my opinion , these games are fun, and you can learn many things from them. Moreover , you can play them with friends online, so you can hang out and socialize even if you have long-distance friendships.
In addition , you can learn a lot of new English words if you play video games. Some people think that you learn best in classes and while listening to music or watching films. Although this is true, there are many excellent students who learn English from video games because they spend most of their free time playing.
Finally, I believe that video games are good because they are fun and intelligent. I think that they are a good alternative to communicate with friends when you can’t see them in person and learn many new things together.
A. Understanding the Opinion Essay
1. Read the above essay, then choose and circle the 6 ideas that are mentioned in the essay.
a) Video games can increase your intelligence and ability to think.
b) Too many young people are obsessed with video games.
c) Playing video games online is good for socializing.
d) You can play video games even when you are not at home.
e) It is better to learn English in person than online.
f) Many students do well in English because they play video games.
g) There more reasons why playing video games is good for young people.
h) Many video games may help young people with problem-solving.
B. Expressing Opinion
2. Match the words and phrases that have a similar meaning. *Reminder: some of these words and phrases are underlined in the opinion essay in Exercise A.
a) I disagree that… ____________________________________
b) Finally…____________________________________
c) Nowadays…____________________________________
d) In addition…____________________________________
e) In fact…____________________________________
f) First of all…___________________________________
g) I believe that…____________________________________
Tips for Writing an Opinion Essay
- Write your essay in 3-4 paragraphs. Start each paragraph with phrases like First, Moreover, To conclude.
- Express your opinion using phrases like In my opinion, I believe, I think that. Always support your opinion with 1-2 arguments, i.e., why you think so.
- Mention opinions that are different from yours. Use phrases like “Some people think/believe“ and then explain why you don’t agree with them. Always explain why you disagree with 1-2 arguments.
C. Write an Opinion Essay
3. Write an opinion essay with the title ‘Are video games good for youngsters?’ Write the essay below and give your opinion.
Download this worksheet (including key) in Word and PDF doc format (zipped)
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Essay on Games
Games are an essential part of everyone’s childhood. Games are a fun way to keep kids entertained. They provide an interactive and engaging way to learn something new while considering themselves and others. They give children a break from daily study routines. Playing games improves kids’ immunity and helps them stay strong. BYJU’S essay on games allows the little ones to understand the difference between indoor and outdoor games and the importance of playing games.
Table of Contents
Indoor games, outdoor games, importance of playing games.
The essay on games is an article that explains why playing indoor games is vital for the development of kids in their early years. Indoor games are essential for kids who spend a lot of time indoors. There are many benefits to playing these games, like improving a child’s vision and developing memory skills. These skills help them in academics. While playing indoor games, kids can have a friendly competition.
The importance of indoor games is something that many people have probably not thought about. Indoor games can teach children how to move a coin, improve coordination, and use their imaginations. Examples of indoor games are carrom board, table tennis, chess, scrabble, charades, paper games, ludo, etc.
Outdoor games are essential to children’s health and development. Children who play outdoors experience nature, which is good for their physical, social, and mental health. Outdoor games are a fun way to get out of the house, meet new people, and take an opportunity to bond with new friends.
The little ones need to engage in physical activities to stay healthy. They help children develop problem-solving, teamwork, communication, cooperation, flexibility, and physical activity skills. Outdoor activities can be more beneficial than indoor activities because they provide more exposure to sunlight. Examples of outdoor games are kabaddi, cricket, football, kho kho , etc.
Playing games is an excellent way for kids to learn about the world and make new friends. Games improve kids’ learning experience and interest in studies, which helps them score better grades. Experts say playing games has cognitive benefits and can help increase social skills.
When playing games, kids’ brains grow stronger and wiser. Games teach children how to interact with others and think strategically while they are still young and learning new things. They also provide a safe place for kids to learn and explore without fear of judgement. You can also use games to teach your child how to communicate using a game board or cards.
To conclude, games are an essential part of early childhood, and an essay on games helps children understand the value of playing games. When kids soak in the sun while playing, they become strong, improving their vitamin D levels. In addition, playing games keep the kids engaged and entertained. For more kid-friendly activities, stories , GK questions and other games visit, BYJU’S website.
Frequently Asked Questions on Essay on Games
What are the benefits of playing indoor games.
