Academic Writing
Junior High / High School LevelAcademic writing both teaches and gauges a student’s ability for critical thinking and analysis, persuasive communication, and independent thought and reasoning. These are the skills of the future and fundamental to success in a globalized world. Equipping students with these skills is the centerpiece of the Englist program.
Why is academic writing so important?
It develops strong communication skills
Through academic writing, students cultivate their ability to think independently. As they learn about academic writing structure and how to present a strong argument on paper, they are also building more confident communication skills.
It improves overall English ability
Writing well in English requires proficiency in English grammar and comprehensive knowledge of academic vocabulary. As students strengthen their writing abilities, they also naturally improve their understanding of English grammar, expand their lexicon, and advance their comprehension skills.
It trains students to think critically
Students must exercise their reasoning skills when putting together a well-written academic essay. By employing their analytical skills when constructing a piece of academic prose, students also become stronger independent thinkers.
Our Writing Classes
Writing Essentials
American English Level: Grades 6-8
Writing Essentials is designed to initiate English second-language learners into the world of academic writing. This class starts students on the process of learning deep-thinking skills, including critical thinking, analysis, and organized communicative thought. Writing Essentials engages students with a variety of writing formats, specifically standard academic writing styles (persuasive, expository, narrative), creative writing, basic literary analysis and response, and analysis of current events through journalistic writing.
By reading and responding to these types of writing formats, students are able to develop those essential skills necessary to be capable and productive academic writers in other classes like Basic Essay Writing, Advanced Writing, and Taipei Teen Tribune. Furthermore, the Writing Essentials class lays the foundation for strong academic writing, communication, and thinking skills that will serve students through high school, university, and beyond.
Essay Writing
American English level: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-11
Essay Writing focuses on the Simple Persuasive Essay (SPE), a writing curriculum developed by Englist. The purpose of the SPE is to introduce students to each component of an essay, how to structure these components to convey ideas, and the logical underpinnings of communication and academic writing. Students are also introduced to simple expository and narrative essays, as well as basic stylistic features like transitions and descriptive writing.
Advanced Writing
American English level: Grades 9-11
Advanced Writing expands on the foundations of the Essay Writing course and tasks students with mastering the five paragraph essay, the format most commonly used in Western education. Students also learn to write different types of essays. The course further introduces students to advanced writing formats like research essays, writing for standardized tests like TOEFL and IELTS, and literary tools and analysis. Students at this level focus more heavily on content and reasoning.
American English level: Grades 7-12
Taipei Teen Tribune is an Englist publication founded in 2015, and is written by Taiwanese students about our world and what we think is important. We write about current events, culture, school, trends, and everything in between. All articles are written by Taiwanese students in their own words with minimal editing. These stories are theirs, and chosen because they reflect real opinions and real concerns.
Students in this class write researched articles and opinion pieces to be published in Englist’s online magazine, Taipei Teen Tribune. Students are only admitted to this class after they’ve proven to be strong enough English readers and writers, and are invited. Most of the students enrolled have studied at Englist for at least two years.
Start your application now
Through our application process, parents gain a better understanding of which specific parts of their child’s English language ability need improvement. Teachers make course recommendations based on the results of an Englist proficiency assessment in order to ensure students are placed in the classes they will derive the most benefit from.
Meet Our Students
Englist students have gone onto prestigious schools all over the world, including …
UC Santa Barbara
University College London
University of Toronto
東吳大學
Soochow University
Department of Law
政治大學
National Chengchi University
University of Miami
King’s College London
UC Davis
國立臺灣大學
National Taiwan University
Our classes are all-English, all the time.
Native English-speaking teachers
Our classes are all immersive English-learning environments because our teachers are native English speakers. This allows students to improve their language skills more fluidly and colloquially.
Small class sizes
Through group discourse and interaction with their classmates, students are encouraged to speak up and voice their thoughts and opinions. This cultivates their logical thinking and social skills.
Fostering critical thinking skills
Students are encouraged to express their ideas through question-and-answer sessions and think critically about their arguments. This helps them become independent thinkers and prepares students for more advanced levels of writing.
Our mission at Englist
Unlike most English programs that emphasize “technical” learning to get high SAT scores, or teach students “tricks” to memorize vocabulary and grammar rules more efficiently, Englist adopts a more organic approach. We raise issues to inspire students to think. Group interactions encourage students to speak up and exercise their social skills, and academic writing exercises help them build independent thinking skills. We aim not only to improve students’ English skills, but to help them effectively fulfill their highest potential when they eventually leave the classroom and go out into the world.
Our Teachers
Englist prides itself in the quality of our curriculum and teachers. All of our instructors are enthusiastic teachers and experienced educators.
Teachers speak English at a native level
With fluent English speakers leading the class, students learn pronunciation and grammar in a much more natural way. This immersive English learning environment allows students to hear the language in the way it would normally be spoken among native English speakers.
Livelier and more interactive classrooms
All of Englist’s teachers grew up in Western education systems and instruct students in a similar fashion. We aim to inspire engagement and independent thinking in our students, a departure from the rigid and rote memorization techniques common among many other after school programs in Taiwan.
Rich teaching experience in Taiwan
Our teachers have all had years of experience teaching in Taiwan in various schools and institutes, instructing students of all ages from elementary through high school.
Contact Us
Reach Out to Us
Feel free to reach out to us through the channels below, or simply fill out this form and a representative will be in touch.
Fuxing South Road, Section 2, No. 268, 2F-3