Pre-examination message from Ms Lam

Dear students,

Come tomorrow, all of you will be taking your composition examination, and for some, your oral too. Nervous? ;)

Here are some last minute reminders for all of you. Do bear them in mind as you enter the exam hall.

1) Choose your question wisely. I know that I have said this for the umpteenth time but it is really important. Do not choose a question simply because the title appeals to you/seems to be interesting. You have to be confident and comfortable doing it.

2) Read your question carefully. Your essay should work towards answering the question. From the second paragraph onwards, readers should be very clear that you are beginning to answer the question. For example, if my question is "The gift", don't spend a long time telling me about your birthday, the preparations involved, the celebrations, outings, etc, leaving the last 2 paragraphs to talk about the gift. Mention it early in your composition.

3) Avoid talking about the supernatural (an encounter with a ghost), fantasies (you met a fairy) or dreams in your composition. Try to be as realistic as possible.

4) Describe. Be as descriptive as possible. Capture your feelings, movements, looks of the characters involved, the conversations and so on.

5) Personal recounts, descriptive essays and narratives usually require you to write in the past tense.

6) Discussive essays ("What are the qualities of a good parent") and argumentative essays allow for present tense. However, always check to see if you are using your tenses correctly.

7) Do not begin a sentence with 'so' or 'and'.

8) Do not use contractions/short forms. Instead of writing "don't", write "do not".

9) Please write in paragraphs.

10) Spend 5 minutes planning your essay.

Thanks for taking time to read this naggy reminder. As you walk into the examination hall tomorrow, just keep your head cool! You can do it! All the best to all 83 of you (from 1/5, 2/3 and other coralites who are reading this)!

Regards,

Ms Sharon Lam