Title:
– “Understanding and Applying Essay Structure for Effective Argumentation”
Attendance:
– Five students were absent.
– Students present: Milana, Vlad, Avine, Manzura, Zain, Trixie Bell.
Topics Covered:
1. “Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword”
– Discussion of social media’s impact: good or bad.
– Preparation for an argumentative essay on social media.
2. “Decoding Essay Structure”
– Review of the structure of an essay: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
– Detailed discussion on the role of each paragraph in an essay.
– Explanation of the ‘hook’ in the introduction and its purpose.
– Explanation of the ‘thesis statement’ in the introduction.
– The role and structure of a thesis statement in an essay.
– The structure of a body paragraph, including the topic sentence, supporting details, and concluding sentence.
– The purpose and structure of the introduction and conclusion in an essay.
– The use of a hamburger as a metaphor for a well-structured essay.
3. “Planning and Outlining”
– Importance of outlining in essay writing.
– Practice in creating outlines.
4. “Exam Preparation”
– Preparing for the AUCA entrance exam and other English language tests (IELTS, TOEFL).
– Importance of essay writing section in these exams.
– Discussion on time constraints in exams.
Actionable Items:
1. “Essay Structure Clarification”
– Clarify for students if the concept of essay structure was previously covered in the context of book reports, as there seems to be some confusion.
– Students may benefit from additional exercises or examples illustrating the “hamburger” metaphor for essay writing.
2. “Exam Preparation”
– Confirm and communicate the date for the practice AUCA entrance exam.
– Continue the exercise on creating outlines in the next class and provide feedback on students’ outlines.
– Provide more practice opportunities for essay writing under time constraints to prepare students for the AUCA entrance exam and English language tests.
Homework:
– Students need to choose a side on the social media discussion and prepare to write an argumentative essay.
– Students should remember the structure of an essay and the role of each paragraph, especially the ‘hook’ and ‘thesis statement’ in the introduction.