1 / 32

Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English Language Paper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments)

Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English Language Paper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments). SPCA stands for Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English Language Paper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments). General Comments on the following areas:.

brooke-farley
Download Presentation

Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English Language Paper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) SPCA stands for Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

  2. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) General Comments on the following areas:

  3. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) FORMAT

  4. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 1:Format of a Formal Letter Many of you are still not familiar with the format of a formal letter.

  5. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) • Spell out all words in full, e.g. S’pore, Blk, St, Rd, Ave • Write date in formal style • Upper case for names of road and place, e.g. Bedok North Avenue • Make sure title of letter is a summary statement of the whole letter • underline the title to make it clear Problem 1:(con’t) Block 120 Bedok North Road Avenue 1 #02-1234 Singapore 670120 14 August 2009 The Editor Forum Page The Straits Times News Centre 1000 Toa Payoh North Singapore 318994 Dear Sir Preventing the abandonment of pets

  6. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 1:Format of a Formal Letter Closure: Yours sincerely – if you address by name, e.g. Dear Mr Lim Yours faithfully – if you address as Dear Sir

  7. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Writing

  8. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 2: Shopping List Syndrome Many lump many ideas together in one paragraph without expanding on each one, elaborating on them or explaining what you are talking about. Worse many also string a few ideas together without linking them properly  poor transition.

  9. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 3: Use of examples Many cite examples without linking the example to a point. An example must be an illustration of a point; it cannot be considered a point by itself. -ve example: Potential pet-owners should be made to post a bond before they are allowed to buy a pet. (This is an example of a stand alone example. It is not linked to a point and there is no explanation as to what is the point that it serves to illustrate.)

  10. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 3: (con’t) +ve example: We should enact a set of more stringent criteria to reduce the potential number of careless pet-owners. For instance, potential pet-owners should be made to post a bond before they are allowed to buy a pet. This will go some way towards ensuring that those who own pets have the financial ability to take care of their pets.

  11. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 4:Use of contractions Avoid the use of contractions, e.g. can’t, won’t, it’s – this is informal writing and should not be used in formal writing. Many do not know the difference between “it’s” and “its”!!! Hence, if you avoid using contractions, you will only need to remember when to use “its”.

  12. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 5:Avoid use of flowery / language in formal writing E.g.: …my hearts bleeds for the poor suffering animals. E.g.: Happy ones bring them home grinning from ear to ear.

  13. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 6:Choose words carefully Choice of words depends on the audience E.g. Pets are living organisms… E.g. Whenever pets are abandoned, they face an egregious time because….

  14. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 6:(con’t) Silly or Funny sentences /phrases (Beware of clever-sounding phrases that may not be applicable to the context of the Question!) “We sometimes have to put ourselves in their shoes” (referring to pets) “There are dogs being abandoned and wandering the streets aimlessly.” “Measures to take care of such abandoned pet animals should include providing them homes at pet stores…..”

  15. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 6:(con’t) Silly or Funny sentences /phrases “Lastly, for the measure to care for abandoned dogs, as mentioned above, the owner would have to pay for the food and medical bills of the dog until it passes on or till a new owner adopts it.” “…..so that animal lovers in Singapore know that there is someone still caring about the animals.”

  16. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 6:(con’t) Silly or Funny sentences /phrases “…..the owner has to look after it till the day it passes away or if the dog has contracted a disease.” “Such terms and conditions could include no abandonment without valid reasons.” “Dogs are, just like us, animals.” “….for pets to be able to find a suitable owner for themselves.”

  17. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 6:(con’t) Silly or Funny sentences /phrases “But when the owner is sad, it will stay by the owner and try to console him.”

  18. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 7:Repetition of words Avoid repetition of words in the same sentence, or used in the same context over the course of the essay. E.g. The people should do this….the people should do that….. Problem 8: Use of Singlish Be more conscious of Singlish creeping in. E.g.: Pet-owners got (have) to be…. E.g.: They never go to….

