English Paper 2

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Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre
English Paper 2
Joelson Tang
The PSLE English Paper 2 Examination tests a candidate on 2
main skills: Language Use and Comprehension.

This Paper comprise the following sections in the order:

1) Graphic Stimulus (a form of comprehension) (MCQ)

2) Grammar (MCQ)

3) Punctuation (MCQ)

4) Vocabulary (MCQ)

5) Vocabulary Cloze (MCQ)

6) Comprehension (MCQ)

7) Grammar Cloze (Open-ended)

8) Editing for Spelling and Grammar (Open-ended)

9) Comprehension Cloze (Open-ended)

10) Synthesis and Transformation (Open-ended)

11) Comprehension (Open-ended)

Sections 1 to 6 tally up to 15%, while sections 7 to 11 to
32.5%, in all, 47.5% of the PSLE English Examination!
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At whichever primary level youre at, you should begin
to prepare for the various sections in this paper. Just as Rome
was not built in one day, a student cannot expect to do well for
this paper without persistence.

I provide an analogy to a student learning English.
Think of the yourself training to becoming a formidable athlete,
fit for competitions. Assume that you need foundational skills
involving strength and speed. In general, the stages below will
follow (words in italics will show the comparisons to learning):

1) Create a vision
How much strength and speed would I want?
How proficient do I want to see myself in reading and
comprehending, writing and speaking?

2) Train daily and persistently
It is impossible to lift heavy weights and run at pace within a
short time period, but improvement can be seen over time.
Note down words you are unfamiliar with its meaning.

3) Rework on weak skills
Work on muscles which have become flabby!
Forgetting words you have learnt is part of human nature.
Furthermore, there may be other meanings to words learnt,
if not, meanings of words may become better appreciated.
Therefore, LEARN, RELEARN and UNLEARN!

4) Participate often in tournaments
Competition requires the combination of several abilities,
including the element of psychology.
Practice challenging papers often with an objective attitude.

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Lets now shall have a look at our training sessions (how we
shall prepare for this paper)!

GRAMMAR
Grammarians (experts in grammar) have observed that English
is a moving language. This means that some sentence
structures which might not have been accepted in the past
have now become acceptable. On top of that there are many
rules with many exceptions to the rules.
Being EXAM-ORIENTED, however, I recommend a pragmatic
approach: 1) GO BY THE EAR you get it right most of the
time! 2) Communicate in proper English daily (if youre weak)

VOCABULARY
Let me reiterate the importance Vocabulary power, which is the
principal aspect the youd need to focus on. From here, Ill
reveal the secret of learning how to learn words unfamiliar
(new) to you! So many sections require knowing new words.

It is no easy feat, but I believe that if one is motivated, it is
possible to increase ones vocabulary size exponentially.

Before you read further, you may choose to assess your
present knowledge of Vocabulary. Several good websites for
doing so exist (using Google), but I recommend the following:

www.freerice.com
The higher the level you could reach, the greater the size of
your vocabulary! Every correct answer would mean 10 grains
of rice donated. So youd be doing a good deed in addition to
having fun!
Let me provide you a preview on the next page

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Instructions on using FreeRice 2.0:
1. You may want to select sign up and link your account to
your Facebook account, to monitor your overall statistics.

2. Click on the synonym, among the 4 options, to the word in
bold select the closest word.

3. Answering 3 questions correct consecutively takes you to
the next level. The higher the level, the greater the difficulty
experienced (this means that progressively fewer persons
would know the meaning of that word). In all, there are 60
levels. After testing yourself, take note of your best level.

4. Answering a question wrongly causes you to regress to a
lower level. The correct answer would appear above.


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In my opinion, FreeRice 2.0 is useful as an assessment tool,
but NOT as a tool to increase your size of Vocabulary.

If you want to learn new words, you could do so only through
reading texts that contain new words. Consistent with my
EXAM-ORIENTED approach, I strongly advocate prudent use
of time and effort: you only have a transient 24 hours a day.
Therefore, select your choice of reading materials wisely!

The following materials are a waste of time reading during
school term:
Comics, Fairy-tale Story-books, Sports News, Entertainment
News Magazines, Internet Discussion Forums, Advertisements
for Commercial Products, Scholarly works etc.
Cut down time spent on them!!!

Instead, the focus on the following categories of materials:
The Straits Times, IN and Little Red Dot
She [Madam Kamalnoorzaman Osman, a Primary 6 English
teacher at East View Primary] mines ST to teach vocabulary
and narratives. 'The topics are varied, which helps them learn
a lot of things from one source, she said. - The Straits Times

International News Magazines (Readers Digest, Times,
Newsweek etc.) and Bulletins

Novels and Short Stories (For example, those authored by
Catherine Lim, Goh Sin Tub, Chicken Soup for the Soul etc.)

Biographies and Commentaries

Model Compositions (those with elegant words and phrases)

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To increase your Vocab level, I advise you to adopt my
rigorous vocabulary Gym Training method, which I employed
with much success as a student.

If this is your first time collecting words, use a fresh
exercise/note book. Title the cover page: VOCABULARY
GYM. Then, do the following steps in the order:

1) Choose a suitable article
Find material with content having many new words and
phrases by giving a quick glace to a text.

2) Read the text
If a text is very long, stop at a certain line, and proceed to
the next step. Then, repeat this cycle for the rest of it.
Note: Focus on increasing your vocab, instead of trying to
comprehend texts.

