Composition Writing Tips

Dear 4F,
It was a fruitful afternoon of supplementary today learning more about composition tips. Some 20 of us came for supplementary and discussed through what and how to improve in preparation of the comong compostion exam. Well, for those who have missed it due to some reason or other, here's the notes! Since you couldn't make it, you'll have to print them out. =)

Preparation:
1. Get enough rest the night before, and make sure you know how to spell words that are commonly mis-spelt.
2. Read through your English notebook, as well as your composition file.
3. Go through all errors previously made and try spelling or writing them (especially for tenses) correctly this time round.
4. Look out for words that have been underlined with a tick. Those phrases are well-written and it would be good to use in composition if the situation allows.
5. Be adventurous in writing, and try to think of an ending that people do not usually write.
6. Describe feelings of people, as well as appearance of characters.
7. Check through tenses.
8. Check through spelling.
9. Do not write too much dialogue in the composition. At the most, write about 2-3 of them.
10. Write at least 3 paragraphs, including introduction, complication, resolution and coda.
11. Avoid long sentences.
12. Keep word length to approximately 160-200.
13. Use specific words if possible, try not to use words that are too general.

Writing a story:
Once an incident is chosen, you should keep three rules in mind.
1. Remember to involve readers (which are the composition markers) in the story. It is much more interesting to actually recreate an incident for readers than to simply tell about it.
2. Find a generalization which the story supports. This is the only way the writer's personal experience will take on meaning for readers
3. Remember that although the main component of a narrative is the story, details must be carefully selected to support, explain, and enhance the story.
Stories are generally written in the first person that is, using "I." However, third person ("he," "she," or "it") can also be used.
Stories rely on concrete, sensory details to convey their point. These details should create a unified, forceful effect, a dominant impression
Stories should include these story conventions: a plot, including setting and characters; a climax; and an ending.

Some conjunctions to use in replacement of common words:

To show addition
· and · in addition · besides · furthermore · moreover · what's more · too · not only ... but also · both ... and · not so obvious · as well as · another

To show time
· now · since · after this · at length · thereafter · already · at length · after a few hours · in the end · afterwards · then · later · previously · formerly · at an earlier time · at the same time · simultaneously · meanwhile · in the meantime · and then

To show sequence
· first, second, etc. · next · former · latter · final · last

To emphasize
· obviously · in fact · as a matter of fact · indeed · what's more · even without this · especially · truly · really · certainly · moreover · in truth · above all

To compare
· similarly · likewise · in like manner · parallel with · in the same category · comparable to · equally important

To contrast
· on the other hand · on the contrary · conversely · by contrast · from another point of view · more important · but · yet · and yet · however · still · after all · for all that · although this is true · while this is true · in spite of · though· even though· nonetheless · nevertheless · notwithstanding · in spite of this

To include
· namely · especially · specifically · in detail · including · in particular · to list · to enumerate

To repeat
· to repeat · in brief · in short · as I have said · as I have noted · in other words · once more · again · yet again · that is

To give examples
· for instance · for example · to demonstrate · to illustrate · as an illustration · a case in point · another case

To show purpose
· to · in order to · so that · for the purpose of · with this in mind · with this in view

To conclude
· to conclude · in conclusion · thus · finally · last · to end

To infer
· hence · so · therefore · consequently · as a result · for this reason · this being the case · it follows that ...

To summarize
· in brief · in summary · on the whole · to sum up · in other words · briefly · in short · in conclusion

To exclude
· with this exception · all except · all but · except for this · not that · but not · neither ... nor

To show condition
· if · whether

To show alternatives
· or · either ... or · whether ...or not

To concede
· no doubt · admitting · to be sure · certainly · indeed · granted · true · in any case · in any event

To refute
· no · hardly · on the contrary · never

To mark
· with respect to · as for ... · concerning · in point of reference

To link
· in general · to resume · in particular · to continue · to return · along with

To paint a picture
· imagine this scene · to illustrate my point · let's examine this idea closely

In ending, here is a checklist whenever you write a piece of composition:
Checklist for composition:

Have you checked for…

 Correct tenses?

 Three-finger spacing for paragraphing?

 Capital letters for the start of each sentence?

 Correct punctuation?

 Correct spelling?

 Appropriate expressions?

 No Singlish?

 A concluding paragraph?

 Any way you can make your story more unusual or interesting?

Thank you

Thank you De Xuan for recommending a website on making science toys! I found it interesting. =) For those who missed it on the comment page, it is at http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/index.html
You might want to spend your December holidays making some of these interesting toys.

