In Term 1 of the 2022 – 23 academic year, Mr Oliver Yung from the ELTU EAC team conducted two repeated sessions of the same workshop to reinforce the academic writing skills of around 80 students from CW Chu College taking GECW1010 University and Society. To account for variations in student ability, the workshop adopted a differentiated approach to activities. Students were first instructed to complete a diagnostic task involving analyzing an adapted student sample paper, which aimed to increase students’ awareness of their ability to spot errors in writing. Then, students were able to choose from several different activities, each focusing on a particular aspect of essay writing and incorporating additional past student samples to bolster understanding- namely, writing introductions and thesis statements, topic sentences and developing a body paragraph, incorporating academic evidence, and citation and referencing. A comprehensive set of handouts were prepared to facilitate these activities and their independent learning.

The feedback survey results show that the workshop was well received. Students appreciated the opportunity to engage in interactive activities and discussions with their peers and the instructor. They also believed that the differentiated tasks allowed them to learn at their own pace, which is conducive to effective learning. In terms of the teaching approach, they were grateful for the instructor’s detailed explanation of teaching and learning materials, as well as his guidance in class. The EAC team is thrilled about the positive response and looks forward to supporting CW Chu College in the next academic year.