Indoor games provide kids with a way to exercise their minds while playing. Solving puzzles or educational games help children learn new skills, strengthen maths skills and improve memory. Research is also being conducted to see how playing indoor board games can improve children’s literacy skills.
Why are outdoor games important for children?
Parents should encourage their children to participate in outdoor games to teach them the importance of teamwork and cooperation. Games like kabaddi, cricket, and hockey are fun ways for children to stay active during the summer. They also help children build their physical strength.
Why is BYJU’S essay on games vital for kids?
BYJU’S essay on games is essential for children because it explains the significance of playing and how games allow them to release stress, have fun, and learn valuable skills.
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Tips for Writing an Effective Application Essay
How to Write an Effective Essay
Writing an essay for college admission gives you a chance to use your authentic voice and show your personality. It's an excellent opportunity to personalize your application beyond your academic credentials, and a well-written essay can have a positive influence come decision time.
Want to know how to draft an essay for your college application ? Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing.
Tips for Essay Writing
A typical college application essay, also known as a personal statement, is 400-600 words. Although that may seem short, writing about yourself can be challenging. It's not something you want to rush or put off at the last moment. Think of it as a critical piece of the application process. Follow these tips to write an impactful essay that can work in your favor.
1. Start Early.
Few people write well under pressure. Try to complete your first draft a few weeks before you have to turn it in. Many advisers recommend starting as early as the summer before your senior year in high school. That way, you have ample time to think about the prompt and craft the best personal statement possible.
You don't have to work on your essay every day, but you'll want to give yourself time to revise and edit. You may discover that you want to change your topic or think of a better way to frame it. Either way, the sooner you start, the better.
2. Understand the Prompt and Instructions.
Before you begin the writing process, take time to understand what the college wants from you. The worst thing you can do is skim through the instructions and submit a piece that doesn't even fit the bare minimum requirements or address the essay topic. Look at the prompt, consider the required word count, and note any unique details each school wants.
3. Create a Strong Opener.
Students seeking help for their application essays often have trouble getting things started. It's a challenging writing process. Finding the right words to start can be the hardest part.
Spending more time working on your opener is always a good idea. The opening sentence sets the stage for the rest of your piece. The introductory paragraph is what piques the interest of the reader, and it can immediately set your essay apart from the others.
4. Stay on Topic.
One of the most important things to remember is to keep to the essay topic. If you're applying to 10 or more colleges, it's easy to veer off course with so many application essays.
A common mistake many students make is trying to fit previously written essays into the mold of another college's requirements. This seems like a time-saving way to avoid writing new pieces entirely, but it often backfires. The result is usually a final piece that's generic, unfocused, or confusing. Always write a new essay for every application, no matter how long it takes.
5. Think About Your Response.
Don't try to guess what the admissions officials want to read. Your essay will be easier to write─and more exciting to read─if you’re genuinely enthusiastic about your subject. Here’s an example: If all your friends are writing application essays about covid-19, it may be a good idea to avoid that topic, unless during the pandemic you had a vivid, life-changing experience you're burning to share. Whatever topic you choose, avoid canned responses. Be creative.
6. Focus on You.
Essay prompts typically give you plenty of latitude, but panel members expect you to focus on a subject that is personal (although not overly intimate) and particular to you. Admissions counselors say the best essays help them learn something about the candidate that they would never know from reading the rest of the application.
7. Stay True to Your Voice.
Use your usual vocabulary. Avoid fancy language you wouldn't use in real life. Imagine yourself reading this essay aloud to a classroom full of people who have never met you. Keep a confident tone. Be wary of words and phrases that undercut that tone.
8. Be Specific and Factual.
Capitalize on real-life experiences. Your essay may give you the time and space to explain why a particular achievement meant so much to you. But resist the urge to exaggerate and embellish. Admissions counselors read thousands of essays each year. They can easily spot a fake.
9. Edit and Proofread.
When you finish the final draft, run it through the spell checker on your computer. Then don’t read your essay for a few days. You'll be more apt to spot typos and awkward grammar when you reread it. After that, ask a teacher, parent, or college student (preferably an English or communications major) to give it a quick read. While you're at it, double-check your word count.
Writing essays for college admission can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be. A well-crafted essay could be the deciding factor─in your favor. Keep these tips in mind, and you'll have no problem creating memorable pieces for every application.