  19. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Presentation

  20. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 9:Poor use of Paragraphs Most addressed each required point of the Qn in ONE paragraph! Our students seem to think that there is an allocated number of paragraphs that they are allowed to use, i.e. if the Qn ask me to address 3 points, then my answer must be in 3 paragraphs! This is silly! Do not lump all your ideas into 1 paragraph with no logical linkage between each new idea.

  21. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 9: (con’t) Better to put down 1 idea per in 1 paragraph. Then elaborate / explain that idea within that paragraph, giving examples! It is perfectly all right (in fact better) to answer the required points of the Qn in a number of paragraphs if you have more than one idea to answer that point.

  22. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 10:Illegible handwriting (HW) Scribbles and scrawls in a barely legible handwriting . Guys, it is not cool for a 16 – 17 year old to be scrawling like a 5 years old kid! Illegible handwriting is penalised under spelling! Tiny microscopic font. Faint ink pen Common sense:Why make it difficult and frustrating for the Cambridge marker to grade your work?

  23. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Problem 11: Not writing name in FULL Many are still writing short forms of their names on their examination scripts. You must write your FULL NAME on every sheet of paper that you submit.

  24. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) General comments on the Question:

  25. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Points to note: Many students are not familiar with writing to the Forum Page. You address the letter to the Editor, but you are not supposed to make demands of him. It is not the same as writing to the relevant agency directly, e.g. to the Ministry of Education or the Town Council. Comment on issues / make suggestions but without referring to the Editor, e.g. “I hope that you will consider taking up my suggestions.

  26. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Points to note: in trying to fulfill the requirements of the points given in the Question, use the following formula: Explain (or define) the key phrase, e.g. “terms and conditions”, “fair treatment” give one or more specific example of what would be a term / condition or what is fair treatment. explain why you think these measures are important and necessary. what you think / hope the positive impact(s) be upon implementation

  27. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) What is expected of you: 1. Terms and conditions for the purchase or adoption of pets what is expected of someone before he is allowed to adopt or buy a pet. what are some pre-requisites that he has to meet before being allowed to do so.

  28. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) What is expected of you: Terms and conditions for the purchase or adoption of pets Example:There is a need impose strict terms and conditions on the purchase and adoption of pets. Firstly, potential pet-owners have to be subjected to a background check to prove that they have never been convicted of animal abuse previously. This means that a person who has been found guilty of animal abuse previously will never be allowed to own a pet again. This measure will definitely serve to reduce the number of animals that are subjected to inhumane treatment.

  29. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) What is expected of you: 2. Fair treatment towards dogs with respect to animal rights. many just say animals must be treated fairly in accordance to animal rights, but do not elaborate any more. nor do they specify what constitutes fair treatment or what constitutes unfair treatment.

  30. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Specify at least 2 measures of fair treatment and explain why you think these 2 measures are important and necessary for the well-being of pets. also explain how these 2 measures can be enforce.

  31. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) Example:It is important for society to enforce the rights that I believe animals enjoy. One area of concern is their living conditions. No pets should be allowed to be kept conditions that are less than what is the basic requirements for that species. For example, I firmly believe that animals from non-tropical climate should not be allowed to be kept as household pets in Singapore. Take the husky for example. A dog breed that has its origins in the polar region, this breed is becoming increasingly popular amongst wealthy Singaporeans. I feel that allowing an animal that needs polar conditions to live in Singapore clearly amounts to cruelty. The relevant agency that grants pet licenses should stop granting licenses for the import of animal species that are not native to the tropics. This is one way in which we can ensure that animals that are kept as pets are as comfortable as possible in captivity.

  32. Sec 4E5N Preliminary Examinations - English LanguagePaper 1, Section 2 (Marker’s Comments) What is expected of you: 3. Measures to care for dogs that have been abandoned make specific suggestions for measures that can be implemented to care for abandoned animals elaborate on how this can be implemented and what the outcome will be. try to come up with novel / innovative ideas. Probably 90% of candidates wrote “call SPCA”!

More Related