My first issue essay - Please give me honest ratings

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Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
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Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:11 am
Analysis of issue

The best teachers are those whose classes include a large amount of discussion between teachers and students

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Some people believe that the best teachers are those whose classes include a large amount of discussion between teachers and students. Others believe that the students duty is just to listen to whatever the teacher presents and make the most out of teacher's time. I would definitely choose the former over the latter.

The chief reason for my stance is that I believe that only through discussions, a teacher can understand and gauge the level of understanding a group of students have. Ask any student who their favourite teacher was and the answer most likely will be a teacher who encouraged discussion during and after the class. For example, Warren Buffet, one of the most richest men in history, attributes his success to the classroom discussions he had with his mentor Benjamin Graham. He is said to have learnt more from the discussions than from the text books. And he regards him as his best teacher.

The other reason why the best teachers consider discussions as an important aspect of teaching is that, sometimes they learn something from students. The students might be exposed to newer problems or technology which the teacher might not have had the chance to use or undergo. This would further increase the knowledge base of the teacher and in turn making him better than his or her counterparts. For example, Benjamin Graham teamed up with his students to start a very successful business in Secutity analysis.

However, not all kinds of discussions are productive. If the discussion is irrelevant to the subject of the class, it may well be worthless. It may be a waste of valuable time where the teacher could have productively taught new concepts. Further, the discussions, although relevant, might not be of interest to other students thus wasting their time and interest in the subject. So, even though the teacher might be the best for the subject at hand, the "useless" discussion will lower the percieved quality of his or her teaching.

In sum, the best teachers are those who realise the merits of classroom discussions and they know when to stop the discussion when it deviates from the general interest of the whole class.

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I know it is BAD :(

Please help me improve.

Thanks a lot

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:11 am

by myt » Sat Sep 06, 2008 10:38 am
bump ...

Please help me by reviewing my post above

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:11 am

by myt » Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:58 am
anyone !!?? :( :( :(

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
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myt wrote:Analysis of issue

The best teachers are those whose classes include a large amount of discussion between teachers and students

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some people believe that the best teachers are those whose classes include a large amount of discussion between teachers and students. Others believe that the students duty is just to listen to whatever the teacher presents and make the most out of teacher's time. I would definitely choose the former over the latter.

Intro: I started out with an intro such as the above during my early practice essays. I changed my approach to: "I dis/agree with the presented opinion to the extent that ....." I find this is short and sweet when compared with the plain vanilla "some bvelieve ..."

Additionally: "I would definitely choose ..." is an extreme statement. "I favour / agree with the latter opinion" is better. Note also that many of these topics are perfect for corollary positions ...that is they offer themselves to compromise where you say ... in certain circumstances X is better .. .in others Y is better ... you can then present both sides. If you take this approach, then you are "disagreeing with the opinion to the extent that it is too narrow / extreme" (this would be your intro)


The chief reason for my stance is that I believe that only through discussions, a teacher can understand and gauge the level of understanding a group of students have. Ask any student who their favourite teacher was and the answer most likely will be a teacher who encouraged discussion during and after the class. For example, Warren Buffet, one of the most richest men in history (These are unneccessary mistakes - you have too many of these (in my opinion)), attributes his success to the classroom discussions he had with his mentor Benjamin Graham. He is said to have learnt more from the discussions than from the text books. And he regards him as his best teacher.

The other reason why the best teachers consider discussions as an important aspect of teaching is that, sometimes they learn something from students. The students might be exposed to newer problems or technology which the teacher might not have had the chance to use or undergo. This would further increase the knowledge base of the teacher and in turn making him better than his or her counterparts. For example, Benjamin Graham teamed up with his students to start a very successful business in Secutity analysis.

However, not all kinds of discussions are productive. If the discussion is irrelevant to the subject of the class, it may well be worthless. It may be a waste of valuable time where the teacher could have productively taught new concepts. Further, the discussions, although relevant, might not be of interest to other students thus wasting their time and interest in the subject. So, even though the teacher might be the best for the subject at hand, the "useless" discussion will lower the percieved quality of his or her teaching.

Your last paragraph is contradicting your position: either you take a corollary position as described above ... or you present a counter argument to your one sided position BUT AFTER PRESENTING THE COUNTER ARGUMENT YOU WEAKEN IT: for ex: While it is true that not all kinds of discussions are productive ... .one must agree that (find a way to waken the position that not all kinds of discussions are productive)

In sum, the best teachers are those who realise the merits of classroom discussions and they know when to stop the discussion when it deviates from the general interest of the whole class.

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I know it is BAD :( ... It's not that bad.

Please help me improve.

Thanks a lot

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:28 pm
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Hi MYT,
firstly, your response is not 'bad'- it is quite decent in fact. However, you have to realise that absolute agreement or absolute disagreement with the claim does not showcase your analytical abilities. The best perspectives are partial agreement and partial disagreement and pointing out why the claim is valid in certain areas and invalid in other areas or cirtcumstances.
You may also evaluate points of view that are contrary to your own or qualify a term that is used ambiguously in the claim. You may also comment upon the evidence(if any) used by the author and list the assumptions it is making.
All the best
Cheers
myt wrote:Analysis of issue

The best teachers are those whose classes include a large amount of discussion between teachers and students

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some people believe that the best teachers are those whose classes include a large amount of discussion between teachers and students. Others believe that the students duty is just to listen to whatever the teacher presents and make the most out of teacher's time. I would definitely choose the former over the latter.

The chief reason for my stance is that I believe that only through discussions, a teacher can understand and gauge the level of understanding a group of students have. Ask any student who their favourite teacher was and the answer most likely will be a teacher who encouraged discussion during and after the class. For example, Warren Buffet, one of the most richest men in history, attributes his success to the classroom discussions he had with his mentor Benjamin Graham. He is said to have learnt more from the discussions than from the text books. And he regards him as his best teacher.

The other reason why the best teachers consider discussions as an important aspect of teaching is that, sometimes they learn something from students. The students might be exposed to newer problems or technology which the teacher might not have had the chance to use or undergo. This would further increase the knowledge base of the teacher and in turn making him better than his or her counterparts. For example, Benjamin Graham teamed up with his students to start a very successful business in Secutity analysis.

However, not all kinds of discussions are productive. If the discussion is irrelevant to the subject of the class, it may well be worthless. It may be a waste of valuable time where the teacher could have productively taught new concepts. Further, the discussions, although relevant, might not be of interest to other students thus wasting their time and interest in the subject. So, even though the teacher might be the best for the subject at hand, the "useless" discussion will lower the percieved quality of his or her teaching.

In sum, the best teachers are those who realise the merits of classroom discussions and they know when to stop the discussion when it deviates from the general interest of the whole class.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know it is BAD :(

Please help me improve.

Thanks a lot