### Class Summary Report
**Title:** Controlling Opinion Strength in Persuasive Writing
**Synopsis:** This session focused on teaching students how to control the strength of their opinions when writing persuasive essays. The goal was to help students understand the balance between being persuasive and maintaining credibility by avoiding overly strong or exaggerated language.
**Attendance:** The transcript does not provide specific details on attendance, such as the number of absent students.
**Topics Covered:**
1. **Understanding Persuasiveness:**
– Definition and importance of being persuasive in writing.
– The concept of balance in expressing opinions.
2. **Strength of Opinions:**
– The need for appropriately strong language.
– Avoiding overly strong opinions that can undermine persuasiveness.
3. **Grammar and Vocabulary for Opinion Control:**
– Using valid claims and controlling the strength of claims.
– Specific grammar structures and vocabulary that help control opinion strength.
4. **Precision and Nuance:**
– The importance of precise and nuanced language in academic writing.
– Detailed explanation of terms like ‘precise’ and ‘nuanced’.
5. **Review of Introduction and Essay Maps:**
– Planned review of introduction paragraph structure.
– Potential review of essay maps if time allowed.
**Actionable Items:**
– **Time Management:**
– Emphasize the importance of managing time effectively during essay writing exams.
– **Topic Sentence Construction:**
– Reinforce the need for clear and concise topic sentences in body paragraphs.
– **Thesis Statement Clarity:**
– Ensure students understand the importance of a direct and clear thesis statement.
– **Essay Structure:**
– Remind students of the recommended structure for essays, including the order of drafting different sections.
**Homework:**
– Students are tasked with drafting the background paragraph for their persuasive essay on online versus traditional learning.
– The homework assignment is due on the following Friday, not the upcoming Wednesday, to accommodate entrance exam preparations.