A Thousand Stars Programme 2014

SPM ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1119/1/2

1

CONTINUOUS WRITING

CHOOSE ONE OUT OF

FIVE TOPICS (50 MARKS)

TIME: 1 HOUR

WRITING TIPS• ACCURACY - sentence structures - spelling• VOCABULARY - wide - precise• PUNCTUATION - correctly used• ORGANISATION - paragraphs have

unity - flow of ideas• SUBJECT MATTER - relevant - interesting

1. LENGTH

• word limit is 350 – 600 words• writing too much – more mistakes

made – lowers the mark• short script does not do justice to

the subject matter – lowers mark too

• planning is important

2. STANDARD ENGLISH

• it communicates clearly to the examiner• it obeys the rules of spelling, punctuation

and grammar that are accepted and practised in the English speaking world

• the vocabulary used is suitable for the reader

3. RELEVANCE

GOLDEN RULE

• don’t ever try to avoid the purpose of the examination by writing a

prepared composition or by deliberately twisting the title

4. COMMUNICATION

• message conveyed must be clear and understood by the reader

5. VOCABULARY

For communication to be clear, use words that convey

intended meaning as exactly as possible.

WALK - SYNONYMS

marched

toddled

hobbled

limped

rushed

staggered

strolled

RUN

chase dash flee scamper scoot sprint

6. PUNCTUATION

• Very important to ensure your piece of writing make sense

• And communication is established

7. ORGANISING SENTENCES

• avoid writing a long series of short sentences

• use your sentences to link ideas together so that the reader is carried smoothly from

one ideas to another

SCRIPT 1

It was a Monday in June. It was early in the morning. The school was quiet. No one else had arrived yet. Today was an important one. Our exams were beginning today. I was very nervous. I had tried hard. I had revised for several hours each night. I felt ready. I was determined to do well.

SCRIPT 2It was early on Monday morning. As no one else had arrived yet, the school was quiet and deserted. Today was very important for me as it marked the beginning of our examinations. I had revised hard, staying up late each night revising, because I was so anxious to do well. I felt confident that I was well prepared, but I was still very nervous.

8. SPELLING

• Most spelling mistakes occurred in CW are caused by

carelessness

– check your spelling carefully when writing any composition

SCRIPT 3 It was definately not going to be a good day. My mother’s aincient vechile had a flat tyre, and nothing could be done imediately to mend it. No one knew how the dammage had occured altough we suscepted the little boy next door, who had been showing more intrest in the car than we thought was necesary. On one ocasion, we had cought him trying to open the car door.I lay on my bed, gazing at the cieling, and hating the tought of having to walk all the way to school, and recieving a lecture for being late.

9. PARAGRAPHS

• Most candidates lose marks in CW due to poor paragraphing.

• No paragraphs at all• ‘mini’ paragraphs – compositions which

have a new paragraph for almost every sentence

• ‘casual’ paragraphs – they begin and end for no obvious reason

A GOOD PARAGRAPH

• Is complete in itself• Usually summarised in a topic sentence

that comes in the beginning or at the end of the paragraph

• Must not stand alone• Must be linked with the paragraph before it

and to the paragraph that follows it

10. HANDWRITING & PRESENTATION

• Use black ball point pen• Small handwriting is difficult to read• Don’t cram too many words into one line• Spacing between words makes reading

easier• Don’t use liquid paper. Just cross the

unwanted word with a single line through it.

• Be clear where a new paragraph begins.

11. SUBJECT MATTER

• When writing a CW, be yourself• Use experience, settings and ideas that are familiar to you and

that you understand