English Language Notes

Lower Secondary Level

Secondary 1 and 2
Express Course

TABLE OF CONTENTS
No. Chapters Page No.
1 How To Properly Analyse A SW (Situational Writing) Question 2
2 Format For SW (Situational Writing) 4
3 Format For The Different Text-Types (Composition) 9
4 How To Tackle Commonly Asked Comprehension Questions 17
5 Methods to Tackle Summary Question (Paper 2, Section C) 26
 How To Properly Analyse A SW Question
1. Use FPARTTT (FART)
Use the abbreviation “FPARTTT” to properly analyse and understand what the question is asking.
What does FPARTTT stand for?

 F is for Format.
- What is the format?
- Is it informal or formal?
- This depends on the audience as well.

 P is for Purpose.
- Why are you writing this email / report / letter?
- Is it easily understood by the reader or it is stated in an obscure and vague manner?
- The whole email must be based on this purpose and you should not stray away from
the purpose.

 A is for Audience.
- Who are you writing to?
- Boss? Friend? Parents?
- The format depends heavily on this. Because if the audience is a manager of a
company, you are required to write your ….. in a formal manner. However, if it is your
cousin, you are must write your ….. in an informal manner.

 R is for Role.
- What is your character as the person sending the ….?
- Are you a bystander? A customer? A best friend?
- Your role also tell you your level of authority and lightly affects your format.

 T is for Tone.
- Your tone tells you your general attitude and character towards a certain event, person
or item.
- Misconception: Your tone depends on your audience. Your audience tells you who you
are writing to and your level of authority. However, your tone depends on the context
given and your role.
- For example your class might like animals and you (your given persona) came across a
brochure about the zoo and you would like your teacher and the class committee to
organise a day-off to relax at the zoo. Though your teacher is of a higher authority than
you, you can still come across as enthusiastic because you would need your teacher to
know that your class like animals, hence the event.

 T is for Text-Type.
- What kind of text-type will it be?
- Email? Invite? Letter? Report? Proposal?
- This will be indicated in the question paper.

 T is for Tense.
- What tense is it in?
- Is your ….. a recount about your trip to a particular country (Past Tense)? Is your…. A
proposal about an event (Present Tense / Future Tense)?

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2. Annotate Your Question Paper (Example)
Question Paper (Adapted from CCSS 2017 Paper 1, Section B):
Section B [30 marks]
You are advised to write between 180 and 250 words for this section.
You should look at the flyer on page 3 study information carefully and plan your answer before
answer before beginning to write.
Role: Relative of your 13-year-old cousin
Format: Informal Letter
The school year is soon coming to an end. Your 13-year old cousin is undecided on how he should
spend the year-end holiday and approached you for some suggestions. Last weekend, you came
across a flyer, which features activities which a secondary school student could engage in during
the holidays. You found some of these activities meaningful and would like to recommend them to
your cousin.
Tense: Present Tense

Write a letter to your cousin, suggesting

 two activities which your cousin could engage in during the year-end holiday
 why you think these two activities will be of interest to your cousin
 what you cousin can learn from the activities
 how your cousin can apply what he/she has learnt Tone

Write your letter in clear, accurate English and in an enthusiastic and persuasive tone, to convince
your cousin that the activities you have recommended are suitable and meaningful.

Audience
You should use your own words as much as possible. Text-Type: Narrative
Purpose and Descriptive Writing

________________________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND INFORMATION (SUMMARIZATION)
- Cousin not sure what to do during holiday
- Ask me (Take note of the role) for suggestions
- Use the flyer in pg 3 and using the activities given, suggest 2 activities that your cousin
should participate in.

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 Formats for Situational Writing (SW)
1. Informal Letter
Block 123, Simei Street 2
#10 - 112 Address
Singapore 520123 Salutations

14th September 2020 → Date

Dear ____(Audience)____,

Paragraph 1: Introduction
- Greetings (How are you?, How have you been?, I hope you are doing well)
- Set The Context
- Purpose Of Writing

Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4: Content

The contents of your letter should be written in a personal and friendly tone. However, it's important
to adjust your use of language to the person you are writing to. A good way of assessing how you
should write is to think about how you would interact with the person you are writing to in real life.
- Write three main points/ideas; each in one paragraph supported by clear and
convincing elaboration
- Do take note that your points and explanation must be linked/connected to the
information provided in the visual.
- Sometimes, question may require you to compare and contrast why you would choose
a particular option over the others.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion
- Reiterate purpose/choice(s) made, main points and include cordial statements to end the
email
- Parting Words: Have a nice day ahead, ___(Name of Person Receiving)___!, I hope to
receive your reply! / Hope to hear from you soon!
- Closing Sentences: I am looking forward to seeing you, I cannot wait to see you soon, I
cannot wait to hear from you, I am looking forward to hearing from you soon, and I hope
to hear from you soon.

