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TECHNIQUES FOR ANSWERING THE SPM ENGLISH PAPER (PAPER 2)
SPM Mathematics Tips
by Bobby Ng for Writing Contest 2008
Brief Introduction
Mathematics (is also known as Modern Maths) and Additional Mathematics are categorized as thinking subjects which you take your time thinking rather than memorizing facts. The formula will be given at the front page of the examination paper. Additional Maths is notably 4 times harder than Modern Maths. It’s like if students think Maths is shit, then take Add Maths. If you get 90% marks in Maths, you may have potential to get 40% marks in Add Maths. It’s near to impossible for someone who get A1 in Add Maths fail in Math. Well it’s not important. What I’m going to discuss at here is Mathematics.
SPM Mathematics
In SPM, mathematics is considered as compulsory subject. You must pass this subject in order to get the certificates along with Malay language. Malay language test takes a lot of time and your hand hurts like hell after writing so many words. It’s not simple either. However, the percentage of students fail in Mathematics is higher than Malay Language in real SPM, which is ridiculous. It is told that Mathematics is quite ‘difficult’ among Art students in seminar SPM, which I can't believe my eyes either.
In my opinion, Mathematics is the easiest subject in SPM for Science students. I believe PMR students can even do with their PMR standard knowledge because some questions like volume of solid and area and perimeter of a circle being test in SPM. It’s not being taught in SPM therefore you can only depend on your past knowledge in Form 2. Although the questions are a lot easier than Add Maths, There are still some pupils having difficulties in Maths.
I see some students leave the 'haven't done' answers after they get the formulae to be applied in the questions, which they didn’t really answer the questions. Some of them don’t understand the questions’ needs. Therefore, exercises and guidance from teachers are essential for improvement.
The questions are so direct and mostly the answers will less likely to appear in decimal. You need a little bit of logic compare to Add maths. Besides that, even if you do well in monthly test, you might end up tilting head during SPM examination hall. It’s because monthly tests don’t follow the real format of SPM. Like Intervention 1 for KL state this year, there's no chance in hell this question is coming out in real SPM.
Based on SPM Maths, it consists of 2 papers
Paper 1
- 1 ¼ hors
- 40 questions
- 40 marks
Paper 2
- 2 ½ hours
- working steps must be done
- Section A
= 52 marks
= 11 questions
- Section B
= 48 marks
= 5 questions (answer 4 of out 5)
Every chapter will be tested in Paper 1. The questions will be tested from Form 1 until Form 5. Since you have already mastered the some basics in PMR, these shouldn’t be a problem. Do past year objective questions will strengthen your basic.
In paper 2, there are only certain chapters that will be tested in SPM maths. That’s why I will concentrate more on paper 2. The whole paper 2 format based on past year questions in random order with brief tips below
Confirmed to be tested every year
Paper 2 (Section A)
1) Volume of solids (which was taught in form 2)
- most of the formulae given are for this question
- make sure the formulae are used correctly
- combined solid is sum of volume of the solids
- remaining solid is the subtraction of bigger solid and smaller solid
2) Angles of elevation and depression
-using trigonometry rule
3) Mathematical reasoning
- statement ‘and’ and ‘or’
- If p, then q. If q, then p.
4) Simultaneous linear equation
- equalize the same unknown and take out
Example : 4p - 2q = 15
(2p + 4q = 19) x2 (times 2 to make unknown 4p same)
- don’t use Add Math method, answers will be different.
5) The straight line
- y = mx + c
- gradient, gradient….
- What is c? c (y-intercept) is the point where the line touches the y-axis.
6) Quadratic expressions and equations
- ‘solve the equation’ is to find the unknown
- change the equation of the question into this form
- factorise by your own or using calculator
- must state x = ?, x = ?, there will be 2 answers
7) Matrices
- will mostly ask inverse matrix
- if you’re not sure about the answer, check if the whole outcome is identical to the inverse matrix in the question.
- the answer in a) is related to b)
8) Area and perimeter of circles (same as number 1)
- 2πr (perimeter or circumference) and πr2 (area)
- (angle/360 degree) x the formulae above for the area or perimeter of certain part
9) Probability
- is more of (number / total number).