Thanks also to Chang Shen for recommending that a chat box be put up on this site. It's already been put up. One rule of thumb, do not put up any comment that poses a personal attack or offence to anyone, to spread rumours. A suggestion is to put up encouraging words to your classmates as well as quotable quotes to act as food for thought.

Take care! I can see that some of you are feeling stressed. Pace yourselves well and steady.

Area and Perimeter

Hello Class,
This is an excellent website on Area and Perimeter. Do take a look and take part in the activities in there. This will give you a basic recap and understanding to our last topic.

It's at: http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/perimeter_and_area/index.html

Oral exam tips

Adapted from:
http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/academicsupport/nav03.cfm nav03=51996&nav02=50367&nav01=59481

Hello 4F, oral is round the corner and here are some tips on how to improve in oral. I've adapted it from this website.

Oral Exam Tip 1
Know the process and your ability to speak

Oral Exam Tip 2
Practice, Practice, Practice
The most common error students make is not being prepared to talk about the topic. Students expect to go into the exam and be asked questions by the teacher. Practice alone in front of a mirror and with a buddy. Ask each other questions and analyze the responses. Get feedback about your tone of voice and volume.

Oral Exam Tip 3
Start off right
Look and act professional. Smile! You are not there to be executed – introduce yourself and give your teacher examiner all of your attention. Keep good posture and maintain eye contact. Listen carefully to the questions and make sure you understand exactly what is being asked – paraphrase if you need to. Never interrupt.

Oral Exam Tip 4
Organize your responses & have a “pat lead” rehearsed
Take a minute to compose your thoughts & organize your answers. Answer general questions with a two-part “pat lead” answer – give your answer and elaborate on each point. A pat lead will help you frame your answers and give you focus if you are anxious. (class, this works especially well for picture conversation!)

Oral Exam Tip 5
Answer the question
Be direct and to the point.
Use two or three key points or examples to demonstrate your knowledge. State what you know and stop.
If the teacher examiner does not respond and time drags on, ask if there is any element you should elaborate on.

Oral Exam Tip 6
Exit with grace
Rise and say 'thank you' to the teacher examiner. Say something pleasant and be sure to maintain good eye contact. Smile as you leave – the key is to exit on a positive note. Do NOT ask your teacher examiner how well you have done in the exam.

Maths Exam tips

Adapted from http://www.studygs.net/tsttak6.htm

Preparation:
Begin preparing early

Pay attention during class:
Every minute you daydream in class is many more minutes of studying later.
Do assigned homework problems: math is a building process and in order to understand the next step you need to comprehend the present, and previous, ones.

Simulate test conditions:
After you have studied and think you know the material, practice it under test conditions.
Solve unassigned homework problems and see if you can finish them in the allotted time for the exam.

Find a Maths buddy in class
Not only will other students be able to help you with problems, but by helping others you will better learn the material. If you are unable teach another student a topic you believe you know, chances are you don't know that topic very well after all. If you can't teach it, you don't know it!

Testing: during the exam

Read through the exam:
With reading through the whole exam you can know what is expected of you;
prioritize items on the test;
pace yourself.

Carefully read the instructions:
Make sure you are answering the question that is being asked!
Often students know how to solve a problem, but they misread or misinterpret the question itself;

Check that you have correctly written your steps:
Don't skip steps.
Start from the beginning;
Clearly write each step of the solution
Be neat and don't rush writing numbers down.
KEEP CHECKING your solution as you are working.
Neatness makes it easier to recheck your work;
Double check your math,

Don't Dilly Dally:
If you get stuck on a problem move on and come back to it later.When you are finished, recheck all your work.

The last point is very important. Keep up your confidence for the exams! It's only a stone's throw away. Persevere and do your best, class!

Posting of comments online

Dear class,
I understand that you were very eager to post your comments on the blog today during lab period. I would want to send out a reminder to post comments that relate to the TOPICS in the blog. No spam messages and messages that are not in line with the blog titles, as you will not achieve maximum benefit from this blog. This blog then becomes a blog where you rant your feelings anyhow.

I would appreciate that you treat the blog as part of your online learning journey.

I would not hesitate to remove any post that does not reflect the topic presented.

Thanks.
Ms Seow

English

Taken from: http://www.938LIVE.sg/sgem/issue95(5september).htm

How do you write a persuasive text?
Regardless of the type of work you do, there are times when you need to be able to persuade your reader.
How can you effectively achieve your aim?

