ESL writing lessons typically focus on texts and styles of writing common to English-speaking countries, such as paragraphs, letters, reports, summaries and different kinds of essays. These are the documents ESL students are most likely to encounter at school or in an English-speaking workplace. Because some of these documents may be entirely new concepts to ESL students, showing them some samples first gives them an idea of what you are expecting. After providing samples, teach the outline of the writing piece and assign a writing task for students to complete.

Photocopy samples of a particular type of writing document, such as an argumentative essay. These could be written by previous students or by yourself. Plan to ask students to read them quietly or in pairs. This will be your "anticipatory set" activity, which draws student attention.

Prepare a mini-lecture on the type of writing document you will be teaching. This lecture should explain the purpose of the document, where and when it is used, how it is structured and any other notable features. Outline your lecture on a PowerPoint presentation or handout so students can follow along.

Generate a set of questions to ask students as you read through the sample document together. For example, you could ask students to locate the thesis and the three main points of an argumentative essay.

Create sheets with an outline of the type of writing that students can fill in. For example, for an argumentative essay create a space for a title, the topic, the thesis, three main points and three sub-points for each. This helps students get a hang of the structure in their first attempt.

Plan how you will check that students are on the right track. Going around to every student and looking over their outline might be faster than requiring students to hand them all in, marking them and then handing them all back.

Type out clear homework instructions that you will either hand out to students or have students copy down. If you will be having students fill out an outline for an essay in class, have them write out the essay in full paragraph form for homework. State the length of the assignment and any other requirements.