Aiyo

Hi hi,
Yep, it is a strange title to have. But it sums up what is on my mind right now, after going thru some ss essays over this weekend. Lesson learnt - never assume they know how to write their essays.

Why?

1. A number of these 15-year-olds wrote an entire chunk of words for a 12-mark SEQ essay, with no paragraphing. Aiyo. Aiyo.


2. Most of them failed to identify the factors, but merely threw the case studies all over the place. This is despite giving them an overview and getting them to plan their essays using graphic organisers.


3. Similarly, most failed to relate their points to the question.


Problem: Assumed too much. Failed to check for prior knowledge, especially important since we came in sometime in the middle of the year.

Rectification: Start from zero knowledge. Spend the next lesson going thru how to structure a nice SEQ essay with graphical reinforcements on how their essays should look like. Got to tell them explicitly that case studies are merely there to illustrate their points on the causes/factors. Got to really hand-hold them on how to write essays that can score. Aiyo.


It certainly was painful going thru all those essays. But I learnt. At least I now know where they stand and what can be done about it.


SW