What is the format of a college application essay?
Generally, essays for college admission follow a simple format that includes an opening paragraph, a lengthier body section, and a closing paragraph. You don't need to include a title, which will only take up extra space. Keep in mind that the exact format can vary from one college application to the next. Read the instructions and prompt for more guidance.
Most online applications will include a text box for your essay. If you're attaching it as a document, however, be sure to use a standard, 12-point font and use 1.5-spaced or double-spaced lines, unless the application specifies different font and spacing.
How do you start an essay?
The goal here is to use an attention grabber. Think of it as a way to reel the reader in and interest an admissions officer in what you have to say. There's no trick on how to start a college application essay. The best way you can approach this task is to flex your creative muscles and think outside the box.
You can start with openers such as relevant quotes, exciting anecdotes, or questions. Either way, the first sentence should be unique and intrigue the reader.
What should an essay include?
Every application essay you write should include details about yourself and past experiences. It's another opportunity to make yourself look like a fantastic applicant. Leverage your experiences. Tell a riveting story that fulfills the prompt.
What shouldn’t be included in an essay?
When writing a college application essay, it's usually best to avoid overly personal details and controversial topics. Although these topics might make for an intriguing essay, they can be tricky to express well. If you’re unsure if a topic is appropriate for your essay, check with your school counselor. An essay for college admission shouldn't include a list of achievements or academic accolades either. Your essay isn’t meant to be a rehashing of information the admissions panel can find elsewhere in your application.
How can you make your essay personal and interesting?
The best way to make your essay interesting is to write about something genuinely important to you. That could be an experience that changed your life or a valuable lesson that had an enormous impact on you. Whatever the case, speak from the heart, and be honest.
Is it OK to discuss mental health in an essay?
Mental health struggles can create challenges you must overcome during your education and could be an opportunity for you to show how you’ve handled challenges and overcome obstacles. If you’re considering writing your essay for college admission on this topic, consider talking to your school counselor or with an English teacher on how to frame the essay.
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The Cowardice of Guernica
The literary magazine Guernica ’s decision to retract an essay about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reveals much about how the war is hardening human sentiment.
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Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.
In the days after October 7, the writer and translator Joanna Chen spoke with a neighbor in Israel whose children were frightened by the constant sound of warplanes. “I tell them these are good booms,” the neighbor said to Chen with a grimace. “I understood the subtext,” Chen wrote later in an essay published in Guernica magazine on March 4, titled “From the Edges of a Broken World.” The booms were, of course, the Israeli army bombing Gaza, part of a campaign that has left at least 30,000 civilians and combatants dead so far.
The moment is just one observation in a much longer meditative piece of writing in which Chen weighs her principles—for years she has volunteered at a charity providing transportation for Palestinian children needing medical care, and works on Arabic and Hebrew translations to bridge cultural divides—against the more turbulent feelings of fear, inadequacy, and split allegiances that have cropped up for her after October 7, when 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage in Hamas’s assault on Israel. But the conversation with the neighbor is a sharp, novelistic, and telling moment. The mother, aware of the perversity of recasting bombs killing children mere miles away as “good booms,” does so anyway because she is a mother, and her children are frightened. The act, at once callous and caring, will stay with me.
Not with the readers of Guernica , though. The magazine , once a prominent publication for fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction, with a focus on global art and politics, quickly found itself imploding as its all-volunteer staff revolted over the essay. One of the magazine’s nonfiction editors posted on social media that she was leaving over Chen’s publication. “Parts of the essay felt particularly harmful and disorienting to read, such as the line where a person is quoted saying ‘I tell them these are good booms.’” Soon a poetry editor resigned as well, calling Chen’s essay a “horrific settler normalization essay”— settler here seeming to refer to all Israelis, because Chen does not live in the occupied territories. More staff members followed, including the senior nonfiction editor and one of the co-publishers (who criticized the essay as “a hand-wringing apologia for Zionism”). Amid this flurry of cascading outrage, on March 10 Guernica pulled the essay from its website, with the note: “ Guernica regrets having published this piece, and has retracted it. A more fulsome explanation will follow.” As of today, this explanation is still pending, and my request for comment from the editor in chief, Jina Moore Ngarambe, has gone unanswered.
