Final English SA1 Tips

5 Excellence!

Here are the final tips which you all have been hearing me for the past 18 weeks.

Comprehension

• Before reading the passages, do a quick read through the questions. This will prepare you (in your mind) to look out for the answers when you start to read the passages.
• If the questions asks: "Why is ... ?" - Answer with "It is because ..."
• If the questions asks: "Why was ... ?" - Answer with "It was because ..."
• If the questions asks: "Why do ... ?" - Answer with "It is because ..."
• If the questions asks: "Why did ... ?" - Answer with "It was because ..."
• If the questions asks: "Which word ... ?" - Answer with "The word is..."
• If the questions asks: "Which phrase... ?" - Answer with "The phrase is..."
• If the questions asks: "Which sentence... ?" - Answer with "The sentence is..."
• Write your answers beginning with a capital letter.
• Check your answers - spelling, punctuation, grammar.

Cloze Passages

• Read through quickly before attempting to answer the questions. Get a feel of what the topic is about and in which tense (present or past?).
• Strike away those answers which you have chosen.

Synthesis

• For reported speeches - Change "this" to "that"
• For reported speeches - Change "now" to "then"
• For reported speeches - Change "tomorrow" to "the next day"
• For reported speeches - Change "today" to "that day"
• For reported speeches - Change "will" to "would"
• For reported speeches - Change "shall" to "should"
• For reported speeches - Change "can" to "could"
• For reported speeches involving a 'yes-no' question - use 'whether' or 'if'

Finally - always check your spelling, grammar and punctuations. Don't lose marks unnecessarily to carelessness!!