
My philosophy on learning English essay-writing is simple.
I firmly believe that the top students can improve incrementally, rather than hoping that their performance on a mid-term test or end of year exam itself is the best reflection of their ability.
For me, one of the largest inconsistencies in English is how schools tend to fail at providing clear, transparent and repeatable feedback for students who want to improve.
I don't believe that students have an easy way to trace improvements over time at school, nor are they offered a set opportunity to revisit their writing after a test, which means that all of the potential areas of improvement are not addressed.
What ends up happening is an inability for students to actually improve in English over their school years. I've seen poor habits carried over from young ages that are left unnoticed until Year 12, which by then, is too late to remedy appropriately.