For many, writing can be a very vulnerable and challenging process. However, with certain skills and motivation, an aspiring writer can come up with creative and interesting text which can engage readers from the first word to the last.

With a view to enhance the writing skills of English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners and emerging writers, ELT Choutari organized a writing workshop titled “A Performative Endeavour in Academic Writing” on August 23 in Kathmandu.

Hem Raj Kafle, assistant professor of Kathamandu University School of Engineering, and also one of the founders of ELT Choutari, facilitated the one-day workshop held at King’s College, Babarmahal, Kathmandu. Twenty emerging authors, especially teachers and students studying English from Kathmandu University and Tribhuvan University attended the program.

Sharing his experience as an established writer and a prolific blogger, Kafle highlighted on significance of different components that make one’s writing interesting, authentic and reader-friendly. He divided the workshop into a series of sessions and shared some practical techniques on how to overcome writer’s block, how to start with effective beginning, argue with different elements, establish the writer’s presence, and so on.

Toward the end of the workshop, facilitator Kafle illustrated few examples of different models of same writing and through comparison, the participant writers were engaged to scrutinize those pieces of writing and pick the effective form based on the analysis.

“The workshop was very helpful for me as I want to write articles about drama and theatre; and get them published in newspapers,” said Deepesh Paudel, one of the participants from Sarwanam Theater.

Similarly, Usha Kiran Wagle, one of editors for Choutari and an M. Ed in ELT from Kathmandu University, reflected about the workshop saying that she has gained new confidence in writing.

This monthly writing workshop is a part of ELT Choutari to promote professional development of English language teachers through networking and building on local resources and knowledge in English language teaching.

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