Three things I’ve learnt from or with my students this past week

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1. Using critical thinking to walk through arguments and see if the logical assumptions are valid or not-

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‘‘Jaye and I have been tackling a few tasks now. In preparation for my final year of my Bachelors, we have been working on deconstructing arguments made by journalists, academics and writers. We choose a topic and an article in said topic, to which we would discuss the thesis, the organisation of the evidence and paragraphs. 

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Then we proceed to pick apart any fallacies in the writing or identifying the main premise of the argument, assessing as to whether the premise logically follows to the conclusion. Any fallacies to be identified, we discuss the counterarguments that could be made. 

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The final exercise is to analyse the structure as to whether its micro or macro, thematic or chronological. It allows me to recognise and appreciate the different styles of writing from a broad range of literature’’

from Student’s Insight with James Siadis

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2. Some other common words in Shakespeare in modern English:

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Doth-does

Fain-as much

Hath-has

Ith- it

O’er-over

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3. Being able to write about your own experiences can help you fill in the chronological order of events in your own life. A primary school student of ours recently got back from a big summer trip where their family visited multiple places. Writing a recount of where they had gone and what they had done helped solidify the order of events in the student’s head, and they smiled a lot as they told me all about. 

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Two quotes about writing

On the importance of showing rather than telling- 

“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

― Anton Chekhov

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“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.”

― Frank Herbert

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One suggestion to consider

If writing a story, particularly in an in person exam, keep in mind the place you want the story to stop and try to get there on your own terms, rather than just needing to stop at the point you’re at when the time is up. 

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Happy writing,

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Jaye Sergeant

Founder & Lead Tutor of Turtle and elephant