Read: Beware the language that erases reality
Blowups at literary journals are not the most pressing news of the day, but the incident at Guernica reveals the extent to which elite American literary outlets may now be beholden to the narrowest polemical and moralistic approaches to literature. After the publication of Chen’s essay, a parade of mutual incomprehension occurred across social media, with pro-Palestine writers announcing what they declared to be the self-evident awfulness of the essay (publishing the essay made Guernica “a pillar of eugenicist white colonialism masquerading as goodness,” wrote one of the now-former editors), while reader after reader who came to it because of the controversy—an archived version can still be accessed—commented that they didn’t understand what was objectionable. One reader seemed to have mistakenly assumed that Guernica had pulled the essay in response to pressure from pro-Israel critics. “Oh buddy you can’t have your civilian population empathizing with the people you’re ethnically cleansing,” he wrote, with obvious sarcasm. When another reader pointed out that he had it backwards, he responded, “This chain of events is bizarre.”
Some people saw anti-Semitism in the decision. James Palmer, a deputy editor of Foreign Policy , noted how absurd it was to suggest that the author approved of the “good bombs” sentiment, and wrote that the outcry was “one step toward trying to exclude Jews from discourse altogether.” And it is hard not to see some anti-Semitism at play. One of the resigning editors claimed that the essay “includes random untrue fantasies about Hamas and centers the suffering of oppressors” (Chen briefly mentions the well-documented atrocities of October 7; caring for an Israeli family that lost a daughter, son-in-law, and nephew; and her worries about the fate of Palestinians she knows who have links to Israel).
Madhuri Sastry, one of the co-publishers, notes in her resignation post that she’d earlier successfully insisted on barring a previous essay of Chen’s from the magazine’s Voices on Palestine compilation. In that same compilation, Guernica chose to include an interview with Alice Walker, the author of a poem that asks “Are Goyim (us) meant to be slaves of Jews,” and who once recommended to readers of The New York Times a book that claims that “a small Jewish clique” helped plan the Russian Revolution, World Wars I and II, and “coldly calculated” the Holocaust. No one at Guernica publicly resigned over the magazine’s association with Walker.
However, to merely dismiss all of the critics out of hand as insane or intolerant or anti-Semitic would ironically run counter to the spirit of Chen’s essay itself. She writes of her desire to reach out to those on the other side of the conflict, people she’s worked with or known and who would be angered or horrified by some of the other experiences she relates in the essay, such as the conversation about the “good booms.” Given the realities of the conflict, she knows this attempt to connect is just a first step, and an often-frustrating one. Writing to a Palestinian she’d once worked with as a reporter, she laments her failure to come up with something meaningful to say: “I also felt stupid—this was war, and whether I liked it or not, Nuha and I were standing at opposite ends of the very bridge I hoped to cross. I had been naive … I was inadequate.” In another scene, she notes how even before October 7, when groups of Palestinians and Israelis joined together to share their stories, their goodwill failed “to straddle the chasm that divided us.”
Read: Why activism leads to so much bad writing
After the publication of Chen’s essay, one writer after another pulled their work from the magazine. One wrote, “I will not allow my work to be curated alongside settler angst,” while another, the Texas-based Palestinian American poet Fady Joudah, wrote that Chen’s essay “is humiliating to Palestinians in any time let alone during a genocide. An essay as if a dispatch from a colonial century ago. Oh how good you are to the natives.” I find it hard to read the essay that way, but it would be a mistake, as Chen herself suggests, to ignore such sentiments. For those who more naturally sympathize with the Israeli mother than the Gazan hiding from the bombs, these responses exist across that chasm Chen describes, one that empathy alone is incapable of bridging.
That doesn’t mean empathy isn’t a start, though. Which is why the retraction of the article is more than an act of cowardice and a betrayal of a writer whose work the magazine shepherded to publication. It’s a betrayal of the task of literature, which cannot end wars but can help us see why people wage them, oppose them, or become complicit in them.