Best Regards / Cheers / Love,

Sign - off
( Your Role / Character’s Name)

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2. Formal Letter (To Someone You Know) OR Report
To: Mr Nahar (Name, addressed with respect), Discipline Master (Role)
From: Yashan Pillai ( Name ), Student of 2E1 (Role)
Date: 14th September 2020
Salutations
Subject: Project Deadline Renewal

Dear Mr Nahar,

Paragraph 1: Introduction
- Greetings (Good day, Mr Nahar…)
- Set The Context (Address the problem / situation)
- Purpose Of Writing

Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4: Content

- Write three main points/ideas; each in one paragraph supported by clear and
convincing elaboration
- Do take note that your points and explanation must be linked/connected to the
information provided in the visual.
- Sometimes, question may require you to compare and contrast why you would choose
a particular option over the others.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion
- Reiterate purpose/choice(s) made, main points and include cordial statements to end the
email
- Closing Sentences: Thank you for your kind attention! OR Thank you for your time! OR
I hope you would consider my suggestion.

Yours Sincerely,
Sign - off
( Your Role / Character’s Name)

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3. Formal Letter (To Someone You Don’t Know )
Yashan Pillai → Name
123 Simei Street 2
# 10-112 Address
Singapore 52003

14th September 2020 → Date

Salutations

Manager Of Starhub → Name

34 Crescent Road
Address
Singapore 511034

Dear Sir/Madam,
Suggestion to:
Paragraph 1: Introduction
- Introduce Yourself + Greetings
- Set The Context (Address the problem / situation)
- Purpose Of Writing

Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4: Content

- Write three main points/ideas; each in one paragraph supported by clear and
convincing elaboration
- Do take note that your points and explanation must be linked/connected to the
information provided in the visual.
- Sometimes, question may require you to compare and contrast why you would choose
a particular option over the others.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion
- Reiterate purpose/choice(s) made, main points and include cordial statements to end the
email
- Closing Sentences: Thank you for your kind attention! OR Thank you for your time! OR
I hope you would consider my suggestion.

Yours Faithfully,
< Signature, self-made, unless shown > Sign - off

Yashan Pillai

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4. Informal Email
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: 14th September 2020
Salutations
Subject: Friendship Problems

Dear Stancy (Audience),

Paragraph 1: Introduction
- Greetings (How are you?, How have you been?, I hope you are doing well)
- Set The Context
- Purpose Of Writing

Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4: Content

The contents of your letter should be written in a personal and friendly tone. However, it's important
to adjust your use of language to the person you are writing to. A good way of assessing how you
should write is to think about how you would interact with the person you are writing to in real life.
- Write three main points/ideas; each in one paragraph supported by clear and
convincing elaboration
- Do take note that your points and explanation must be linked/connected to the
information provided in the visual.
- Sometimes, question may require you to compare and contrast why you would choose
a particular option over the others.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion
- Reiterate purpose/choice(s) made, main points and include cordial statements to end the
email
- Parting Words: Have a nice day ahead, ___(Name of Person Receiving)___!, I hope to
receive your reply! / Hope to hear from you soon!
- Closing Sentences: I am looking forward to seeing you, I cannot wait to see you soon, I
cannot wait to hear from you, I am looking forward to hearing from you soon, and I hope
to hear from you soon.

