Toulmin Outline - Module 6-2

Lindsey Rerko Liberty University ENGL 101-B32 Professor Wade 26 February, 2023 Ways COVID-19 has created delays in American education I. Introduction a. Hook the audience – interest-catch that leads to specific topic choice i. COVID-19 has created major disruptions on all aspects of society. ii. More specifically, American students had seemingly been the most affected by the shutdown. iii. The Economic Policy Institute reports that the school year in 2020 was cut short by at least one third of a normal school year (Garcia and Weiss). iv. This has created a setback for students' learning and development. b. Identify the problem (technology or Covid-19) i. The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a major disruption to American education. ii. Students had been faced with social and learning delays during the time of the pandemic because of school shutdowns. Some students had managed to keep up with the benefits of online learning, but for many students, this furthered their decline in academics. iii. Some of these setbacks have caused a digression in academic performance and development in preschool age children to college students due to lost time learning and the challenges of progressing through remote education. c. State your claim/thesis statement i. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 has caused significant delays in education due to lost time in school, navigating difficulties with distance learning as well as declining mental health. II. Body – Support to provide evidence for your main claim a. Topic sentence – main evidence for claim i. The beginning stages of the lockdown for schools left students with no structure or support for an extended period of time while the school systems tried to find ways to accommodate students at home. b. Give specific examples, facts, quotes, expert knowledge that supports this argument, from research (make sure to cite) i. The Economic Policy Institute has stated that due to the lockdown students' learning time was shortened (Garcia and Weiss). ii. This directly affected students' academics because they had stopped in the middle of lessons, leaving them incomplete.

iii. This would go on until students were introduced to “distant learning”, leaving parents and students confused and creating inconveniences that prohibited successful learning. c. Analyze you evidence (explain how the evidence supports your topic sentence and thesis, as well as its validity) i. In an article from the National Library of medicine, it was noted that families had limited access to technology to do their schooling on (Sakiz). ii. The article also goes on to say that it made difficulties in participating in online learning (Sakiz). d. Exception/Qualifier (name one exception to this truth and refute it if you desire) i. Although many students and parents had benefited from online learning by creating chances for families to be together more, ii. It also created more strain and inconveniences for parents whose jobs were deemed essential and were not being able to give adequate help during this online learning. III. Body - Another main support that provides evidence for your main claim a. Topic sentence – main evidence for claim i. During the shutdown many students have been shown to have declining rates in their mental well being as well as higher stress due to distant learning. b. Give specific examples, facts, quotes, expert knowledge that supports this argument, from research (make sure to cite) i. The Center on Reinventing Public Education released a survey that concluded 65% of students' mental health had worsened during the pandemic (Lake). ii. The article also goes on to say that Students have reported that they have had a small amount of support during this time (Lake iii. Going from in person education to then learning a completely new routine and way of learning undoubtedly created stress on students. c. Analyze you evidence (explain how the evidence supports your topic sentence and thesis, as well as its validity) i. When Completely changing your normal routine and on top of that receiving little to no support as you navigate something as difficult as distant learning there is bound to be an incline of stress which has a direct effect on your mental well being especially for students as they are at such a pivotal age. d. Exception/Qualifier (name one exception to this truth and refute it if you desire) i. Some could say that being at home and having a much looser routine could help you relax and enjoy school, ii. but for kids that don’t have the luxury of a relaxing home environment free of the stress of distractions could argue otherwise. IV. Larger opposing view (not already mentioned elsewhere)