3) Mark new words [Ignore technical terms] (Optional)
Tick/underline/asterisk(*) new words. If you are not
allowed to make any markings, proceed to the next step.

4) Record the new words in the gym
Leave about 4 lines in between new words.

5) Write the meanings (using a dictionary/thesaurus)
Refer to sections on Dictionary and Thesaurus in Creative
Writing for advice on choosing the right dictionary.

6) Write quality sentences
Using your imagination, think of a suitable situation each
new word could be used this reinforces your memory.

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The steps you just read of is illustrated below

(My Paper, Jan 21 2011, A20)

I have chosen the above article for our example (Step 1).

I read the text fairly attentively, not concerned about
understanding it fully (Step 2).

Lets suppose that the words in bold are new words that are
marked (Step 3). [I ignore technical terms like Funk]

Steps 4, 5 and 6 will be illustrated on the next page

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Flipping open my VOCABULARY GYM, Id do these:
____________________________________________
elated very happy and excited; jubilant; gleeful_____
I was utterly elated after successfully completing that_
strenuous marathon. ______
__________________________________________
crop a collection of things; accumulation; abundance
I cannot resist showing her the latest crop of ______
photographs I snapped while touring Europe._________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
avenue a means of access; a method; a possibility____
Doing well for my PSLE enhances the avenues I would__
have in entering a value-added secondary school.______
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
hangout a place frequented for entertainment;______
rendezvous; favourite haunt_____________________
The gaming arcades and pool salons have developed a___
notorious reputation for being a hangout for youth____
gangs._____________________________________
__________________________________________

How I founded this training method
As a student, my English teacher required my classmates and I
to submit a weekly homework of 7 new words learnt with
its meaning. These words were based on an article stapled
to a piece of foolscap paper.
I soon found that this approach was inadequate as I was
striving to achieve distinctions in my English examinations.
Hence, I developed this book, which became my constant
COMPANION, and I used it daily during any free moment.

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How to use the VOCABULARY GYM effectively
During any free time, for example, when riding on the bus or
the train, or even waiting for a teacher to come, I would re-read
the new words. Thereafter, I would test myself to recall the
meanings of about 5-6 new words. Soon, they were not new!

Everyday, even when I encountered a word on the street which
was new to me, I would record it straightaway, then follow the
steps as described previously. On average, I could readily
amass a quantity of about 20-30 words a day! I believe that in
no time, I knew the meanings of new words that were new
even to my teachers! Besides that, spelling became effortless!

At this point, Id like you to ask yourself What am I doing all
this for?? Is it because my teacher asked me to do so? Or
because my parents forced me to study?

Mind you, but Vocabulary gym training sessions are NOT for
the faint-hearted!

Hence, if you are able to tell yourself, I am training hard so
that I could become a formidable athlete in my examinations,
congratulations! You are on the right track to success!

But remember, be patient!
Do not expect yourself to achieve instant success. You need
patience before you will see good results in English exams.

Youll need to have a good ability to retrieve from memory what
you have learnt. If you cant remember the meaning of a new
word, as well as its usage, look at it again, and again! it
would be hard work gone down the drain if you cant recall!

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A useful role model to follow
That was all about how you should prepare for the important
English Paper 2! Id like to end with sharing about the training
method and mentality of this prolific chess player.

Below is a picture of Dr Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995), who
won most of his world championship matches:

Botvinnik in full concentration
during a game a true professional
Also an electrical engineer by training,
Soviet grandmaster Botvinnik is best
known for establishing the Scientific
method for preparing for competitions,
which was ignorant to other masters
during his early years as a professional.
Subsequent prominent Soviet masters
also benefited much from Botvinnik,
whom they regard as their Patriarch.
A current chess professional remarks: Botvinniks chess
career was the way of a genius, even though he was not a
genius. In the context of developing proficiency in the English
language, the example of Botvinnik shows that it is possible for
a person of average calibre to excel in his/her examinations.

Botvinniks Method
Playing training games
against strong masters
Keeping a note book of
chess openings
Preference for technique
over tactics: knowing the first
20-30 moves deep of an
opening, not enterprising
moves
Vocabulary Gym Training
Revising new words as
often as possible
Keeping the VOCABULARY
GYM beside you if you can
Diligently accumulating as
many words as possible; as
opposed to a whiz kid, who
becomes boastful being able to
use a few big words.

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Useful Resources and References
Bryne, R. (1995, May 7). An Imaginative Tactician Who Was at
Ease in Complexity. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7DD173
BF934A35756C0A963958260

Cornog, M. W. (1994). Merriam-Websters Vocabulary Builder.
Philippines: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

FreeRice 2.0. Retrieved from http://www.freerice.com

Funk, W. & Lewis, N. (1970). 30 Days to a More Powerful
Vocabulary (Revised Edition). New York: Pocket Books.

Nathan, M. (2008, Sep 21). Improve English? Read ST, say
students. The Straits Times. Retrieved from
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story200809
19-88828.html

Kasman, A. (2011, Jan 21). Visit this online hangout for youth.
My Paper.

Kramnik, V. (2005). Kramnik Interview: From Steinitz to
Kasparov. Retrieved from
http://www.kramnik.com/eng/interviews/getinterview.aspx?id=6
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