Empathy here does not justify or condemn. Empathy is just a tool. The writer needs it to accurately depict their subject; the peacemaker needs it to be able to trace the possibilities for negotiation; even the soldier needs it to understand his adversary. Before we act, we must see war’s human terrain in all its complexity, no matter how disorienting and painful that might be. Which means seeing Israelis as well as Palestinians—and not simply the mother comforting her children as the bombs fall and the essayist reaching out across the divide, but far harsher and more unsettling perspectives. Peace is not made between angels and demons but between human beings, and the real hell of life, as Jean Renoir once noted, is that everybody has their reasons. If your journal can’t publish work that deals with such messy realities, then your editors might as well resign, because you’ve turned your back on literature.
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'Games made by soulless machines': Tech sparks debate over AI stories in video games
Vincent Acovino
Christopher Intagliata
A screenshot from Nvidia and Convai's recent demonstration video of AI in video games. Screenshot by NPR hide caption
A screenshot from Nvidia and Convai's recent demonstration video of AI in video games.
Is the future of artificial intelligence in video games playing out in a cyberpunk ramen bar? Tech companies would like you to think so, but game writers aren't so sure.
In a recent demo from the tech company Nvidia, a human player talked to two video game characters using a microphone — and the characters responded in real time using generative AI.
Nvidia is promising a new kind of storytelling made possible by Generative AI technology.
In a press release, Nvidia said the technology offered the chance to turn "generic non-playable characters (NPCs)" into "dynamic, interactive characters capable of striking up a conversation, or providing game knowledge to aid players in their quests."
Nvidia had partnered with the tech start-up Convai for the demo, but they aren't the only ones pushing the new technology. At this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on March 18-22, new video games powered by generative AI technology are expected to be announced.
A growing number of gamers are LGBTQ+, so why is representation still lacking?
And the companies at the forefront of AI are not just promising to do the work that human writers are already doing; they are promising to completely change the way video game stories are told.
It's a claim that, across the industry, is being met with skepticism and hesitation.
Pushing the boundaries
In truth, the change is already happening.
The tech is already being used widely in game development. In a survey of more than 3,000 developers conducted by the Game Developers Conference, nearly a third say they already use AI in their workplace. Employees in business and marketing were most likely to use it, while those in narrative were among the least likely.
But it's in storytelling that the promise and perils are being most closely watched.
Games often have hundreds of characters who, together, help build a bigger story and more immersive experience. Until now, their dialogue has always been written by humans.
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Yet Kylan Gibbs, who develops AI at his company Inworld AI, says the generative technology can create a new relationship between author and creator.
"It means that every person ends up with something that — while still beheld to the story and narrative allure of the world — they're able to look at from different angles," he said.
Not everyone is so sure. Or, at least, not so willing to begin using AI in their own games.
Josh Sawyer is the studio design director at Obsidian Entertainment, which made narratively acclaimed games like Pentiment , and Fallout: New Vegas, and he isn't sold by the recent run of AI.
"A lot of the demos, I'm not going to lie, they seem impressive for a chat bot ," he said, adding it was not something he would use in his games.
Fallout: New Vegas is a science-fiction role playing game beloved for its story and characters.
In a game like Fallout: New Vegas , which follows the remaining denizens of Earth living in the wake of a nuclear apocalypse, it's the smaller interactions with the world's many characters — and their carefully crafted responses — that make for a good story.
"The appeal for our players is the characters feel very specific," Sawyer said. "I'm not looking to make a lot of generic dialogue."
Xalavier Nelson Jr., who leads the independent studio Strange Scaffold, has similar concerns. He says everything in a game needs to be filtered through a layer of intent.
"When I hear about building NPCs that make for better or equivalent game experiences while being driven by AI responses, the first thing I have to ask is ... how much does that create a cohesive experience for the player?"
"Even if an NPC interacts in a million different ways ... if it doesn't add up to a wider message, you end up with what we call in games 'oatmeal' — a sludge which functionally means or performs nothing outside of a sheer amount of stuff that's put into the world."
A question of ethics
Joon Sung Park, an AI researcher at Stanford, doesn't think generative AI will take the place of human writers who come up with high-concept, compelling storylines.
Instead, he sees AI making a game's many small characters more complex, more dynamic, and more spontaneous.
'Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth' review: Savor the story, skim the open world
"Where these agents are good at is creating believable micro-moments," he said. "But they're likely not going to be able to create individual, really fun stories."
Still, today it's human writers who craft a lot of the one-liners and small talk that side characters say in a video game. If AI does that instead, it might put some writers out of work, according to Nelson Jr.