- the formulae given are plain useless
- final answer is never less than 0 or more than 1, 1 > answer > 0
10) Gradient and area under a graph
- based on speed/ time graph
= distance is area of the graph
= rate of change of velocity is gradient of the graph
= speed is based on the graph (seldom being asked)
- beware of total distance and total speed
Can be varied each year
1) Sets (2004 and 2006)
- shading based on the questions (intersection or union)
- beware of the complement such as A’
2) Graph of functions (2005 and 2007)
- the inequalities (upper line is >, lower line is <)
- if slanted line, you can imagine it into horizontal straight line. Same concept as above.
What’s the conclusion? 2008 will be ‘Sets’! Wow, I can predict what will come out in this year’s SPM. :D
Paper 2 (Section B) Answer 4 questions
1) Graph of functions
- Linear functions (less likely to come out as it’s a straight line after plotted)
- Quadratic functions (2004 and 2005)
- Cubic functions (2007)
- Reciprocal functions (2006)
= this question is easy because you can detect the type of graph after you plot it.
= elastic ruler is recommended
= x-axis and y-axis should be stated in the graph
2) Transformation
- Translation
- Reflection
- Rotation
- Enlargement ( careful with the word ‘to’ and ‘from’ because it determines the image would be smaller or bigger)
= combination of transformation like VT
-do T before V. It's some kind of law.
3) Statistic
- Histogram ( 2004 and 2005)
= x-axis the upper boundary with an additional lower boundary at the front of the graph
= y-axis is frequency
- Frequency Polygon (2006)
= x-axis is midpoint
= y-axis is frequency
- Ogive (2007)
= x-axis is upper boundary
= y-axis is cumulative frequency
= additional upper boundary should be added to the table
= x-axis and y-axis should be stated in the graph
My school hasn’t come to these chapters below, but I will try my best to explain it.
4) Plans and elevations
-well I’m not sure but what I can see is you must be able to imagine the solid from every side
-plan is looked from above
-elevation is looked from the side of the solid
-the length and the edge (ABCD) should be stated correctly
-similar to a chapter of the living skills in PMR
5) Earth as a sphere
-no comment because I’m not going to explain something that I’m not sure
-latitude is vertical and longitude is horizontal of the sphere
-nautical mile
If you concentrate on these chapters and do a lot of past year questions, I’m sure getting A1 in Maths is not a matter for you. Choose the 4 questions that you’re confident in section B paper 2. Do all questions if you think you have much time to spend for taking a nap. Why study more if you know what kind of questions will come out?
Additional Tips
1) You know doesn’t mean you can get correct, try to make less careless mistakes in each paper.
2) See through the questions word by word as there will be some tricky part in the questions, especially ‘to’ and ‘from’ in enlargement.
3) Don’t be sad if you do badly in trial SPM because the odd might come to you in SPM.
4) Be sure to study smart, not study hard. Hope this helps.
Scoring 1A in SPM Chemistry
A reader, Lix asked how to score in SPM Chemistry at Malaysia Students Forum (powered by Google Groups) so I write this post with the hope that Lix and other readers will benefit from it. I assume her to be a form 5 student this year since she mentioned the word ‘Kimia’ in her post. For your information, form five year 2006 is the last batch of secondary school students studying Science and Mathematics subjects in Malay.
Let me start this post with my own experience in SPM Chemistry from grade 4C to 1A. Last year, I scored 4C in Chemistry in my mid year examination. I didn’t even know how to write a correct chemical equation. I started worrying that I might get bad result in SPM Chemistry. From that moment, I studied very hard and finally scored 1A in SPM Chemistry. You should start revising each and every chapter in the syllabus now. How? Follow these tips:
• Master basic but important concepts
• Memorize important facts and processes
• Practise past-year SPM papers
• Practise all trial papers
Master basic but important concepts – You must at least know how to write correct chemical equation, do simple calculation and understand basic chemical concept likes Mole Concept. Note that there are only a few types of calculations in Chemistry compared to Physics so please master all the calculations. Try to learn them yourselves reading the reference books first. If you really couldn’t understand them, you should seek help from your class or tuition teacher.
Memorize important facts and processes – Memorize the colours of chemical substances, understand the salt preparation process… It works effectively although some might argue that memorizing facts is the wrong way of learning. I personally agree that you can surely get a 1A in SPM Chemistry if you could memorize all the facts. However, I strongly recommend you to understand each concept and fact before you start memorizing them. Learning Chemistry becomes more exciting and enjoyable using this method.
