25 may 2010 - Tips for English Exam and Best Wishes!

Dearest 3 Zeal! Your FYE is here!

So let me just summarize for you certain things you need to remember for your papers.

Paper 1:
Comprehension

1) If you are asked to find phrases, remember to put in your quotation marks. Always look for contextual clues (remember the w/sheet we did?)

2) If you are asked 'what is the writer trying to achieve' or 'what effect is the writer...' then, most times, try and figure out if the writer is trying to do the following:

a) Build tension
b) Gives the reader a sense of warning
c) Emphasize a certain point he is trying to make (you must state what he is trying to emphasize)
d) Draw our attention to a certain object, idea or person.

3) For summary, always keep to the word limit. Do not try and use your own words. Have 1-2 extra point as a safety net, rather than just giving 7 points.

4) Also, for summary, REDUCE by cutting out unnecessary words, REPLACE key words, REPHRASE long sentences.

For Directed Writing in Paper 1:
1) Use the passage as a guide. Use names and details of people, places, dates and activities as a clue. Directed writing in this section allows more creative writing and imagination. Do not be afraid to make up ideas to add to your answer but it must ALWAYS be related to what the passage is about.

Paper 3:
Directed Writing:
1) Do not simply copy and paste information. Try to rephrase and use your own words if possible.

2) What is important is the fact that your TONE must suit the task. If you are asked to be persuasive (remember our w/sheet again?), use the key persuasive techniques taught, no matter what the task is.

Composition:
1) Do not attempt anything else other than NARRATIVE writing.

2) I would really like to tell you that I am proud of the class as a whole. Some of you showed so much improvement in terms of your narrative writing this time round. This is because, you learned the vocabulary taught and you read the sample essays. Reading other people's work is not copying but it is learning from them. So don't forget to read!

I would like to end this post with this quote and hopefully, it will inspire all of you to greater heights and try your hardest!

"The only good luck many great men ever had was being born with the ability and determination to overcome bad luck." - Channing Pollock

Lots of love,

Miss Zee