"When we eliminate positions for juniors, that means they don't become mid level. Which means they don't become seniors. Which means they don't become the vibrant creative voices and directors of tomorrow," he said.
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Despite the fact that generative AI is already being used across the industry, 87% of game developers surveyed by the Game Developers Conference say they are at least somewhat concerned with how this tech will impact the game industry.
That's why for many it's not a question of whether AI can write a good story — it's whether it should .
"Ten years from now, the AI might become so good at what it does that it's indistinguishable from the best human writers," says Eric Barone, who wrote and designed the hit game Stardew Valley entirely by himself.
"I feel like we have to turn to a spiritual element here. I want to play games by human beings, not games made by soulless machines."
It's an ethical question writers are confronting now. But players will face it soon, and they'll have to decide whether games written by artificial intelligence are the games they want to play.
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Jamelle Bouie
The Supreme Court Is Playing a Dangerous Game
By Jamelle Bouie
Opinion Columnist
If the chief currency of the Supreme Court is its legitimacy as an institution, then you can say with confidence that its account is as close to empty as it has been for a very long time.
Since the court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization nearly two years ago, its general approval with the public has taken a plunge. As recently as the last presidential election year, according to the Pew Research Center , 70 percent of Americans said they had a favorable view of the court. In the wake of Dobbs, that number dipped to 44 percent. Twenty-four percent of Democrats, according to Pew, said they approved of the Supreme Court.
In the latest 538 average , just over 52 percent of Americans disapproved of the Supreme Court, and around 40 percent approved.
Does the court know about its precipitous decline with much of the public? It’s hard to say. It’s easier to answer a related question: Does it care? If the recent actions of the conservative majority are any indication, the answer is no.
Over the past month, members of that majority have effectively rewritten the 14th Amendment to functionally shield Donald Trump from the constitutional consequences of his actions leading up to and on Jan. 6. They have taken up the former president’s tendentious argument that he is immune to criminal prosecution for all actions taken while in office — postponing a trial and potentially denying the public the right to know, before we go to the polls in November, whether he is a criminal in the eyes of the law.
Most recently, the court allowed the State of Texas, governed by a cadre of some of the most reactionary conservatives in the country, to carry out its own immigration policy in contravention of both federal officials and the general precedent that it’s the national government that handles the national border, not the states.
It is enough to make teachers and practitioners of constitutional law wonder, as my colleague Jesse Wegman noted last month , whether there’s any reason to play the table as though it were still on the level — to continue to treat the court as if it were anything other than a partisan political institution.
Here I want to raise an additional point. It’s not just the recent actions of the Supreme Court — including the corrupt conduct of some of its members — that jeopardize its legitimacy and political standing but also the circumstances under which this particular court majority came into being.
There is no way to look past the fact that five of the six members of the conservative majority on the Roberts court were nominated by presidents who entered office without the winds of a popular majority. John Roberts and Samuel Alito, the author of Dobbs, were placed on the court by George W. Bush, who entered office short of a popular vote win and on the strength of a contested Electoral College victory. The other three — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — were nominated by Trump, who lost the national popular vote by more than two million ballots in 2016.
The three Trump justices bring additional baggage. Each one was nominated and confirmed in a show of partisan power politics. Gorsuch was the direct beneficiary of Senator Mitch McConnell’s blockade of the seat held by Justice Antonin Scalia, who died early in 2016. Republicans, led by McConnell, then the Senate majority leader, refused to give President Barack Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It was the first time the Senate had simply ignored a president’s nominee for the Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh was confirmed by a narrow vote of 50 to 48 (with one abstention and one absence) in the face of a credible accusation of sexual assault. Barrett was confirmed in flagrant violation of McConnell’s own rule for Supreme Court nominations. To block Garland, McConnell said that it was too close to an election to move forward; to confirm Barrett, McConnell said that it was too close to an election to wait.
There is no question that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs was the catalyst for its poor standing with the public. But the Dobbs majority owes itself to a garish Republican partisanship that almost certainly worked to weaken the political ground on which it stood in relation to the American people.
At the risk of sounding a little dramatic, you can draw a useful comparison between the Supreme Court’s current political position and the one it held on the eve of the 1860 presidential election.
