Term
Spring 2026
Capstone
Capstone Project
Degree Name
MA-TESOL
Facilitator(s)
Dr. Jennifer Carlson
Content Expert
Steve Wicht
Abstract
This capstone project addressed the challenge that adult English Language Learners (ELLs) faced in meeting the complex demands of argumentative writing in academic and professional settings, and was guided by the question, How can the design of an adult ESL curriculum support students in developing argumentative writing through scaffolded lessons on hortatory exposition? This research sought to address a gap in instructional supports for adult ESL students as they developed persuasive writing skills. The curriculum design explicitly focused on language features essential to hortatory exposition. The resulting unit was a six-lesson, twelve-hour curriculum for intermediate adult ESL students at a community college. It integrated various scaffolding strategies to teach specific grammatical features, and the outcome required students to produce two hortatory expositions. The project incorporated continuous improvement of the unit through student evaluations and teacher retrospective field notes. Future work recommendations included developing follow-up units and conducting formal studies to collect and analyze student data for further refinement.
Project Type
Curriculum
Keywords
Adult Education, Curriculum, ESL/ ELLs, Writing
Recommended Citation
Lighthiser, Cristina, "Building Argumentative Writing Skills In An Adult ESL Classroom" (2026). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects. 1171.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_cp/1171
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
School of Education Student Capstone Projects