Best Regards / Cheers / Love,

Sign - off
Alex Hester

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5. Formal Email
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: 14th September 2020
Salutations
Subject: Friendship Problems

Dear Stancy (Audience),

Paragraph 1: Introduction
- Introduce Yourself + Greetings
- Set The Context (Address the problem / situation)
- Purpose Of Writing

Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4: Content

- Write three main points/ideas; each in one paragraph supported by clear and
convincing elaboration
- Do take note that your points and explanation must be linked/connected to the
information provided in the visual.
- Sometimes, question may require you to compare and contrast why you would choose
a particular option over the others.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion
- Reiterate purpose/choice(s) made, main points and include cordial statements to end the
email
- Closing Sentences: Thank you for your kind attention! OR Thank you for your time! OR
I hope you would consider my suggestion.

Yours Sincerely,
Sign - off
( Your Role / Character’s Name)

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 Formats For The Different Text-Types (Composition)
1. Recount
1. What is a recount?

A recount retells an experience or an event that happened in the past. The purpose of a
recount can be to inform, entertain or to reflect and evaluate. A recount can focus on a
specific section of an event or retell the entire story. A recount should always be told in the
order that things happened.

2. What is a personal recount?

A personal recount retells an activity the writer has been personally involved in and may be
used to build the relationship between the writer and the reader e.g. anecdote, diary
journal, personal letter. These usually retell an event that the writer was personally involved
in.

Writing a recount is a deeply reflective process. The challenge in writing a good recount is
to provide the audience with the story as it happened but to leave out incidental and boring
information. Ensure you also clearly understand your audience, as this will have a big
impact upon the language you use.

3. Question Stems:

- “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” Write about an occasion which made you realise
that friendship is valuable.

- Write about a time when you went travelling with your family. Describe the experiences
and what you learnt about the country from the journey.
(Hybrid: Descriptive Writing + Recount)

- Write about a time when you had to overcome a difficult challenge. What did you learn
from this experience?

- Write about a time when you posted something on social media which unexpectedly led
to a misunderstanding. What did you learn from this experience?

- Write about a time when you had to stand up for yourself.

Take Note: All of the question stems by which requires to write a recount, typically would
contain the pronoun “you” in it, which shows that your recount must be personal.

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4. Recount Features and Structure

5. Points To Consider Before Writing

 What are you going to tell your audience? What are you recounting?
 What information will the audience need early in the text?
 What are the important events or parts of the recount you want to describe? And
what order will they occur in?
 What other information may be useful to include?
 How will you conclude your recount?

6. Tips For Writing A Great Recount

 Set the scene for the audience in terms of characters, setting and context. We refer
to this as our orientation and it will provide the reader with all the key ingredients of
the recount in the introduction by addressing the who, what, when and where.
 Keep everything in chronological order in a recount and use a variety or time
transitional terms and phrases so as to keep your audience engaged throughout.
 Use a range of adjectives, try and avoid “And then, and then, and then.”
 Use the correct language and terms relevant to your recount.
 If you are writing from a specific point of view, use the relevant language to match the
perspective. Most commonly in a recount, you will be recounting in the first person.
 Recounts are always written in the past tense so be conscious to stay in this tense
throughout. Everything has already happened so ensure your vocabulary reflects this.

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7. Misconception About Personal Recount

“(Personal) Recounts are the same as Narratives”

- Narratives are a text telling a story focusing on specific characters whereas a recounts
are a text which retells events or experiences in the past.

- Orientation wise, narratives introduce characters and informs the time and place while
recounts introduce the characters, place and time.

- As for the showcase of events, narratives describe the rising problems which the
characters have to face as time goes by, however recounts describe the series of events
happening in the past.

- In every story, there is a resolution, to solve the problem as posed in the climax. In
narratives, resolutions show the way characters solve the problem for better or worse. In
recounts, resolutions contain personal comments by the writer, showcasing their feeling
towards the story.

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2. Narrative
1. What is narrative?

Narratives are a popular genre for students and teachers as it provides the writer with an
opportunity to share their imagination, creativity, skill and understanding of nearly all
elements of writing. On occasion we refer to a narrative as 'creative writing' or story writing.
The purpose of a narrative is simple, to tell the audience a story.

It can be written to motivate, educate or most commonly entertain. Narratives can be both
fact and fiction. The challenge in writing a good narrative is to captivate the audience and
keep them engaged as the story is told.

Unlike other genres of writing narratives consist of many sub genre's, such as these:

 Adventure
 Fairy Tale
 Myth
 Love Story
 Drama
 Fable
 Legend
 Science Fiction
 Fantasy
 Mystery
 Comedy
 Tragedy

2. Question Stems:

- Write about a friend who made an unfortunate mistake and how it caused his loved ones
to suffer as a result.

