Academic Writing
Junior High / High SchoolAcademic writing teaches students to develop and organize their thinking. Students require these skills for success in global classrooms at the high school and college level. Furthermore, these skills are imperative for strong performance on tests like the SAT and ACT. Therefore, equipping students with these skills, through academic writing curriculum, is the centerpiece of the Englist program.
Why is academic writing so important?
It builds stronger communication skills
Students who can write a convincing and structured essay can speak in a clear and structured way, and with confidence. Not only will these individuals write well, but they will speak and think using these same strategies.
It develops critical thinking skills
The ability to move from one idea to the next and to understand the connection seems straightforward, but it is surprising how few people ever actually train this capacity. Learning to write, however, teaches students how to reason. In other words, writing teaches students “structured thinking”.
It improves overall language skills
Academic writing is a synthesis of all other language skills. You need strong grammar. You need an academic vocabulary. You need to be able to listen to and comprehend instructions, and you need to be able to speak up to ask questions and assert your opinions. And most importantly, you need to have read an awful lot.
Our Academic Writing Classes
Reading Lab
Reading Lab class takes a holistic approach to helping students elevate their English ability to a level that will enable them to thrive in our Academic Writing program. Students will learn and utilize different reading strategies to help them comprehend and analyze articles and short stories that they read in class. For writing, students will practice diverse types and formats of writing every class with a large focus on improving writing mechanics. In addition, students will develop their speaking and listening skills by participating in and leading class discussions related to class reading material.
Writing Essentials
Writing Essentials introduces students to the idea of writing as a communication tool and as a method of developing deeper and more analytical thinking. Students will try different types of writing, including sentence and paragraph construction, summary, review, narrative, creative, and more practical forms like emails and blogging. Students will be challenged to explore ideas they encounter and learn to present their ideas in a convincing and clear manner. Students are also tasked with developing mechanical skills through rewriting edited work.
Basic Essay Writing
Essay Writing begins with a focus on the Simple Persuasive Essay (SPE), a teaching tool developed by Englist. The purpose of the SPE is to introduce students to each component of an essay, how to structure and connect 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 Projects Writing
Advanced Projects Writing is a class for experienced essay writers to refine their academic work. Students will compose a series of different types of essay, including research papers, narrative essays, and literature analyses.
Furthermore, students will be tasked with composing essays in class responding to a prompt they first see as they start writing. The goals of this class are to show students more advanced forms of essay writing and to prepare them for Western classroom environments, both in high school and college.
Writing Lab
Tailored instruction for students’ writing needs, including essay competitions, debate competitions, writing competitions, IB/AP/SAT preparation, Model United Nations (MUN) conferences, etc.
- Small class sizes of 4-8 students
- Customized courses tailored to student needs
Class time: Every Saturday 4:15 p.m. – 7:15 p.m., 3 hours per class
Class period: April 11th, 2026 – June 13th, 2026
Number of classes: 10 classes
Taipei Teen Tribune is an Englist publication founded in 2015, and is written by Taiwanese students about their experience and what they think is important. They write about current events, culture, school, trends, and everything in between. All articles are written by Taiwanese students in their own words. 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 on an invite-only basis, after they’ve proven to be mature enough English readers and writers. Most of the students enrolled have studied at Englist for at least two years.
Customized lessons / Homeschooling
Many students who are homeschooled in Taipei come to Englist for supplemental instruction in English academic writing. If you are a homeschooled student, a parent/guardian to a homeschooled student, or would simply like to know more about how Englist can help you take charge of your child’s education and future, don’t hesitate to contact us.
How Englist can help you:
- Provide information regarding homeschooling requirements in Taiwan
- Guide you through the homeschooling application process
- Place students in the most appropriate Englist course for their English proficiency level
- Provide student progress reports that adhere to Taiwan government homeschooling regulations
In order to ensure students are placed in the most appropriate classes, all new students must undergo an assessment. Englist teachers will determine the course level that will benefit the student the most based on test results.
Meet Our Students
Englist students have gone on to 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 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
Feel free to reach out to us through the channels below, or simply fill out this form and a representative will be in touch.
@englist
(02) 2736-6829
Taipei City, Da’an District, Anhe Road, Section 1, No. 137, 4th Floor