Practise past-year SPM papers – Past-year SPM questions will repeat from time to time because of the limited scope covered in SPM Chemistry syllabus. This is no secret that most SPM candidates realize it. Practice makes perfect. Try every question and learn from your mistakes. For essay questions, get the marking schema from your teachers so that you can see how the marks are allocated and which points or keywords deserve full mark, etc. Learning from the essay marking schemas is a highly effective method!
Practise all trial papers – After SPM trial examinations, try to get other states’ SPM trial papers and practise them. Try Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) SPM trial papers too! You can either exchange SPM trial papers with your friends from other states or get them online through certain websites. I was lucky because my Chemistry teacher collected other states’ SPM trial papers for us last year. Sometimes, one or more exact or similar questions will come out in the actual SPM Chemistry paper. SPM question leaks do happen every year.
In conclusion, you have to study and understand every chapter carefully. Believe me, you won get 1A if you have read only a few topics and focus on only certain chemical concepts. Like it or not, read-understand-memorize all topics is the only way to guarantee a 1A in SPM Chemistry.
Update: There is a very useful message posted by a reader at Malaysia Students Forum, sharing his/her personal experience on the topic 'How to Score Well in SPM Chemistry’. It is certainly worth a good read!
BooNBoX wrote,
You know what, there's an old legend in secondary school. Normally you hear this story when you are about to enter Form 4.
"Bio, Physics, Chemistry... the difference between these three pure science subjects is that, all three require different brain usage in a different percentage... In Biology, where you need 75% of MEMORIZING skill and 25% UNDERSTANDING of your text. Mean while for Physics, it's the other way round where you need only 25% MEMORIZING skill (my friend derives the formulae other than memorizes it!!) and 75% understanding. Chemistry is some way in the middle and should be the easy for all ... ... you need half memory and half understanding, i.e. you are not only memorize the formulae and concept, you need to apply them as well ..."
To be honest, for the first monthly test in my chemistry, i was about to fail ... ... i did even know how to get the numbers of atoms in a mole of oxygen gas ... ... becoz I couldn't see the concept and i did understand it... i could not imagine the concept... so.. the most important thing is .. YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THE CONCEPT...
then... you learn the basic, how to balance an equation... this is the most basic AND useful skill in chemistry... even in STPM, sometimes you really scratching your head til bleeding but still couldn't figure out the meaning and the question... all you need to do is to balance the equation and you will get the concept for that particular situation/condition... then you are half way to the answer...
the question is .. HOW TO LEARN TO BALANCE THE EQUATION ?? well... ... this is different for every individual... it's more or less like Maths... ... someone good in Maths (and understand what is Maths) could normally do better in balancing the equation... ... just take it as a simple Maths equation and maybe you will get a clearer picture ... ... break the molecules into simple element... ... ... take it simple and think simple .. then it will be...
HOW TO SCORE OK (WELL MAYBE) IN CHEMISTRY ... the most important key is ... ... go through every chapter and learn the basic concept... then... understand its concept but doing some practice questions ... ... doing questions will let you know how to apply this concept ... ...
e.g. : you study about thermochemistry... you know it's about heat produced/asorbed in a chemical reaction... ... but you won't be able to do the questions if you never done it before ... ... becoz you don't know how to apply the concept !
With the concepts in your mind... you should be able to do most questions ... but ... what if you want to do ALL QUESTIONS ??
HOW TO SCORE WELL IN CHEMISTRY then comes in your memorizing skill ... ... you need to memorize examples... ... you need to memorize the colours of elements... ... formulae... ...
you probably know about daniel cell... how to draw the cell and know which way the current going around the circuit... ... but if the question ask you to give an example ??? what if the questions asking you to build an experiment to know what element contain in an unknown substances ??
so to score very well, you will need this.
that's all i wanted to tell you all based on my personal experience. Some might feel not comfortable with my way, I understand that becoz i believe every individual got its own way to excel. Hopefully you can benefits the best from my opinion other than following it blindly.