- Write a story about an excursion which almost turned into a disaster.

- Write a story about a person who managed to turn over a new leaf with the help of a
friend.

Take Note: Stories written using this text-type are told from the third person’s view, meaning
the narrator tells the story but he/she is not in it.

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3. Narrative Features and Structures

- Orientation (BEGINNING)

Set the scene by introducing your characters, setting and time of the story. Establish your
who, when and where in this part of your narrative.

- Complication and Events (MIDDLE)

In this section activities and events involving your main characters are expanded upon.
These events are written in a cohesive and fluent sequence.

- Rising Action and Climax (MIDDLE)

The climax of the story is the dramatic high point of the action. It is also when the struggles
kicked off by the problem come to a head. The climax will ultimately decide whether the
story will have a happy or a tragic ending. In the climax two opposing forces duke things
out until the bitter (or sweet!) end. One force ultimately emerges triumphant. As the action
builds throughout the story suspense increases as the reader wonders which of these
forces will win out. Climax is the release of this suspense.

- Resolution (ENDING)

Your complication is resolved in this section. It does not have to be a happy outcome
however. Additionally, a twist at the end could leave your audience shocked or/and at a
cliff hanger.

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4. Tips for Writing A Great Narrative

 Set the scene and engage your audience early with well thought out characters and
setting.
 Introduce a problem or complication that causes an issue which gives your story a
purpose.
 Entertain the audience. Narratives are the most popular of all styles of writing. If you
can’t entertain and engage the audience, your audience will quickly move on,
deeming it as ‘boring’.

5. Challenges Students Face

The single biggest challenge many students face when it comes to story writing is coming up
with inspiration or ideas to get those creative juices flowing.

Some students will have more ideas than hours in the day and others will always struggle for
both ideas and direction. It is essential that you have a range of tools, strategies and
resources at your disposal to ensure you get the most out of your writing time.

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3. Descriptive Writing
1. What is Descriptive Writing?

The primary purpose of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place, event or thing in
such a way that a picture is formed in the reader's mind. Capturing an event
through descriptive writing involves paying close attention to the details by using all of your
five senses. Your writing must be of great detail.

2. Question Stems:

- Describe a place which matters a lot to you. Why is it so important?

- Describe a person who is your greatest inspiration.

- Describe a time when you had to forgive someone. Why do you think it is so hard to
forgive and forget?
(Hybrid = Descriptive Writing + Reflective)

- Describe some of your experiences in Singapore’s parks or gardens. How important are
these places in your life as a teenager in Singapore?
(Hybrid = Descriptive Writing + Reflective)

Take Note: The category (place, time, etc) of the subject is given specifically, do not stray
away and write according to the subject. Try to write in the third person perspective and
not a personal recount (First Person)

3. Narrative Features and Structures

- Introduction (BEGINNING)

Introduce the topic you are introducing and give a quick overview of what it is. It should
start of with a strong opening, with a strong thesis. You should then reveal the reason
why you describe it this way.

- Main Body (MIDDLE)

This can be written using three separate paragraphs

Paragraph 2: You would need to provide a vivid description of the subject. You should
include all the observed details that are important for making a vivid portrait. Additionally,
you could use literary devices to entertain your audience.

Paragraph 3: You would need to describe the atmosphere and surroundings of an object,
person, or situation. The reader should feel involved in this environment. Literary Devices
can also be used in this paragraph to engage with the reader’s attention.

Paragraph 4: You should use you sense of taste, touch, smell, sound, sight and
emotional description in order to make the experience “alive” In other words, you would
need to “replay” the object, person or situation to the reader, using vivid descriptions.

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 - Conclusion (ENDING)

This will draw all your points together, without introducing anything new. However, if is a
hybrid (Reflective + Descriptive Writing), you should add your emotions and feelings, to
tell the reader your true feelings towards the subject.

