TECHNIQUES FOR ANSWERING THE SPM ENGLISH PAPER

(PAPER 1)

a. DIRECTED WRITING
In the first section of the SPM English Paper 2, students are expected to
spend about thirty minutes, expanding on given notes. For this section,
imagination and creativity do come into play because even though certain
facts are given, they serve as a mere guide. You are required to do at least
three major things:
1. Use the right format for your writing
2. Include all the facts given in the question
3. Elaborate or provide your OWN but relevant details) on these given
facts.
From the total of 30 marks awarded here, 15 are for CONTENT and the
other 15 is for LANGUAGE USE.
As a student, you can easily get full marks for content provided you follow
the ensuing good advice.

CONTENT
There are three important aspects to awarding of marks for content.
a) Format
Marks awarded are usually in the range of 2-3. Make sure you read the
instructions carefully. You may be required to write an informal letter, a
formal letter, a speech, an article or a report. In each case, you must
thoroughly realize how important it is that you suit the right format to the
questions.
b) Inclusion of Given Facts

Certain facts are given in the question itself. Usually 6-7 marks are
awarded if you include ALL the given facts in your writing do not leave
even a single one. Couch each fact in a complete sentence. If you just use
phrases or if the sentence you make is meaningless, no marks will be
given.
c) Elaboration
Finally about 6-7 marks are awarded if you add details of your own to
make your writing more intresting. No details - no marks !
Remember, one extra sentence or two is usually enough. You dont have to
write and write. Also, the details must be relevant, suitable and interesting
too. You need to invest a little time and imagination here so that your
writing wont come across as "dry and dull".

LANGUAGE
Finally, the remainder 15 marks are allocated for language use. You must
try and make sure that grammar, spelling and punctuation are as error-free
as possible. Do take a little trouble to check through your writing. Write
shorter sentences if you are not too sure about grammar. Avoid words that
you do not know how to spell. But do begin from now to revise the spelling
of simple words like "sincerely", "faithfully", "fine", "thank you", and other
such frequently used words.

b) CONTINUOUS WRITING

Section C of the SPM English Paper 2 presents a question on Continuous

Writing. Students are advised to spend about one hour on this section.
5 topics will be given and choose only ONE.
1. Recognise the type of essay you are going to attempt i.e. whether its
a narrative, descriptive, expository, argumentative or reflective.

2. Understand the chosen topic so that you do not write out of point.
3. Plan what you are going to write about.
4. Include enough good and relevant points.
5. Organize your points well and present each new or main point in a
separate paragraph.
6. Show coherence in paragraphs.
7. Use idiomatic expression and include the active voice for narrative essays.
8. Vary the length and structure of sentences
9. Introduce your essay impressively and conclude it in a meaningful or
original way.
10.
Check for spelling, punctuation, grammatical correctness, especially
the usage of tenses and pronouns.
11.Factual topics should as far as possible be avoided. This is because the
material you use must be based on facts and not "guess work .

TECHNIQUES FOR ANSWERING THE SPM ENGLISH PAPER

(PAPER 2)

Paper 2 Section A
- For Stimuli & Graphic Material, read the materials given and questions
carefully. Cancel off the options that you consider as definitely wrong.
Choose the most suitable answer among the 4 options, based on the
materials given.
- For Rational Cloze, it tests you on grammar. Read the passage given
carefully. Cancel off the options that you consider as definitely
wrong. Choose the most suitable word to fill in the blanks in the passage
among the 4 options, based on your understanding in grammar.
- For both parts, you should think carefully because sometimes the
answers are close to each other.

B. Information Transfer
- Read the materials and questions carefully. When answering, copy
directly from the materials given and avoid using your own words.
However, sometimes you may have to make some changes to suit your
answer. Make sure the spelling in your answer is exactly the same as the
spelling in the materials given. Your answers must be short and precise.

Do not add in any unnecessary details in your answer or write extra

answers, otherwise marks may be deducted due to overlifting. Also, you
should not answer in full sentences.

C .SUMMARY WRITING
Section B of the SPM English Paper 2 presents a question on summary writing.
You are advised to spend forty-five minutes on this section.
For this section, a total of 3 marks are allocated. Of these, 20 are awarded for
content and another 10 for language accuracy and style. Read the instructions
carefully. By doing this, you ought to know very clearly:
1. Which part of the passage is supposed to be summarized (you may to be
required to summarize the WHOLE passage)
2. What aspect of the content of the passage is to be summarized. (For
instance, you may be asked to summarize only the advantages or
disadvantages, or certain reactions of people or even the
causes/outcomes of certain incident.
3. The length of your summary i.e the number of words that you are
allowed in your final summary. If it is stated that your summary MUST not
be longer than 160 words, please adhere to this word limit. If you write
more than 160 words, all the extra facts contained there are NOT taken
into account by the examiner.

