Using Models in the Second-Language Writing Classroom

The use of writing models with nonnative English speakers has received a certain amount of criticism--especially from teachers whose students copy models in their entirety or follow them too closely. The misuse of models has brought some teachers to the point where they believe that the best kind of pedagogy is to abandon writing models altogether. However, appropriate models are valuable teaching tools in the writing classroom. If models are used to help students understand what is expected within a genre, different ways of approaching a task, and what is considered a good piece of writing within that genre, students will be less likely to simply imitate writing models. The responsibility for helping students see a model as a resource rather than an ideal and understand how to use a writing model lies with the writing instructors.