Final-year students of AUN Schools (Secondary) were put through the rudiments of essay writing at the Writing Center on February 18, 2020.
The Centre's Interim Director, Mrs. Emilienne Akpan, received the high school seniors and handed them over to her colleague, Mrs. Ogechi Dan-Okereke, the Literary Curriculum Advisor, who took the students through a step-by-step procedure for writing attention-grabbing essays.
The training focused mainly on how to write a well-structured essay using a typical example of the importance of recycling in schools and homes, where she demonstrated the important factors to consider while constructing the introduction, body, and conclusion.
Mrs. Dan-Okereke told the high school students that to be effective writers, they need to constantly read articles, books, novels, journals, WAEC past questions & answers on English essays to expand their vocabulary.
"From now on, make sure you always get an educational piece to read or write on, every day. By doing so, you will also learn how to structure your ideas in writing."
She further taught the students what makes up a paragraph, how to link paragraphs using transition words and elaborate one's ideas in writing.
"At the Writing Center, we don't help people to write their essays or thesis but we help them review their work," the instructor reiterated.
One of the participants, Nicole Dauda Madubu, said that new perspectives about writing like what a thesis is, and how to compose an excellent essay was added to her previous knowledge.
Another participant, Ndamu Egba Ovirin, saw the writing center as a place where young talents are groomed to discover and steadily improve their writing skills.
"The Writing Center at AUN allows young people to perfect their writing and editorial skills through hands-on learning."
At the end of the workshop, the students were asked to construct an essay on an individual topic of their choice after they've read through a complete sample essay.
Reported by Rofiat Adekunle