It was not just the ruling itself that drove the ferocious opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which overturned the Missouri Compromise and wrote Black Americans out of the national community; it was the political entanglement of the Taney court with the slaveholding interests of the antebellum Democratic Party.
Six of the seven justices in the majority were Democratic appointments. The one who wasn’t, Samuel Nelson, was nominated by John Tyler, who was a Democrat before running on the Whig ticket with William Henry Harrison. Five of the justices were appointed by slave owners. At the time of the ruling, four of the justices were slave owners. And the chief justice, Roger Taney, was a strong Democratic partisan who was in close communication with James Buchanan, the incoming Democratic president, in the weeks before he issued the court’s ruling in 1857. Buchanan, in fact, had written to some of the justices urging them to issue a broad and comprehensive ruling that would settle the legal status of all Black Americans.
The Supreme Court, critics of the ruling said, was not trying to faithfully interpret the Constitution as much as it was acting on behalf of the so-called Slave Power, an alleged conspiracy of interests determined to take slavery national. The court, wrote a committee of the New York State Assembly in its report on the Dred Scott decision, was determined to “bring slavery within our borders, against our will, with all its unhallowed, demoralizing and blighted influences.”
The Supreme Court did not have the political legitimacy to issue a ruling as broad and potentially far-reaching as Dred Scott, and the result was to mobilize a large segment of the public against the court. Abraham Lincoln spoke for many in his first inaugural address when he took aim at the pretense of the Taney court to decide for the nation: “The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government upon vital questions, affecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made, in ordinary litigation between parties, in personal actions, the people will have ceased to be their own rulers.”
As much as ours is a dire moment for the future of the American republic, we can at least rest assured that we aren’t living through 1857 or 1860 or 1861. Santayana notwithstanding, history does not actually repeat itself. But this Supreme Court — the Roberts court — is playing its own version of the dangerous game that brought the Taney court to ruin. It is acting as if the public must obey its dictates. It is acting as if its legitimacy is incidental to its power. It is acting as if it cannot be touched or brought to heel.
The Supreme Court is making a bet, in other words, that it is truly unaccountable.
The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here's our email: [email protected] .
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Jamelle Bouie became a New York Times Opinion columnist in 2019. Before that he was the chief political correspondent for Slate magazine. He is based in Charlottesville, Va., and Washington. @ jbouie
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A minimalist typewriter simulator to inspire creative writing
Sentence Stretching. Rebus writing. It's in the bag. Touch and tell. Verb Draw. Hot Seat. Change the meaning- change one word. Locate and classify. Grammar toss- Sentence making.
Word Association Game. Word association games are perfect for 10-minute writing games! Start by giving students a random word and ask them to write down the first word that comes to their mind when they hear it. Then, have them pass their paper to the person next to them and repeat the process with the new word.
Students practice basic grammar skills, from comma placement to parallel structure. Quill Grammar has over 150 sentence writing activities to help your students. Our activities are designed to be completed in 10 minutes so you have the freedom to use them in the way that works best for your classroom. Try a sample activity Learn more.
For this kinesthetic game, ask students to find a partner to work with. Ask each partner to freeze in a different position, for example, students can pose in a kneeling position, superman stance, sitting, etc. Pose a debatable question/topic to the class and allow students one minute to justify their position/opinions.
Idea #3 — Write a Communal Story. Idea #4 — Word Drawing Writing Game (Free Printable) Idea #5 — Focus on the Details. Idea #6 — Re-Write the Ending Writing Game. Idea #7 — Draw What You Hear (Free Printable) Idea #8 — Write a Secret Letter. For example, in the "Interview and Report" writing game, your students will learn about ...
A standard essay contains five paragraphs: an introduction, three supporting paragraphs and a conclusion. Students learn this format as early as elementary school and, with the heavy reliance on standardized testing, they are increasingly taught only this format for writing. Creativity can quickly become stifled by ...
Game #1: Story Starters. Story Starters is an English creative writing game that works best with a group of players. This game involves taking turns to write a story with each player adding a sentence within a set time limit. To play Story Starters, gather a group of friends, some paper, pens, and a timer.
Class Scriber is an interactive creative writing game. Readers: think create your own story on a large scale; writers: think x-factor for authors. It's a competition and everyone gets a vote - even non-contributors. The end result is a dynamic co-created narrative. Class Scriber provides educational benefits to students of all abilities.