SPM Bahasa Melayu Tips
Scoring SPM Bahasa Melayu - Karangan (Part 1 of 2)
A reader asked how to score an A in SPM Bahasa Melayu at Malaysia Students Forum. Since I was able to score a 1A in my SPM Bahasa Melayu, I have the responsibility to help other SPM candidates to get an A in this subject too. ;-) For your information, you have to pass SPM Bahasa Melayu to be eligible to continue your studies in form six or local university. Those who don’t pass Bahasa Melayu will sit for SPM July Paper (SPM Kertas Julai) the year after they have had their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.
Firstly, I would like to share the effective tips to score well in Paper 1 (Kertas 1) with you. For section A (bahagian A), you will have to write an essay within 200 to 250 words based on the material (bahan rangsangan) given. You should ensure that the length of your essay is within the suggested length and should not exceed it though I learned from my teacher that candidate can actually write to the maximum of 255 words.
Lihat gambar di bawah dengan teliti. Huraikan pendapat anda tentang usaha-usaha yang perlu dilakukan untuk menangani gejala vandalisme. Panjang huraian anda hendaklah antara 200 hingga 250 patah perkataan.
Source: SPM Bahasa Melayu Kertas 1 (1103/1) November 2005 Bahagian A
One of the questions often asked by the candidates is should candidate write the whole essay on the material given or on the topic given. For instance, in SPM Bahasa Melayu 2005 paper 1, the question for section A is just four pictures showing public property being damaged as the result of vandalism and graffiti. There is a title in bold type read: ‘GEJALA VANDALISME (Vandalism)’. Some candidates worry that they might lose the content marks if they do not write mainly about the material (images).
Actually, candidates do not have to write about the pictures (the wanton damage of public property); instead they should write an essay on the topic Vandalism. They should write about the causes (faktor/punca), effects (kesan) and/or actions (langkah mengatasinya) taken to overcome problem depending on the question. So, for SPM 2005 (referring to the question), candidate should write on the actions (usaha) to be taken to overcome vandalism. However, to play safe, candidate can include a sentence or two describing the pictures given. (Sebagai contoh, telefon awam dirosakkan dan dinding bangunan diconteng dengan bahasa kesat.)
For SPM Bahasa Melayu 2004 paper 1, the question for section A is similar to SPM 2005 in the way the question being asked, in which show four pictures of various pollution as the result of development with the title ‘PEMBANGUNAN DAN ALAM SEKITAR (The Development and the Environment)’ at the centre of the pictures. So, student should not write the whole essay about the pictures. Instead, student should write the essay focussing on the topic the Development and the Environment.
Since section A of paper 1 tests mainly on the Malay language and not the content, your essay should be grammatically correct (ayat gramatis) besides showing wide vocabulary (kosa kata luas) and interesting phrases (fasa menarik). These tips work well for section B (bahagian B) too!
Pilih satu daripada soalan di bawah dan tulis sebuah karangan yang panjangnya lebih daripada 350 patah perkataan.
Source: SPM Bahasa Melayu Kertas 1 (1103/1) November 2005 Bahagian B
In section B, you have to choose one out of five questions provided and write a continuous essay (esei) more than 350 words. Please note that if you prefer writing formatted essay (karangan berformat), you have to write it in correct format to avoid mark deduction. Here is a secret to score well in this section: write a lengthy essay! Why lengthy essay? This is because a piece of lengthy writing gives the examiner an illusion impression that you can write very well.
Personally, I usually wrote my SPM Malay continuous writing more than 700 words (about three pages depending on your handwriting). Of course, your essay should not have too many errors including but not limited to grammar, spelling and word choice errors. If however you tend to make a lot of mistakes in your writing, I would advise you to write an essay about 500 words. (more than two pages depending on your handwriting). The trick is to write your words in big text size and ensure that there are not more than ten words in each line. In addition, use some relevant idioms in your writing. Some of the common Malay idioms which you should have mastered include but not limited to bulat air kerana pembetung, bulat manusia kerana muafakat; melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya; biar mati anak, jangan mati adat and berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing.
Some questions in section B are open questions which mean that you can write about the causes (faktor/punca), effects (kesan) and/or actions (langkah mengatasinya) taken to overcome a particular problem. For instance in SPM 2005, some questions have the keywords ‘ulas pernyataan di atas’ and ‘berikan komen anda tentang pernyataan tersebut’. Meanwhile, some other questions have limited the scope of your essay. You can easily identify this type of questions by looking for the keywords like ‘berikan pendapat anda tentang peranan keluarga dalam pembentukan sahsiah anak-anak’ and ‘tulis rencana tentang usaha-usaha yang perlu dilakukan oleh pihak berkenaan bagi meningkatkan mutu sukan negara’.