4. Tips for Writing A Great Narrative

 Always plan the content for any piece

 Make sure your piece matches the purpose
 Use a variety of sentence types for different effects
 Include a variety of sentence structures and conjunctions
 Utilise your five senses and place yourself in the event, in order to provide a vivid
description of the subject.
 Try not to use bombastic words, however if you do, ensure they are of the correct
spelling.
 Try to capture the reader’s attention as much as possible through sophistication

The key point to remember is that to gain perfect marks you should ‘show off’ your writing
ability; show the marker how good a writer you are.

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 Commonly Asked Comprehension Questions
1. Visual Text
1. What is a visual text?

- The basic definition of visual literacy is the ability to read, write and create visual
images. Both static and moving.
- It is a concept that relates to art and design but it also has much wider applications.
- Visual literacy is about language, communication and interaction.
- Visual media is a linguistic tool with which we communicate, exchange ideas and
navigate our highly visual digital world.

2. Use the abbreviation “MPEAT” to remember the different parts of the visual texts.

What does “MPEAT” stand for?

 M is for Message
- This is what the organization / companies is trying to convey and portray to the
targeted audience.
- It can be usually found in sentences / statements in the respective visual text, hence
it can easily found.
- Question Stems:
 What is the author of the visual text trying to convey?
 Quote the (main) message of the poster.
- You should answer the question using the format:
The organization is trying to say that …………..

 P is for Purpose
- Questions that tests you on the purpose of the visual text, examines your ability to
understand the reason why they even made the visual text in the first place.
- You should answer the question using the format:
The purpose of the advertisement is to ………..
- Verbs following the ‘to’ could be: educate, inform, warn and persuade
- You should not use the word “tell” as it is too vague.
- You should always take note of the image / picture / content or the tone in order to
determine the purpose of the visual text.
- Question Stems:
 What is the purpose of the advertisement / poster?
 Quote the sentence that tells you the purpose of the poster / advertisement.

 E is for Effect
- This is to make you feel / think / reflect about the poster  Feel a sense
- The technique affects the effect it brings. of …..
- You should answer the question using the format:
The use of ……. is to make the reader … (feel / think / reflect) … so that they
will … (action) …
- You should study the technique used in order to understand the intended effect on
the readers
- Question Stems:
 What is the intended effect of the sentence “……” ?
 What is the intended effect of the word / phrase “…….”?

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  A is for Audience
- Who is the organisation(s) trying to reach out to?
- Examples of audiences: students, youth, car drivers, parents, children, elderly
- You should provide an evidence when asked too, in order to prove your answer
- You should answer the question using the format:
The targeted audience is ……….. (because ……….)
- You should answer this portion as specifically as possible. Avoid general answers
such as ‘people.’
- Take Note:
Advertisements that selling baby products do not want the audience to be ‘toddlers /
babies” but should be parents instead as they are the main care-takers of their
children.
- Question Stems:
 Who is the intended audience of the advertisement / poster?
 Who are the organisation trying to reach out to?

 T is for Techniques
- Techniques are used to make the advertisement / poster stand out.
- They can also be used to attract the readers.
- The use of images is one common technique used by many designers.
- They are numerous techniques used by designers which can be seen in the following:
 Literary Device
a figure of speech in which apparently
 Irony
contradictory terms appear in
 Oxymoron
conjunction (e.g. faith unfaithful kept
 Personification
him falsely true ).
 Metaphor
 Simile
 Rhyme Juxtaposition is an act or instance of
 Hyperbole placing two elements close together
 Point Of View (POV) or side by side. This is often done in
 Symbols order to compare/contrast the two,
 Foreshadowing to show similarities or differences,
 Anagram etc
 Juxtaposition
 (Dark) Humour
 Choice of Fonts
 Size of Letters Commonly used in answers
 Use of Images
 Puns
 Scare Tactic
 Personal Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we and they
- You should answer the question using this format:
One technique is used to convey the effect of ……….. through the use of ……….
- Question Stems:
 Identify and explain the technique which is used in the poster /advertisement
 The advertisement says “…………” Explain fully the technique that is used.
Other Tips:

 Read the text carefully and underline important details

 Pick up on the underlying message of the text.
 Underline or highlight important details of the text.

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2. Tips for Comprehension (Section B & Section C)
Firstly, always briefly skim through the questions / passage to get an idea of the gist of the passage.
Attempt the respective questions immediately after reading each paragraph. Do not waste time
reading through the whole passage in detail after starting, however if it confusing you are advised to
do so.