Below are some guidelines which could be used when writing to persuade:
1 Plan your writing - determine the purpose for writing, the reader (his/her background, needs etc) and the context (ie the situation which led to the need for the particular piece of writing)
2 Know your product/service well
3 Anticipate the reader's reaction or concerns, and consider how to counteract any possible negative thoughts or responses
4 Emphasise the benefit(s) to the reader and/or his/her organisation - be honest and sincere
5 Create a desire for the product/service - be objective when providing the relevant information 6 Create a positive feeling in the reader - organise the content of your writing in a manner which is likely to be well-received by the reader " Show sound reasoning, based on credible evidence
7 Provide all necessary information so that the reader is able to make a decision without having to clarify issues with you
8 Organise the content into coherent and cohesive paragraphs
9 Include illustrations such as graphs, tables, drawings, photographs etc, if appropriate
10 Establish your credibility, to make the reader want to consider your ideas
11 Use vocabulary and a tone appropriate for the purpose, reader and context
12 Ensure that your writing is free of errors in spelling (including capitalisation), punctuation and language use
13 Prompt the reader to take action (eg to place an order) or to re-consider his/her way of thinking
After sending off the proposal, follow up by calling the reader over the telephone or making a visit in person so that you can answer any queries which the reader may have. Prompt the reader again to take action.

By Singapore Polytechnic

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We normally describe the height of a building and mountain as follows:
The tallest building.

The highest mountain.

Can we say the tallest mountain and highest building?

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English explains the use of high as "the distance above the ground" and tall as "the length from top to bottom".

The word tall is commonly used to describe objects that are not only high but also narrow, such as people, trees, buildings and other objects of the same sort of shape.

By Singapore Polytechnic

Exam preparation in Term 4

Dear 4F,
As term 3 draws to a close and term 4 starts in 1 week time, it is time to prepare for SA2 once again. The last 3 terms have indeed been very fulfilling and enriching, and there were moments where we were busy and tired too. Take this holiday as a time to rest and recharge yourselves. Spend time with your family members and keep up with exercise and good health.

This September holidays is also a time for you to start revising for the final year examination, if you had not yet started. There are so many things that we have learnt from primary 1 to primary 4, and it is almost impossible to start and finish revising for the exam just a day before. In taking an exam, the 'P' and 'R' in PRRICE can be put into practice.

'P' stands for 'perseverance', and this ingredient is always needed when we need to overcome a big challenge. When we persevere, we do not give up halfway, but push on toward our goal, which is to meet our aim for the subject. Remember the times we have review tests and we set targets? We persevere to reach our target. When we do not meet our target, we try again and again until we meet out target. Even for myself, Ms Seow, my primary 5 teacher many years ago taught my class perseverance. It is because of this teacher's words that I learnt not to give up easily. Try it, won't you?

'R' stands for 'responsibility'. In studying, we need to be responsible for our grades and try to perform to the best of our abilities. When we are responsible, we start our revision early and cover all that we have learnt in school. Do we leave any doubts unanswered? The answer is: NO. If we leave our questions unanswered, we lose out in understanding and our revision is not complete. This is not responsibility, and more needs to be done. When we are responsible, we ask teachers the things we do not understand, and we have extra forms of revision at home too. This will help us be prepared for the exams, and be confident when answering the questions. Apart from that, do not forget the saying 'An apple a day, keeps the doctor away!' Keep yourself healthy too. Eat and sleep well. Studying through the night will make you tired and you cannot concentrate on revision.

Most of all, enjoy the learning process! =) Exams are not set to make pupils fail. Exams test what you have learnt, and stretch you to think and apply what you have absorbed in class. If you have been mentally prepared for the exams a long way ahead, I'm sure that SA2 will be a challenge all of you can rise up to.

Take care!

Discount at Popular bookshop

Hello 4F,
I was just dropping by Popular bookshop earlier in the evening to get some stationery, and realised that from now till 16th September 2007, there will be pre-renovation sale of items at the
1) Toa Payoh HDB Hub branch, and
2) Marine Parade Central branch

For stationery and multimedia items, there is a 20% off.
For English books or assessment books, there is 10% off for 1 book purchased, and 20% off for 3 or more books purchased.
For Chinese books, there will be 10 % off for 1 book purchased, and 30% off for 3 or more books purchased.
For CDs purchased at CD Rama, there will be double the points gained for every $20 nett purchase in a single receipt.

Opening hours are: (Toa Payoh branch)
Monday - Friday: 11am - 9.30pm
Saturday, Sunday, Public Holidays: 10.30am - 10pm

For Marine Parade branch, opening hours are:
Monday - Thursday, Sunday: 11am - 9pm
Friday, Saturday, Public Holidays: 10am - 9.30pm

I enjoyed some discounts due to this. So, if you are thinking of getting some assessment books for revision or to top up stationery items, perhaps you might want to patronise Popular bookshop at Marine Parade or at Toa Payoh HDB Hub. =)