For your information, the fifth question is always a literature-type question (soalan berbentuk sastera). Most of the time, the question will ask the candidates to write a short stories (cerpen) based on a theme or idiom (peribahasa) given. Choose this type of question only if you have a sound mastery of Malay language. Generally, art stream students prefer this type of question more than science stream students.
To increase the use of textbook in classroom, our government via Malaysian Examination Council (Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia) has decided to limit the scope of some SPM essay questions to the SPM syllabus since 2004. Hence you can actually spot the essay questions by excluding the past years’ topics. Besides that, you can analyse the trial papers’ (kertas soalan percubaan) essay questions. Here I show you a real instance where the trial question was similar to the real SPM question. Last year, the fifth essay question (tulis cerpen berdasarkan peribahasa ‘bulat air kerana pembetung, bulat manusia kerana muafakat’) in the real SPM examination was identical with Terengganu second BM trial paper’s fifth question. Was it a question leak (soalan bocor) or just a coincidence? There are a lot more real cases in other subjects too!
Below, a recap of the main tips of this post:
Essays should be grammatically correct (ayat gramatis) besides showing wide vocabulary (kosa kata luas) and interesting phrases (fasa menarik).
Section A
• Ensure that the length of your essay is within the suggested length.
• Do not write about the pictures. Instead, write an essay on the topic given.
Section B
• Write lengthy essay about 700 words.
• Use some relevant idioms in your writing.
• Analyse the topics covered in your form four and five textbooks, past years’ questions and trial papers.
Scoring SPM Bahasa Melayu – Kertas 2 (Part 2 of 2)
In this post, I am going to guide you in answering SPM Bahasa Melayu Paper 2 (Kertas 2) effectively question by question. Before that, I think most of you will face one common problem — running out of time when answering this paper. Why? This is because you may have spended too much time on summary (rumusan) and/or reading comprehension (pemahaman). To overcome this problem, you should do your summary and write your answers for reading comprehension quickly. Go to the next question if you face difficulty in answering a particular question. Do not waste your time thinking for answer that you know you do not know.
Another thing to take note is that your answer for every question except summary and novel should be written in one paragraph only. For instance, answer for reading comprehension should be written as below:
This is the first sentence of your answer. This is the second sentence of your answer. Please take note that you do not have to leave some space before you write your first sentence. This is the fourth sentence of your answer.
Soalan 1: Rumusan – Firstly, you should analyse the question carefully. Let say the question is
Baca petikan di bawah dengan teliti, kemudian buat satu rumusan tentang kesan-kesan pencemaran air dan langkah mengatasinya. Panjang rumusan hendaklah tidak melebihi 120 patah perkataan.
Source: Peperiksaan Percubaan SPM 2006 Sekolah Berasrama Penuh
It is very clear that the summary you are going to write will have kesan-kesan pencemaran air as the isi tersurat while langkah mengatasinya as the isi tersirat. How to write the introductory paragraph (pendahuluan)? You should read the passage thoroughly and quickly to identify (by underlining) all the isi tersurat while looking for the main idea of the passage. Your introductory paragraph (sentence) should contain the main idea of the passage. In this case, the main idea of the passage is the kesan pencemaran air. However, you cannot use the keyword ‘kesan’ because this keyword has been mentioned in the question. Instead, you should use the alternative word for kesan such as implikasi and akibat. Besides that, your introductory sentence should be more specific to get full marks (2 marks). A good introductory sentence in this case is: Petikan membincangkan implikasi pencemaran air kepada semua jenis hidupan di bumi.
For the second paragraph (isi tersurat), you should summarize the points related to akibat daripada pencemaran air in the passage. Do not add your own point of view in writing the isi tersurat. I suggest you to write about six to seven isi tersurat and two to three isi tersirat as long as your summary does not exceed the number of words permitted.