1. Work through the questions according to how they are grouped. Read the questions based
on paragraph 1, then read paragraph 1 closely, then attempt to answer the questions based
on paragraph 1, etc.

2. Spend more time ensuring the simple questions are answered correctly, rather than
rushing through them since they seem easy, they might be a trick question.

3. A significant number of questions can be answered directly by referring to/quoting from

the passage. Be careful and don’t get over confident just because the questions sounds
simple.

4. Focus on getting the simple and direct questions right (since they carry most of the marks)
rather than trying a long time trying to figure out the tougher inference questions.

5. Refer closely to the marks awarded to the particular question or part-question in order to
infer the number of points needed to write about. However, this does not apply to
contrasting / comparison questions (unusual, ironic, etc, …)

6. Take note of the command words and the difference between the command words, for
example describe and explain.

To describe is to give an account of something and any details pertaining to that something.

Whereas

To explain is to give an account of something and any details pertaining to that something
with the goal of clarifying it to someone, or making something easier to understand, or making
some concept known.

Command Words used are:

Identify / Suggest / State / Pick Out / etc……

7. Time spent on your different sections are crucial in your time management.

(Section A) Visual Text : 10 mins

(Section B) Narratives : 40 mins
Total Time: 1h 50 mins
(Section C) Non – Narratives : 45 mins
Time to Check : 5 mins

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3. Inferential, Attitude and Tone Question
1. Inferential Question (Deduction From Text)

 It does not require you to extract extra knowledge outside the text.
 Question Stems:
 Why do you think that …….. ?
 Explain ……….
 Explain fully (as to why) ……..
 What is so surprising about …… ?
 Suggest why ……..
 Why might it be difficult to …… ?
 Steps to writing the answer
 Read the question carefully
 Look for keywords or phrases in the question or clues in its wording that will enable
you to locate that part of the text where answer is
 You should put yourself in the author’s perspective as to why he wrote this way
when questions require you to understand their perspective
 Distill relevant information
 Weighting of question will help you decide the number of necessary details to be
provided or the extent in which whether you may have to use your words as part of
the answer.

2. Tone Question

 It refers to how writer sounds when writing about an issue though their choice of words
 You should understand why or how he ‘says’ it
 Question Stems:
 Why does the author write in a …… tone?
 What kind of tone does the author use?
 State the effect of the tone used.
 What idea does the author convey using this tone?

3. Attitude Questions

 It is what the writer thinks about an issue through his choice of words
 You should always understand why the author tries to use this particular choice of
words to describe the situation.
 Take Note: Words such as : very, extremely, especially, excessively, etc.
 Question Stems:
 Through the use of “…..” , what emotion / attitude does the author convey?
 What is the attitude the author is trying to convey?
 Why does the author want to convey this emotion / attitude

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4. Language For Impact Question
Writers use figurative language to describe the subject, i.e. people / place / event, by comparing it
with something else. You need to know the different types of figurative language (literary devices),
and you need to know what they do / the effectiveness of the figurative language.

1. Writer’s Intention: Effectiveness of writer’s choice of words of figurative language used

You should always ask yourself this question:

“ How does the writer’s choice of words or figurative language used create and atmosphere
that provokes an emotional reaction from you (the readers) ?”

2. Question Stems (Require you to EXPLAIN writer’s intention in choice of words or figurative
language used:
 How does the writer make the passage appear horrifying / exciting / effective / … ?
 What does the word /phrase “ …… ” suggest about the [ topic / subject ] ?
 Explain how the language makes the [ topic / subject ] appear [ effect ]. Support your
ideas with details from the passage.

3. Literary Device that are used in to answer Language In Impact Questions are:
 Irony
 Oxymoron a figure of speech in which apparently
 Personification contradictory terms appear in
 Metaphor conjunction (e.g. faith unfaithful kept
 Simile him falsely true ).
 Rhyme
 Hyperbole Juxtaposition is an act or instance of
 Point Of View (POV) placing two elements close together
 Symbols or side by side. This is often done in
 Foreshadowing order to compare/contrast the two,
 Anagram to show similarities or differences,
 Juxtaposition etc

The use of literary device can be used to make the reader feel an intended effect on the
readers. There is NO fixed usage / effect using a certain literary device to describe, it VARIES
among the content and can be spotted using the different contextual clues to make the reader
feel a certain effect after reading the phrase / sentence / paragraph / text. There is NO way
to memorise a certain effect so you should understand the phrase / sentence / paragraph /
text fully in order to understand why they use a certain literary device, etc.

