Enhancing Essay Writing with Tutor Lesson Reports

One of the things that characterizes MyIT – My Intelligent Tutor - is the exceptional quality of the lesson reports which drive the relationship between the tutor and student, and generate the outcomes of the lessons.

There is no doubt a very strong personal outcome for the student in seeing how closely, clearly and empathically the tutor has observed each lesson.

The detailed lesson reports in themselves provide extremely good guidance for both the tutor (the tutor uses them – recent and historical - in planning each lesson) and the student (the student reads it aloud in each lesson in order to review what he or she has done and raise awareness and what the focal point will be for the new lesson).

The reading aloud of the lesson report to check related pronunciation challenges is useful - we do not encourage tutors to use simplified language - and it also serves as a source document for exam type reading questions.

A tutor may generate exam style questions for each lesson to deepen the analysis by the student of the learning.

As an example, I include below a lesson report and the subsequent questions.

You will notice that the lesson report is very observant of the student’s strengths and weaknesses, but you will also notice that the lesson questions serve to underline the learning and raise the student’s awareness of what he must focus on.

A lesson report in itself is very important, but it is the intelligent awareness that is brought to its analysis that drives the affective engagement and learning.

I hope you enjoy the examples here of a lesson report and the report-specific questions – the student’s name has been replaced with ‘student’.

Lesson Report on Previous Lesson

The lesson with Student was very entertaining. He began with a brief life report, and despite my efforts to have Student focus on the more serious elements of learning, he maintained that his ambition for today's lesson was to be alive at the end of it.

Other than the brief life report, we spent the entirety of the lesson analysing Student's approach to writing using the analogy of herding cats. We made the point that it is good to be creative, but when you're being creative you should look at your ability to herd your ideas in a particular direction in order to sell them and get an outcome.

We used the analogy that while it is possible to herd cows and sheep, it's not possible to herd cats, and that ideas should therefore be "herdable"—closely related and closely organized so that they become coherent and encompass clarity and expressiveness.

The lesson took quite a lot of discussion time for Student to focus on that point and move towards an understanding of the analysis of the topic, which was "The worst trend you have witnessed." Student struggled with analysis of "worst," "trend," and "witnessed," neglecting to see that analysis of the key words provides the source of ideas and, simultaneously, the structure for the writing.

Questions for Student, and Answer Guide for Tutor

1. State what Student said his ambition for today's lesson was.

Student said his ambition for today's lesson was to be alive at the end of it.

2. What does the writer's comment about "efforts to have Student focus on the more serious elements of learning" suggest about Student's attitude at the start of the lesson?

It suggests that Student was in a playful or unserious mood and was more interested in being entertaining than in settling down to work. The writer's use of "despite my efforts" implies that this was not what the teacher wanted and that it took some persistence to redirect Student towards productive learning.

3. Refer to the section on writing. What single word does the writer use to describe how ideas should behave if they are well organised?

The writer uses the word "herdable," placed in quotation marks to signal that it is being coined for this context. It captures the idea that thoughts, like livestock, should be capable of being directed and kept together.

4. Explain how the analogy of herding cats is used in the lesson to illustrate a problem with Student's writing.

The analogy draws a contrast between animals that can be herded (cows and sheep) and cats, which cannot. Cows and sheep represent ideas that are closely related, well organised, and moving in the same direction — towards coherence and a clear outcome. Cats represent ideas that scatter in all directions and resist control. The point being made is that Student's creative ideas, while valuable, behave more like cats than sheep — they lack direction and organisation, making it difficult for his writing to achieve clarity and persuade a reader.

5. Assess how productive this lesson was, based on the evidence in the report.

The lesson had mixed productivity. On one hand, the entire session was devoted to a single core concept — organising ideas in writing — which suggests depth of focus. The teacher introduced a memorable analogy and linked it to a practical writing task. On the other hand, the report notes that it took "quite a lot of discussion time" for Student to grasp the point, and that he struggled with analysing the key words of the topic. The lesson ended without completion, with the work carrying over to next week. While the groundwork has been laid for a potentially valuable understanding, the tangible output of the lesson was limited.

6. Compare Student's approach to the creative and analytical aspects of the writing task.

Student appears to be more comfortable with the creative side than the analytical side. His playful attitude at the start of the lesson and the teacher's acknowledgement that "it is good to be creative" suggest that generating ideas comes naturally to him. However, when it came to the analytical work — breaking down the key words "worst," "trend," and "witnessed" to find structure and direction — Student struggled. He did not recognise that analysis of these words could simultaneously provide both content and organisation. The contrast suggests a student who is imaginative but who needs to develop the discipline of shaping and directing his ideas.

7. The writer states that "it is good to be creative." Justify whether the evidence in the report supports the view that Student's creativity is genuinely an asset rather than a hindrance.

There is a case for both sides. The writer explicitly praises creativity, and Student's lively, humorous personality suggests he is capable of generating engaging and original content. His joke about wanting to "be alive at the end of it" shows quick wit and confidence with language, qualities that could serve strong writing. However, the report also makes clear that Student's creativity currently operates without sufficient direction — his ideas scatter rather than cohere. The analogy of herding cats frames his creativity as something that needs to be tamed rather than something already producing results. On balance, the report supports the view that creativity is a genuine asset, but only a potential one at this stage — it will become a true strength only once Student learns to organise and direct it.