This combination of isi tersurat and isi tersirat works well for most of us because we can easily identify the isi tersurat in the passage. The reason I suggest two points for isi tersirat is that you will not get any mark if the point you have written is not included in the marking schema. You should write the isi tersirat in paragraph three. In writing the isi tersirat, you should write your own point of view not mentioned in the passage. In this example, you should write on usaha mengatasinya. Lastly, for the conclusion (kesimpulan), you should always write it in this format:
Kesimpulannya, [semua pihak/pihak apa] harus/patut/perlu bekerjasama untuk mengatasi [masalah yang dibincangkan] supaya/demi [kesan baik].
For this particular example, the conclusion should be written like this:Kesimpulannya, semua pihak mestilah bekerjasama dalam menangani masalah pencemaran air supaya rakyat Malaysia mendapat bekalan air yang selamat.
Soalan 2: Pemahaman – For questions asking the meaning of certain words (rangkai kata), you must not repeat the words being asked in the question in your answer. For instance, you answer to the question ‘Berikan maksud rangkai kata rakus mengejar keuntungan’ must not contain the words rakus, mengejar and keuntungan. An excellent answer for this question would be ‘Rangkai kata ini bermaksud gelojoh mencari faedah’.
For questions asking for your opinion, you should write your own answer not referring to the passage. For this type of questions, the marks allocated for them indicate the number of points you should write in your answer. One mark indicates that your answer should contain one point; two marks indicate your answer should contain two points; the same goes to three marks for three points. However, four marks usually indicate that your answer should contain only two points with elaboration.
For questions referring to the excerpts of the literature text, you should answer what you have learned in form four and five literature. So, a sound mastery of the entire literature syllabus in form four and five will help you to answer question 2(b), 2(c) and 2(d) correctly and quickly. Most of the time, you can forecast the actual SPM questions by analyzing the literature texts in various states’ trial papers. Most of the time, there will be question like ‘Huraikan dua perwatakan Daneng daripada petikan dan satu perwatakan daripada keseluruhan cerpen’. Some of you might now know that if you can spot more than two perwatakan in the petikan, you can actually write the additional perwatakan for perwatakan daripada keseluruhan cerpen. So, you can actually get all the answers by referring to the text given even though the question asks for perwatakan daripada keseluruhan cerpen. Give one example for each perwatakan in your answer. Daneng seorang yang tetap pendiriannya. Sebagai contoh, dia tidak mahu meninggalkan kampung halamannya.
Soalan 3: Pengetahuan dan Kemahiran Bahasa – For bina ayat, you should underline the words given in the questions for the ease of marking by the examiner. For questions 3(c) and 3(d), underline the words which you have changed or corrected in the answers. Question 3 tests your mastery of Malay language, whether you know it or you do not. So, I do not have any great tips to share with you on how to answer this question perfectly.
Soalan 4: Novel – Make sure you have read the original novels before you step into the examination hall. You should have read these novels in your form four and five. In addition to that, you should read and memorize the notes about the literature aspects of the two novels since the question will ask you to make comparison between both of the novels you have read. Give one example to support each point in your answer.
Below, a recap of the main tips of this post:
- Answer the questions quickly or you will run out of time.
- Answers except for summary and novel questions should be written in one paragraph.
Soalan 1: Rumusan – Do not repeat the keywords in the questions.
Soalan 2: Pemahaman – Tips on answering various types of questions.
Soalan 3: Pengetahuan dan Kemahiran Bahasa – Underline where necessary.
Soalan 4: Novel – Read and memorize the notes on the literature aspects of the novels you have read in form four and five.
How to Score in SPM Pendidikan Moral
Well, this is my first post in MS blog other than my self introduction one. I will mainly talk about Pendidikan Moral in this and also coming soon post as i got an A1 in my Pendidikan Moral and I also attended tuition class on Pendidikan Moral.
So...How to Score in SPM Pendidikan Moral
Some of my friends tell me that the subject Pendidikan Moral is hard for them. But it is easy IF you have a good memory and can think and analysis things logically.
Firstly, let’s go through about the format of Pendidikan Moral for SPM 2006/2007 (and I believe it will not change for these years.)
Generally, that’s TWO papers for Pendidikan Moral.
1. Paper 1 is the questions you had to attempt while SPM
2. Paper 2 is the project you need to do or they call Folio you need to do when you are in form 4 and form 5!
Just for your information, as I know from some markers that they said that Paper 2 usually will takes 10% of the marks in SPM! This one I don’t know it is actually true or not!
Before we go to Paper 1, the main topic in this post, I just comment on some tips and something you can do to get maximum marks in Paper 2!
