Sabah – The Academy of Language Studies, in collaboration with 13 English lecturers instructing the ELC231 course and under the guidance of Head of Centre of Studies, Delia L. Olaybal, organised a two-hour workshop for their ELC231 students at Dewan Ibnu Batutta, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sabah. The programme, held in mid-October 2023, sought to provide students with the essential skills and knowledge needed for their examination of Expository Essays, which was scheduled for November. The course was led by Ms. Laura Elizabeth Hancock, who represented the United States Embassy and served as an English Fellow at UiTM Sabah from December 2022 to January 2024. The programme aimed to enhance students’ proficiency in writing academic essays at the Diploma level. Additionally, the course aimed to instill a more proficient and conscientious approach to utilising the internet for research purposes. The primary objective of the workshop was to facilitate students in engaging in collaborative writing exercises, specifically focusing on the composition of expository essays, while working in pairs.
A student served as the master of ceremonies and provided a concise introduction to Ms. Laura, who commenced the session by discussing expository writings. In addition, she provided a detailed analysis of the programme’s contents. She presented her slides and explained that a successful introduction should include an attention grabber, a bridge, and a thesis statement. She elaborated on thesis statements and provided several examples. Before the discussion, she assigned the students to read two academic articles on artificial intelligence (AI) as a preparatory activity. She provided a summary of the issues in those articles. Subsequently, she requested the audience to identify the thesis statements and disclose their responses. In addition, she discussed effective techniques for crafting compelling attention-grabbers in the introduction.
Students sharpened their pencils with body paragraphs after that. Body paragraphs, or evidential paragraphs, explain the thesis statement’s main points. Ms. Laura explained that a typical essay has three body paragraphs. The number of body paragraphs depends on the task. Forbes Agency Council (2017) stated that AI was beneficial, while Marr (2018) stated the opposite. Based on the two articles, students wrote the first paragraph about AI’s benefits. The students found that AI can help us with menial tasks like scheduling invitations and ordering food. They then wrote the second paragraph about AI’s drawbacks. Students learned from the article that AI can become weapons. That could endanger homosapiens and lead to AI with a mind of its own. Additionally, Ms. Laura taught supporting detail construction. She said supporting details are explanations that prove the main point. Some students were confused by two opposing controlling ideas, but Ms. Laura and their English teachers helped them write their evidential paragraphs.
Ms. Laura proceeded to the final section of the essay, specifically the conclusion. The final paragraph is crucial in essay writing to achieve a flawless conclusion. Ms. Laura highlighted the significance of the conclusion, as it is the optimal section for summarising or reinforcing the main points. In addition, she cautioned the students against introducing new information in the final paragraph, such as new main points. The conclusion should solely comprise a summary of the essay and a restatement of the thesis statement. After receiving instructions from Ms. Laura to write three concluding sentences, including one sentence highlighting the benefits of AI, one sentence discussing the drawbacks of AI, and a restatement of the thesis statement, the students were elated to conclude their essays with impact. Furthermore, their individual instructors provided assistance throughout the writing process, enabling the students to complete their essays successfully despite the time constraints.
At the conclusion of the workshop, Ms. Laura commended the students for completing their essays and instructed them to submit their essays to their lecturers in order to be eligible for prizes awarded to the best-written essay in each of their respective classes. In recognition of her contribution, Ms. Laura received a certificate of appreciation for her role as the guest speaker, along with a gift containing various Sabahan delicacies, including a fragrant box of Sabah Tea sachets. Therefore, the workshop concluded at one o’clock in the afternoon on a positive and successful note, bringing satisfaction not only to the students but also to Ms. Laura and the ELC231 lecturers. It is hoped that more writing workshops will be conducted in the future.