Running head: PARAGRAPH PUNCH 1 Reviewer: Michelle Candy Title: Paragraph Punch Software Review Platform: Online: Mac, PC or Linux Minimum hardware requirements: Internet browser (Recommended web browsers are Firefox 2.0+, Internet Explorer 6,7, and Safari 3. A screen display of 1024 x 768 or larger is suggested.) Publisher & Website address: Merit Software http://www.meritsoftware.com/ http://www.paragraphpunch.com/ Support offered: Phone and email support Target language: English Target audience: Intermediate-level English students; grade 5-10 L1 students Price: $25 for a single-user home version. $199 for 2-10 student accounts for one year. Other pricing options available. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Paragraph Punch is a web-based program that teaches students how to write a paragraph. The program walks the students through the entire process of writing a paragraph, from writing a topic sentence through writing supporting sentences to adding transition words and finally editing, proofreading, and publishing. The sample writing prompt is taking a friend while going on a trip to Hawaii. Students are asked to enter the name of someone they d like to take along.
PARAGRAPH PUNCH 2 After writing a person s name, the student is then asked to give words or phrases that describe the friend, what the student most likes or admires about the person, and why that person would be good to go on a trip with.
PARAGRAPH PUNCH 3 The prompts ask for brief words or phrases. If a longer answer is entered, the computer will throw up a prompt, reminding the writer that only brief answers are asked for right now. Next, the student receives prompts about writing a topic sentence. First, the computer prompt gives a sample topic sentence, using the name that has been entered. Next, it will give the beginning of a topic sentence for the student to finish. Finally, it will give the student the opportunity to write a topic sentence for this paragraph. The topic sentence is then shown in red. Text can be changed by highlighting the text in question, and then clicking on change text.
PARAGRAPH PUNCH 4 The program then lists the ideas from the pre-writing with a checkbox beside each. Students are instructed to choose at least four of these ideas for their paragraph. Once a word or phrase is selected, a box pops up where students can write a sentence using the word or phrase.
PARAGRAPH PUNCH 5 After the sentences have been written, the student can click and move the sentences into a box in the order he or she thinks they should be. Later, the student will have the option to move sentences up or down in the paragraph. Once the student is satisfied that the sentences are in the order wanted, the program gives a prompt for adding transitional words, with a tip in case the student wants some examples.
PARAGRAPH PUNCH 6 Then the program guides the student to write a conclusion sentence. Once the paragraph is finished, the student is prompted to print the paragraph and get feedback from classmates and/or teacher.
PARAGRAPH PUNCH 7 After the paragraph has been peer reviewed, the student is prompted by the program to revise the paragraph in certain ways, beginning with word or sentence changes, moving sentences up or down, adding or deleting sentences. This is followed by prompts for proofreading. Clicking on the style, sentence structure, grammar, or proofreading and spell check will take the student to another section with tips on how to further polish the paragraph. Finally, when the student is satisfied that the paper is how he or she wants it, clicking on the go to publishing button will take the student to the page to print the final paragraph. For two years in Hong Kong, I taught students at the Intermediate level. I focused on paragraph construction, as well as TOEFL writing. This program could have been useful for those students, if I had had access to a language lab during my class. It also would have been useful as remedial work. This is a very process-based program, and while the paragraph prompts may not be exciting, the process is grounded in solid theory. Additionally, the computer prompts along the way (such as adding transitional words between sentences, or adding adjectives to sentences, or looking carefully at capitalized words) remind the students much more regularly than a teacher could. The teacher can help students when they are totally stuck, but once they understand how the program works, they can work independently. As Ferris and Hedgcock (2005) remind us, ESL teachers may have varying levels of accuracy expectations, and a teacher may not always be available, so students need to learn to be independent in their editing skills (p. 261). The three phases of teaching editing (focusing students on form, providing strategy training, and
PARAGRAPH PUNCH 8 students finding and correcting their own errors) are all provided for in this program (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2005, pp. 282-284). Additionally, this program helps students reach communicative competence, one of Brown s (2007) principles of teaching, because it gives, attention to language use and not just usage... and to students eventual need to apply classroom learning to previously unrehearsed contexts in the real world (p. 79). I would recommend this program if there are enough computers for the students and if the teaching is taking place in an academic context (that is, focusing on learning academic paragraph or essay writing, whether secondary or tertiary). It could be useful for adult learners if this is a skill they need to learn. Many of the individual questions that students ask every day in class are answered by this program, leaving the teacher free to circulate through the class and help students who are really stuck. Teachers could choose to assign one particular prompt for the class or allow students to choose their own prompt. Working through a good number of these prompts will allow students to begin internalizing the concepts and principles of the writing process, which will be helpful as they move on to essay writing. This company has an entire family of software for L1 and L2 students. A possible companion program to this one is called Essay Punch. It works off the same idea as Paragraph Punch, with prompts and organizational help. If a school or program were to use Paragraph Punch, I d recommend looking into the Essay Punch as well. 1. Does this software explicitly teach in a manner appropriate for the intended learners? Students using Paragraph Punch learn how to write using prompts and computerized organizational skills. Students are taken step by step through a standard writing process (that is, prewriting, writing, editing, publishing). 2. Are the learners provided opportunities for interaction with the computer that include explicit teaching and production of writing? The entire program is designed for interaction and explicit production of written paragraphs. 3. Does this software include regular evaluation of the learners responses and regular summaries of their performance? The single-user program will record the student s responses. The school package is designed for student information to be entered in the system, and all student work and responses are accessible by the teacher. It does not grade the paragraphs, however, nor does it contain a spell-checker or grammar-checker. All writing is eventually printed and graded by the teacher. 4. Does the writing software teach genre knowledge and writing strategies? This program does not teach any other genre than paragraph writing. There is one sample prompt available on the website, but there are 15 available
PARAGRAPH PUNCH 9 when using the paid program. I do not know what kind of paragraphs these other 15 are. The program does teach writing strategies. It gives a writing prompt, then asks questions, recording student answers. As it moves through the writing process, it continually asks students if they want to keep or change what they ve written, giving them the opportunity to change if they wish. 5. Does the software teach English through reading? Are important words and phrases emphasized on the screen? This is the part of the program I think may be difficult for L2 students (it s designed for L1 grade 5-10 or Intermediate-level L2), and is the reason for my 4-star rating. The instructions are all in English and there is no glossary for words. I don t think the vocabulary is too difficult, nor do I think the instructions are too difficult, but the teacher would need to go through the program from start to finish with the class to make sure they understand how it works. 6. Does the software provide opportunities for oral communication among the learners in the class? After the initial paragraph has been written, students are prompted to print their draft and share with their classmates. During the editing section, students are also prompted to do peer editing.
PARAGRAPH PUNCH 10 Resources Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (3 rd ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc. Chapelle, C. A., & Jamieson, J. (2008). Tips for teaching with CALL: Practical approaches to computer-assisted language learning. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc. Ferris, D. R., & Hedgcock, J. S. (2005). Teaching ESL composition: Purpose, process, and practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, Publishers.