• Get a good relationship with YOUR Moral teacher.
• Ask the teacher what he or she wants in your folio. (There are certain words that you MUST use in each article. Ask your teacher for more information on it!)
• Do everything he or she asks in your folio. (e.g.: Number of photo, format of essay and use computer or handwrite……)
• Behave as a “good boy” or “good girl” in moral class. (Supposed to be in school or all the time!)
Like my classmate, we cooperate with our teacher and ALL of us get full mark for Paper 2!
Then, for Paper 1, there are 2 sections:
1. Section A is structure question.
2. Section B is essay question.
You are provided 2 ½ hours that I consider it is very long time for you to do double check and triple check.
Make sure you had memorized all the Moral Values (“Nilai”), Definitions (“definasi”) and Key words (“kata kunci”) before you go to any moral test and SPM!
*I will mention again some tips or methods that you can use to memorize Moral Values (“Nilai”), Definitions (“definasi”) and Key words (“kata kunci”) easily.
For section A:
• You MUST answer ALL questions!
• Questions consist of moral values, definitions and KBKK (That means reasoning or logic.)
• Answer ALL questions in FULL SENTENCES and NOT in point form!
• Don’t separate your answer. (That means don’t separate one point into two sentences.)
• Don’t use those words in below that shows something uncertain:
o “iaitu”
o “sesuatu”
o “seseorang”
For section B:
• Answer ALL questions although it requires you to answer 2 only!
• Answer the essay question in only ONE (1) paragraph only!
• Answer in format below for each moral value.
o Name the Moral Valuev Give 2 keywords (“kata kunci”)
o Give your elaborations. (1 elaboration for 1 keyword.)
o Give THREE (3) moral values for each question! DON’T GIVE ONLY TWO!
For memorizing the Moral Values (“Nilai”) , Definitions (“definasi”) and Key words (“kata kunci”), you can use any method that suits you. For those have no idea on how to start, you can memorize one moral value everyday. I’m sure you can do it from today till the day you sit for SPM!
You can also make your own pocket notes that contain every Moral Values, Definitions and Key words or even some notes on answering SPM question. You can bring it along wherever you go and take it out and have a look when you are free. It is a good idea on how you spend your free time well!
Well, this post only gives you a general idea on how you can do your Moral question. I will be giving more details and examples on the coming post!
DIRECTED WRITING
In the first section of the SPM English Paper 2, students are expected to spend about thirty minutes, expanding on given notes. For this section, imagination and creativity do come into play because even though certain facts are given, they serve as a mere guide. You are required to do at least three major things:
Use the right format for your writing
Include all the facts given in the question
Elaborate or provide your OWN but relevant details) on these given facts.
From the total of 30 marks awarded here, 15 are for CONTENT and the other 15 is for LANGUAGE USE.
As a student, you can easily get full marks for content provided you follow the ensuing good advice.
CONTENT
There are three important aspects to awarding of marks for content.
a) Format
Marks awarded are usually in the range of 2-3. Make sure you read the instructions carefully. You may be required to write an informal letter, a formal letter, a speech, an article or a report. In each case, you must thoroughly realize how important it is that you suit the right format to the questions.
b) Inclusion of Given Facts
Certain facts are given in the question itself. Usually 6-7 marks are awarded if you include ALL the given facts in your writing do not leave even a single one. Couch each fact in a complete sentence. If you just use phrases or if the sentence you make is meaningless, no marks will be given.
c) Elaboration
Finally about 6-7 marks are awarded if you add details of your own to make your writing more intresting. No details - no marks !
Remember, one extra sentence or two is usually enough. You don’t have to write and write. Also, the details must be relevant, suitable and interesting too. You need to invest a little time and imagination here so that your writing won’t come across as "dry and dull".
LANGUAGE
Finally, the remainder 15 marks are allocated for language use. You must try and make sure that grammar, spelling and punctuation are as error-free as possible. Do take a little trouble to check through your writing. Write shorter sentences if you are not too sure about grammar. Avoid words that you do not know how to spell. But do begin from now to revise the spelling of simple words like "sincerely", "faithfully", "fine", "thank you", and other such frequently used words.
SUMMARY WRITING
Section B of the SPM English Paper 2 presents a question on summary writing. You are advised to spend forty-five minutes on this section.