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5. Vocabulary Question
This type of question tests you on the meaning of words & phrases / understanding its usage. Most
of the time you will be asked to:

1. Quote a word / phrase

2. Explain what a word / phrase suggests
3. Explain why a word / phrase is used to mean something
These questions tests your knowledge of words and their meaning in context.

Sample Question and Answer:

Question : “It’s sympathic magic – wear this perfume and you acquire an aura of that. “
Why is the ‘magic’ described as ‘sympathic’ ?

Answer : The magic is sympathic because it is compassionate and pitying (WRONG)

Examiner’s comment:
- Students should not give the meaning of the word / substitute the word.
- Firstly, the writer did not use the word in that sense.
- Secondly, the students answer does not shows that he has understood why the word was used.
- Students must write the answer in such a way that it relates to the context / passage.

Correct Answer:
It is an agreeable match between the smell of the perfume and the aura which it evokes.

Take Note:
Vocabulary Questions tend ask you to quote a phrase / word.
You should take note that a phrase is basically something that is smaller than a sentence , and you
should NOT quote more than what is required, or your answer will result in an “excess denied” as
the answer is too long, this also applies to quoting words as well.

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6. Tips For Vocabulary Questions
1. Try to find synonyms for the word before moving on to think of a phrase.

2. The word/phrase must have the same meaning IN THE CONTEXT, being able to fit in
grammatically in the passage (replacing the word) is secondary. It would be good if your
word/phrase can replace the word in the passage grammatically and yet have the exact
same meaning, but meaning should come before that.

3. Explain the contextual meaning if the word is used figuratively/metaphorically in the

passage. (Eg ‘sea’ of opportunities should be replaced with ‘myriad’ instead of ‘ocean’)

4. Take note of the connotation of the words used (weird/different/unique all mean the same
thing but have different connotations) Replace the word in the passage with a word with
the same positive/neutral/negative connotation.

5. Take note of the connotation of the words used (weird/different/unique all mean the same
thing but have different connotations) Replace the word in the passage with a word with
the same positive/neutral/negative connotation.

6. Take note of the degree of the words used. ‘Happy’ is not the same as ‘Overjoyed’. Used
quantifiers such as ‘very’, ‘extremely’ or ‘slightly’ if necessary.

7. A good vocab answer must be correct in meaning, connotation and degree. Ensure that
your answers meet all three criteria.

8. Lastly, ensure that whatever you are writing is in the same form as the original word. (E.g.
noun for noun, verb for verb etc)

7. Factual Questions
These questions ask about factual information found in the text.

 The answers need not be written in full sentences and the answer should not be written in
point form.
 Some ‘Why’ questions could be phrased as a ‘What’ question. For instance, if the question
asks ‘What reason did…’
 Similarly, ‘How’ questions could also be phrased as ‘What’ questions. For instance, ‘What
method did…’
 Difficult Factual Questions → 2 / 3 marks
Easy Factual Questions → 1 mark
Steps to Write Answers:

 Read question carefully

 Reads several lines of text to locate answers
 Look for keywords or phrases in the question or clues in its wording that will enable you to
locate that part of the text where the answer is
 Address the question directly
 Do not leave out keywords or phrases
 Do not waste time paraphrasing if the question does not require “your own words”
 Take Note:
Do not write out of point and more than the number of points required or not access denied.

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8. Use Your Own Words / In Your Own Words (IYOW) Questions
1. What is a Use Your Own Words’ / In Your Own Words (IYOW) comprehension question?

This type of comprehension questions requires you to paraphrase information from

the text.

2. Question Stems:
 In your own words, explain the sentence……
 Why …… ? Answer in your own words.
 With reference to paragraph … , what is …….. ? Answer in your own words.

3. Steps You Need To Take When Answering “Use Your Own Words” Comprehension
Question Accurately:

Step 1 : Locate the sentence /phrase from the text which answers the question.

Look for keywords or phrases in the question or clues in its wording

that will enable you to locate that part of the text where answer is.