Our writing games are made to encourage creativity; with quick ten minute writing challenges that will give you the inspiration, and encouragement, you need to write larger projects. Develop your writing skills. Each game is tailored to different elements of writing; from characterisation to story development. This allows you to focus on areas ...
Plus, pick up this Free Resourcefrom Bespoke ELA. Devil's Advocate. One way to practice argumentation skills is through a game called "I Couldn't Disagree More. " In this game, students play the devil's advocate and disagree with debatable thematic claims. In this game, students draw a thematic claim such as "Ambition leads to ...
Hands-on Essay Writing Activities #3: Stations. Stations are just what they sound like-stations set up around your classroom. Each station includes the directions and materials needed to complete a different task. In order for students to complete all of the required tasks, they have to rotate to each station.
17 of the Best ESL Writing Games and Activities. We have given full breakdown for these writing games and activities in each section including resources, numbers and time to play to help you speed up and make sure if these games suit your class and students. 1. Story Starters.
1. Stretching sentences game. In this game, academic writing services or tutors can give students a group of words to work with or some short sentences. These can be passed around to a group of between 6 - 8 students and the rule is each person has to add or remove a word to make the sentence make sense or more appealing. 2. Rebus writing ...
Practice writing skills with paragraph typing exercises. This practice lesson consists of short paragraphs about interesting subjects. Find fun keyboard typing practice—and learn something new! Our paragraph practice is great typing practice for writing essays, reports, emails, and more for school and work.
If you are writing essays about video games, check out our guide to inspire your writing. Few can contest the fact that video games have taken over the world. From the basic, almost "primitive" games of the 1970s like Pong to the mind-bending virtual reality games of the 2020s, they have been a source of entertainment for all. Moreover ...
The essay writing process consists of three main stages: Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline. Writing: Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion. Revision: Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling ...
Alphabet Spinner (lowercase) Random wheel. by Eclinton. Writing. Conjuntion But / and True or false. by Mgiusto. G3 G4 G5 English Reading writing. Mixed Contraction words. (challenging version) Find the match. by Mrsbaiza. G3 English writing.
The narrative essay type is primarily used for biographies and autobiographies. To use it in telling about your favorite game would be a smart move. Persuasive essay - A persuasive essay is pretty much self-explanatory. This style of writing is mainly used to convince someone for something or to request someone for something.
A1. The main difference between sports and games is, we can play sports only outdoors. But games can take place both indoors and outdoors. Q2. Write any two advantages and disadvantages of sports. A2. The advantages of sports are it keeps a person fit and is a stress buster.
In addition to football is a game of stamina. The players have to run on the field for the whole game. Also for 90 minutes too. Since 90 minutes is a lot there is a division in time. There are two halves. The first is of 45 minutes. Likewise, the second half is of 45 minutes too. Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas. Rules ...
1. Read the above essay, then choose and circle the 6 ideas that are mentioned in the essay. a) Video games can increase your intelligence and ability to think. b) Too many young people are obsessed with video games. c) Playing video games online is good for socializing.
The essay on games is an article that explains why playing indoor games is vital for the development of kids in their early years. Indoor games are essential for kids who spend a lot of time indoors. There are many benefits to playing these games, like improving a child's vision and developing memory skills. These skills help them in academics.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing. Tips for Essay Writing. A typical college application essay, also known as a personal statement, is 400-600 words. Although that may seem short, writing about yourself can be challenging. It's not something you want to rush or put off at the last moment.
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After the publication of Chen's essay, a parade of mutual incomprehension occurred across social media, with pro-Palestine writers announcing what they declared to be the self-evident awfulness ...
However, the games organizers say, Olympic teams are still free to bring their own air conditioners. The United States, Canada and Norway said they would. Australia and Ireland have too, according ...
Woman writing letter. Getty. Bettmann Archive. Kind words make people feel good, and a video game is aiming to create conversations between real people.
AI in video games sparks debate over who should write the stories Is the future of artificial intelligence in video games playing out in a cyberpunk ramen bar? Tech companies would like you to ...
A version of this article appears in print on , Section SR, Page 3 of the New York edition with the headline: The Supreme Court Is Playing a Dangerous Game. Order Reprints | Today's Paper ...