Section A - Text and Graphics

How do you answer questions based on advertisements?

Step 1: Read the question and try to understand what it requires you to do.
Step 2: Read the main headline which summarises what the advertisement is about.
Step 3: Then, read the information given in the advertisement carefully to find the answer.
Step 4: Familiarise yourself with commonly used words, phrases or expressions
How do you answer questions based on short texts?
Step 1: Read the whole text carefully and ask yourself what it is all about.
Step 2: Read the question to find out what you are required to do (You may be asked for
certain detail, meanings of words, etc)
Step 3: Sometimes the headline will give you a clue about the text.
Step 4: Before you decide on your answer, always refer to the context in which your
questions are based.
How do you answer questions based on tables/ graphs/ charts?
Step 1: Study the question and find out what is required
Step 2: Study the chart or graph by paying close attention to the title, subtitles and key
which provide useful information.
Step 3: Study the data carefully and recheck the question to focus on the particular
aspect of data that you need to analyse such as:
in items
fluctuating, decreasing over a period of time, etc)

Step 4: In analysing the data, observe some commonly used words/phrases such as

GENERAL GUIDELINES
Always read the question first not the stimulus. When you read the question first, you know
what information to look for in the given stimulus.
Use key words in the question (or stem) to guide you. Highlight these key words so that
you know what to focus on.
Highlight or underline the evidence you find in the extract to make sure your answer is
correct.
Read all the options given. Do not jump at the first possibly correct answer you see.
Choose the option that best meets the needs of the question.
If you are unsure of the correct answer, use the elimination method, by crossing out
incorrect answers.
Make intelligent guesses only as a last resort and never ever leave a question
unanswered.

Section C Reading Comprehension and Summary

Reading Comprehension:
1. Identify the keywords in each question. The keywords will be clues for you to find the
correct answer in the passage.
2. Only copy out the sentence from the text once you have identified the sentence containing
the answer. Of course, you must also remember that pronouns such as I, me, mine, my, our, us
and ours must be changed accordingly.
3. Attempt to check the accuracy of all answers

Summary:
4. Understand the requirement/s of the summary.
5. Mark the lines where the summary starts and ends.
6. Know that the first 3 lines normally contain the first point or at least a content point.
7. Understand what the question asked for
8. Refer to the summary requirement/s before finally copying out any sentence as content
point. You are encouraged to question yourself accordingly based on the summary
requirements such as Is this a danger he faced? or Is this how they solved their
problems?. The questions are your guide in selecting the relevant and accurate content
points.
9. Select relevant points according to question
10. For better students, attempt to paraphrase and reorganize without changing the meaning
11. Do not forget to write the number of words
12. Students are not encouraged to write more than the word limit given

Literature Component Poem

Read and understand all the poems

Pay close attention to the language used by the writer to convey his ideas and thoughts.

With the poems, make sure you understand the literal/denotative meaning as well as the
figurative/connotative meaning. The former is the dictionary meaning, while the latter is
the inferred or implied meaning.

There is no harm in knowing some of the common literary devices (metaphors, similes,
personification, onomatopoeia) employed in the poems.

Remember, the answers to the first three questions on the poem can be found in the
extract given. The fourth question is usually a personal response question and the answer
must be logical. This means you need to know the poem to tackle this question. (This is
where engaging with the texts is important). You must engage with them on a personal level.
If you are able to respond to the texts by bringing in your own knowledge and experiences,
you will be able to have a better understanding of them.

Do discuss the texts with your teacher and friends. Do not be upset if your interpretation
is different from someone elses. Remember, no two people will have exactly the same
interpretations. What is important is that you should be able to prove your interpretations
with textual evidence.

Novel

Identify keywords in the question.

For introduction, state the title of the novel AND the author.
For content,
o state ideas/ opinions with examples/ evidences from the novel
o state as many ideas as possible
For closing, conclude by stating personal responses/ opinions.
Students may answer the question using present tense OR past tense. But, bear in mind
they have to be consistent in using one form of tense throughout their responses.

Parts of speech
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Noun
Activity
Arrangement
Beauty
Bravery
Care
Collection
Colour
Comfort
Confusion
Creation
Development
Diligence
Generosity
Goodness
Peace
Persuasion
Protection
Respect
Success
Sympathy
Width

Verb
Activate
Arrange
Beautify
Brave
Care
Collect
Colour
Comfort
Confuse
Create
Develop
Persuade
Protect
Respect
Succeed
Sympathise
Widen

Adjective
Active
Arranged
Beautiful
Brave
Careful
Collective
Colourful
Comfortable
Confused
Creative
Developed
Diligent
Generous
Good
Peaceful
Persuasive
Protective
Respected
Successful
Sympathetic
Wide

Adverb
Actively
Beautifully
Bravely
Carefully
Collectively
Colourfully
Comfortably
Creatively
Diligently
Generously
Well
Peacefully
Persuasively
Protectively
Respectfully
Successfully
Symphathetically
Widely

Different forms of past tense verbs

Practice 1
1. was taken
2. had taken
3. took
4. were taking

Practice 2
1. changed
2. was changing
3. were changed
4. had changed

Practice 3
1. were calling
2. was called
3. had called
4. called

Practice 4
1. wrote
2. were writing
3. was written
4. had written

Practice 5
1. was bought
2. had bought
3. bought
4. were buying

Practice 6
1. ate
2. was eaten
3. were eating
4. had eaten

Practice 7
1. were planning
2. had planned
3. was planned
4. planned

Practice 8
1. sent
2. were sending
3. had sent
4. were sent

Practice 9
1. was visiting
2. visited
3. were visited
4. had visited

Practice 10
1. sang
2. were singing
3. was sung
4. had sung

Practice 11
1. had helped
2. was helped
3. were helping
4. helped

Practice 12
1. was showing
2. were shown
3. had shown
4. showed

Practice 13
1. cooked
2. had cooked
3. was cooked
4. were cooking

Practice 14
1. punished
2. were punished
3. had punished
4. was punishing

Practice 15
1. was driven
2. was driving
3. drove
4. had driven

Practice 16
1. read
2. had read
3. were reading
4. was read

Practice 17
1. prepared
2. were prepared
3. was preparing
4. had prepared

Practice 18
1. donated
2. was donated
3. were donating
4. had donated

Practice 19
1. announced
2. had announced
3. were announced
4. was announcing

Practice 20
1. were giving
2. was given
3. had given
4. gave

Practice 21
1. were cut
2. had cut
3. cut
4. was cutting

Section D
From the novel you have studied, write about the plot of the story and state what you think of
the plot.
Support your answer with close reference to the text.
GUIDELINES

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Section B : Continuous Writing
[50 marks]
[Time suggested : One Hour]
Write a composition of about 350 words on one of the following topics.
1. Describe the best teacher you have ever had in your life.
2. The importance of hygiene among school students.
3. Write a story ending with: ... I realised that every word she said was true.
4. All students should learn traditional dances. Do you agree?
5. Future

31. Based on the passage given, write a summary of:

how Hairy Crabs are reared and
how they are packed for export
Your summary must
be in continuous writing (not in note form)
use materials from lines 19 44
not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below
Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to change the original
meaning.
Begin your summary as follows:
The wild crab fries caught by the local fishermen are
..

..