Do not copy blocks of text, use only relevant part(s) of the text.

Step 2 : Identify key words or ideas to paraphrase

(We usually do not need to paraphrase Nouns, Pronouns and Articles.)

Have to paraphrase the relevant facts for the answer. If you do not, you
will not be awarded any mark even if the information you have lifted
from text is correct.

Step 3 : Replace these words with phrases or words that have similar meaning as
the original words.

Substitute relevant facts with your own words, without losing its
original meaning.

Step 4 : Structure your answer into a complete sentence.

It must come together into a well-phrased sentence which directly

answers the question without straying away from the question.

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9. Contrasting / Comparison Questions
IRONY

 Understand what irony is – Irony, in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary
technique, or event in which what on the surface appears to be the case or to be expected
differs radically from what is actually the case.

 It shows the contrast between expectations and outcomes: ironic if outcome is opposite
the expectation

 Answer 2 parts (even though question is 1m) :

 Expectation and outcome
OR
 what it supposed to be vs what actually happen

 You should use the word “expects” if possible

HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH “UNUSUAL” AND “DIFFERENCE /

SIMILARITY”

DIFFERENCE / SIMILARITY
UNUSUAL
(COMPARISON)

NORMALLY VS NOW QUALITIES OF A and B

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 Methods to Tackle Summary Question (Paper 2, Section C)
1. Tips On Answering The Summary Question

2. Steps To Answer The Summary Question

1. Picking Out The Theme

The theme is the subject being discussed in each sentence, paragraph or passage.

Sentence Theme
Children are becoming more inquisitive. Children
A donkey has longer ears and smaller hoofs than a horse. Donkey
There is a growing increase in the number of overweight people Overweight People

2. Picking Out The Main Idea

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3. Finding The Secondary Ideas

A main idea may be supported by any number of secondary ideas.

4. Separating Relevant From Irrelevant Material

What is related to the theme, main idea and supporting idea(s) is relevant.
Anything else is irrelevant.

Do NOT use external knowledge to answer the question, USE ONLY what is given in the
given text and the paragraph(s) asked to use.

5. Summarising Examples And Details

In writing a summary, only the essential points are important.

6. Generalising / Grouping

In a passage, a salient point may be expressed in a very lengthy way. As such, it has to be
reduced to a generalisation. It is important to change the writer’s view.

Socks, shirts, pants and skirts. Clothes

Snakes, lizards, crocodiles, etc. Reptiles
Newspapers, magazines, television, etc. Media
Paper, pens, pencils, ruler, etc. Stationary

7. Changing Sentence Structure

 Changing the Voice

Example:
Active Passive
The body produces antibodies when Antibodies are produced (by the body)
disease – causing organisms enter the when disease – causing organisms enter
bloodstream. the bloodstream.

 Changing parts of speech

Example:
Before After
We expect all of you to arrive early Your early arrival is expected.

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  Rearranging phrases and clauses

Example:
Before After
Fundamental to all living things is the The choice between fight an flight is
choice between fight and flight fundamental to all living things.

8. Removing Examples

Examples are removed to avoid repetition and omit unnecessary details.

Example:
Before After
Bullying can cause mental and emotional Bullying can cause mental and emotional
health issues, such as anxiety, stress health issues.
and depression.

9. Using Synonyms

 Synonym : A word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or
phrase in the same language

 Use word(s) with similar meanings to replace the key words. You may use a word to
paraphrase a phrase or vice versa.

 Take note of the positive / negative connotations and contexts of words that you are
trying to substitute

10. Connotations [ Positive / Negative ]

 Words can have similar denotations but different connotations.

 Denotation: literal meaning or main definition of a word.

 Connotation: ideas or feelings associated with a word; can be neutral, positive or

neutral.

 E.g. residence (neutral) VS home (positive)

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11. Contexts

Words can have different meanings depending on the context. (e.g. lie, tear, fall, etc.)

E.g. The word ‘beautiful’ can mean different things when used in different contexts.

A. The wedding gown she wore was beautiful

Beautiful = Attractive

B. It was a beautiful, sunny day

Beautiful = Pleasant
Depending on the context, the same word will have a different meaning and will require a
different synonym to replace it.

12. Steps to Paraphrasing by keeping the core meaning as the original passage.

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