An A to Z
of writing
ELT materials
H is for Heads-up and heads-down
Visualizing your materials in the classroom When we write a series of exercises for a complete lesson, for example, in the form of a worksheet, it's easy to become engrossed in how it works on the page or screen. However, it's more important to visualize how it will...
B is for brief
What exactly is a brief? When you write materials for a publisher, you usually get a brief before you start. This contains information about exactly what it is you need to write. Briefs often have information about who the target users will be and how this might...
T is for topics
Imagine the scene: You’ve been asked to write materials for an elementary course lasting 90 hours. What topics will you include? The obvious ones are people, places, free time, food, travel and so on. Why? Well, in part, because those topic headings can be understood...
S is for skills
What are the skills of a materials writer? Recently, Kath and I were honoured to give a plenary at the Braz TESOL conference entitled 'Are materials writers born or made?" We were particularly fortunate to have a very active audience and so when we asked the question,...
I is for ideation
What is ideation? The terms ‘creativity’ and ideation’ are often used synonymously but they are not identical. Creativity refers to a whole global process whereas ideation is more concerned with generating new ideas which is one (major) part of creativity. Often,...
G is for gapfill
Experience a gapfill One of the most commonly-used, commonly written (and commonly maligned) types of exercise in ELT and any language materials is the gapfill. I asked ChatGPT to write this 100-word definition and then added some gaps. Try reading it and fill the...
A is for … Answer key
What's the point of writing answer keys? A teacher has prepared a worksheet. It’s a series of exercises packed full of interest and creativity. She can’t wait to use it with her students. The lesson begins. The lead-in with the photograph in exercise 1 goes well. Then...
W is for … writing ELT materials
A brand new blog - Welcome to the first post on our brand new A to Z blog for ELT materials writers. It might seem a bit strange to have chosen ‘W’ to begin the series, but as we’ll be populating the blog with posts about the other 25 letters of the alphabet, it’s...