For this section, a total of 3 marks are allocated. Of these, 20 are awarded for content and another 10 for language accuracy and style. Read the instructions carefully. By doing this, you ought to know very clearly:
Which part of the passage is supposed to be summarized (you may to be required to summarize the WHOLE passage)
What aspect of the content of the passage is to be summarized. (For instance, you may be asked to summarize only the advantages or disadvantages, or certain reactions of people or even the causes/outcomes of certain incident.
The length of your summary – i.e the number of words that you are allowed in your final summary. If it is stated that your summary MUST not be longer than 160 words, please adhere to this word limit. If you write more than 160 words, all the extra facts contained there are NOT taken into account by the examiner.
Take note of any starting words or phrases given and use them as instructed to begin your summary. Don’t forget the number of words in the starting line are included in counting the total number of words in your summary.
Once you have understood the question clearly, only ten should you begin to read the passage. Try to understand what the passage is all about – what its message/theme is or what the story is about.
During the second reading, begin to underline the important ideas and relevant tails. Pick these out and list them down. Do ensure that the points you are picking out are meeting the requirements of the question given. Read the passage once more to ensure that you have not left out any pertinent points.
Now, begin summarizing. Ignore irrelevant explanations and superfluous examples. Focus on the main ideas and those that support the theme of the passage. Generalize and convert lengthy sentences into shorter ones. Use one, or shorter words that can substitute the meaning of a long phrase in the passage. For example, "my mother, my father, my brother, and sister" can be rephrased as my family.
Group similar points together - for example the feelings of a person or the advantages of a certain procedure/machine. Rather than use three or four sentences to convey all of it, you ca put it all in one or two sentences. Use commas – they help. You will need skill for this, and that is why you should practice writing a lot of summaries before the real examination.
Many students grapple with summary writing because they get caught up with the words used in the passage. They want to use all of them. The reason? They feel that the author’s words are best and that almost all that is contained within the original passage is important and necessary to be included in their summary. As such, most students tend to copy the author’s words as much as possible and try to include almost everything from the original passage into the summary.
The result is a chop cut-and-paste version of the original. It has little meaning and relevance. It is NOT even a summary and you get a few marks when you write a chopped summary like this.
Remember, you get more marks if you use your OWN WORDS. I know this is not easy, but you must try. Don’t be afraid to rearrange, reorganize and compound facts. The main issue here is whether you have understood the meaning of the passage and whether you can faithfully translate it into a passage that is made up mainly of your own words.
So, begin practicing writing a lot of summaries now. Every time you read a report in a newspaper or an article in a magazine, ask yourself – what is this repot/article all about? What is its message? Try to summarize it in your mind. Imagine that someone younger is asking you what is it that you are reading, and try to visualize the simplified answer/version that you are going to tell him/her. That is a summary.
Where marks are concerned, try to get as many as you can for CONTENT. Stick to the meaning of the passage as much as possible but do it using your own words. Do not be lazy. Secure as many points as you can by reading and scanning the passage carefully for relevant facts and details.
Jot all of these down diligently and try to incorporate them all in a simplified, summarized form. Try not to leave out important fact. Each fact left out means one less mark for you.
As for language, do take the trouble to read through your final draft and make sure that your grammar, punctuation and spelling are as accurate as you can possibly make them. Your error must be minimal and the language you use must not make it difficult for the examiner to understand what you are trying to say.
c) CONTINUOUS WRITING
Section C of the SPM English Paper 2 presents a question on Continuous Writing. Students are advised to spend about one hour on this section.
5 topics will be given and choose only ONE.
Recognise the type of essay you are going to attempt i.e. whether it’s a narrative, descriptive, expository, argumentative or reflective.
Understand the chosen topic so that you do not write out of point.
Plan what you are going to write about.
Include enough good and relevant points.
Organize your points well and present each new or main point in a separate paragraph.
Show coherence in paragraphs.
Use idiomatic expression and include the active voice for narrative essays.
Vary the length and structure of sentences
Introduce your essay impressively and conclude it in a meaningful or original way.
Check for spelling, punctuation, grammatical correctness, especially the usage of tenses and pronouns.
Factual topics should as far as possible be avoided. This is because the material you use must be based on facts and not "guess work".
Prepared By:
Judy Nur Adeena Lee
Ketua Bidang Bahasa