4. Take note of any starting words or phrases given and use them as
instructed to begin your summary. Dont forget the number of words in the
starting line are included in counting the total number of words in your
summary.
Once you have understood the question clearly, only ten should you begin to
read the passage. Try to understand what the passage is all about what its
message/theme is or what the story is about.
During the second reading, begin to underline the important ideas and relevant
tails. Pick these out and list them down. Do ensure that the points you are picking
out are meeting the requirements of the question given. Read the passage once
more to ensure that you have not left out any pertinent points.
Now, begin summarizing. Ignore irrelevant explanations and superfluous
examples. Focus on the main ideas and those that support the theme of the
passage. Generalize and convert lengthy sentences into shorter ones. Use one,
or shorter words that can substitute the meaning of a long phrase in the passage.
For example, "my mother, my father, my brother, and sister" can be rephrased as
my family.
Group similar points together - for example the feelings of a person or the
advantages of a certain procedure/machine. Rather than use three or four
sentences to convey all of it, you ca put it all in one or two sentences. Use
commas they help. You will need skill for this, and that is why you should
practice writing a lot of summaries before the real examination.
Many students grapple with summary writing because they get caught up with
the words used in the passage. They want to use all of them. The reason? They
feel that the authors words are best and that almost all that is contained within
the original passage is important and necessary to be included in their summary.
As such, most students tend to copy the authors words as much as possible and
try to include almost everything from the original passage into the summary.
The result is a chop cut-and-paste version of the original. It has little meaning
and relevance. It is NOT even a summary and you get a few marks when you
write a chopped summary like this.
Remember, you get more marks if you use your OWN WORDS. I know this is not
easy, but you must try. Dont be afraid to rearrange, reorganize and compound
facts. The main issue here is whether you have understood the meaning of the
passage and whether you can faithfully translate it into a passage that is made
up mainly of your own words.

So, begin practicing writing a lot of summaries now. Every time you read a report
in a newspaper or an article in a magazine, ask yourself what is this
repot/article all about? What is its message? Try to summarize it in your mind.
Imagine that someone younger is asking you what is it that you are reading, and
try to visualize the simplified answer/version that you are going to tell him/her.
That is a summary.
Where marks are concerned, try to get as many as you can for CONTENT. Stick
to the meaning of the passage as much as possible but do it using your own
words. Do not be lazy. Secure as many points as you can by reading and
scanning the passage carefully for relevant facts and details.
Jot all of these down diligently and try to incorporate them all in a simplified,
summarized form. Try not to leave out important fact. Each fact left out means
one less mark for you.
As for language, do take the trouble to read through your final draft and make
sure that your grammar, punctuation and spelling are as accurate as you can
possibly make them. Your error must be minimal and the language you use must
not make it difficult for the examiner to understand what you are trying to say.

D. Literature

Most students have this 'irrational' fear of answering literature questions just
because they find it tiresome and loathsome to read. Apparently literature is
good for you and boosts your brain power.

Unfortunately, some students do read but they could not produce a decent script
for this section simply because they fail to fulfill the requirements. So, a little
heads-up, please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY before
you start.

Ok, let's get a sample.

_________________________________________
The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English
Language:

Step by wicked step Anne Fine

Catch Us If You Can Catherine MacPhail
The Curse Lee Su Ann

Choose any one of the novels above and answer the question.
Use information from the novel to support your answer.

Compare two characters in the novel you have studied. How are they similar and
different?

Compare and contrast two characters.

The novel I have chosen is Step by wicked step written by Anne

Fine. Colin and Claudia are the two characters I have chosen to compare and
contrast. Although they are two differing characters, they also have some
similarities.

Both Colin and Claudia come from broken or separated

families. They both have step parents. Colins mother has left his biological
father and `took up with Jack. Jack is the only father figure Colin ever know.
However, Colins mum leaves Jack after a while. This causes him to miss Jack so
badly that it hurts. On the other hand, Claudias father has left her mother for
another woman, Stella. She feels disloyal to her mum whenever she has a good

time with her father and Stella. Both Colin and Claudia really want their parents
to reconcile as they pine for how it used to be when they were happy. And this
aspect of unhappy home is the first similarity.

Colin and Claudia also do not adapt to the drastic changes their
families undergo. Colins unwavering loyalty and want for his dad to be back and
Claudias misguided loyalty to her mother shows that these two characters find
difficulties dealing with changes. There are frustrations, fear and sadness.
Furthermore, both Colins and Claudias mothers do not take their emotions into
consideration. It is as though everything is only happening to them, and will never
have an impact on the children. This is the second similarity; the fact that the
changes take time.

However, Colin and Claudia are markedly different individuals. They

deal with the changes in their respective families differently; Colin is portrayed as
a boy always pining for his father even after five whole years. However, Claudia
becomes hostile towards the new lady in her life, Stella, disregarding all the
latters efforts to warm up to her. These different treatments are proof of their
dissimilarity.

Both Colin and Claudia have different personalities too. Colin is a

dreamer who dreams of an ideal life where his dad and mother will be together
forever and happy. He secretly keeps his fathers tobacco tin and saves money
so that he can look for him one day. This makes him too depending on his
stepdad and emotionally attached to him. This is probably due to the fact that he
needs love from a man called father. Claudia is more of a sensible and rational
person. After seeing her dads friends ignoring Stella and judging it as rude, she
goes to compliment Stella on her stellar choice of green pyjamas. Claudia is
more independent and is not afraid to voice her opinions. Unlike Colin, Claudia is
brave in coming to terms with her parents separation. She is independent and
not afraid to voice her opinions. These dissimilar personalities differentiates them
and hint at a different future both might face.

Even though they experience broken family relationships and find it difficult to
accept changes, the way Colin and Claudia accept new additional member of the
family is different. They have different views in accepting reality and this has
made the story more inspiring and colourful.

_________________________________________

TIPS

1. Fulfill the requirements. You must know TWO characters and state the
character of your choice.
2. Write a thesis statement, hinting and giving a general idea at what the readers
will read (purple colored)
3. Start every paragraph with a topic sentence that contain the main idea or
keyword. For example, the first main idea is 'both come from broken or separated
family' (blue colored)
4. After the topic sentence, elaborate and give example from the story to make
your points clearer. Do not retell the whole story.
5.You must link your points/ideas back to the question. Failure to link might cause
you to not achieve more than 4 or 5 marks for content.(yellow colored)
6. Close your essay with a simple restatement of your thesis statement, or
restate your three main ideas.(red colored)
7. Check your tenses. It must be in Simple Present Tense.