Exam Smart Tips for Primary English Paper 1 and Paper 2

Exam Smart Tips for English Paper 1 and Paper 2

According to the Ministry of Education Singapore (MOE), the English exams assess a student’s ability in the English Language based on the Learning Outcomes stated in the English Language Syllabus. The syllabus aims to enable students to:

• Use English to express themselves
• Have foundational skills in grammar, spelling and pronunciation so they can use the English language to carry out everyday tasks like giving directions, information and instructions
• Use English to gain an advantage internationally

Most of us are able to express ourselves very well in English and carrying out everyday conversations is as easy as ABC. But then why is it difficult to score well in the English exams?

Combined, English Paper 1 and Paper 2 make up 75% of your total English PSLE grade. If students are not able to score well for Paper 1 and Paper 2, their whole grade will be pulled down. For many students, Paper 3 (Listening Comprehension) and Paper 4 (Oral Communication) may be deemed easier because they are used to speaking in English.

Due to rising standards, Paper 1 and Paper 2, both written, can be very challenging. Requirements are higher, questions are more tricky, and answers need to be very accurate and concise.

You may think, “I just have to study hard, learn difficult words and memorise grammar rules.” That is true to a certain extent. And most of the time, students KNOW the answers. But exam questions are purposely tricky. The exam forces students to read carefully and think deeply– and that is the truth of scoring well.

Do not panic when you come across a difficult question. Organise your thoughts and use logic to get the correct answer.

Keep reading to gain some useful exam-smart tips for different sections of the English PSLE Paper 1 and 2.  (The breakdown of marks/weightage will also be provided!)

English Paper 1 – Writing

Here is a breakdown of Paper 1.

Part 1 (Situational Writing)

For this part of Paper 1, students will have to write a short piece to suit the purpose, audience and context of the given situation. They will be given pictures containing the information they can use in their writing, a task and 5-6 key points to include. This short piece of writing can be a letter, email or a report.

• Make sure all the tasks are fulfilled

When reading the task you are given, make sure you understand whom you are writing to and what you should be writing about so that you don’t go off-topic.

Read the key points you need to include in your situational writing, then pick out the information from the pictures or visual text. Highlight or underline the info for easier referencing. This will help you include only the relevant points in your writing.

After you complete your writing, check through it to make sure you have included all the key points. You may use the list of key points in your question paper as a check-list. Put little ticks next to the key point if you have successfully included it in your situational writing. If there is a point without a tick, you may have forgotten to include it.

• Make sure the tone is right

Read the task carefully to know to whom you are writing. The tone you use changes according to the recipient. The tone should be polite when you are writing to someone of authority and casual when you are writing to a friend. Remember to be consistent with the tone throughout.

• Make sure your sign off is correct

Do not do everything perfectly just to throw away marks at the end. Your sign off also changes with whom you are writing to. If you are writing an informal text, you may sign off in a friendly manner, like “From,” or “Your Friend.” You will not have to include your surname. If you are writing formally, make sure you sign off accordingly, for example, with “Yours sincerely,” or “Yours faithfully.” The surname should be included.

Part 2 (Continuous Writing)

For this part, you will be given 3 pictures and a topic to write a composition of at least 150 words (For Primary 5 & 6), 120 words for (Primary 3 & 4). The aim of continuous writing is to test the student’s ability to creatively write an engaging story from a given topic.

• Always start with a rough plan

Before you start writing, take 5 minutes to plan your compo around the given topic. Know what your beginning, middle, and end will contain so you do not waste time making it up as you write. This will help you make sure the topic and one of the 3 pictures are included in your compo too.

• Remember to include the topic and use a picture

Check if you have included the topic words and used or described a picture after you are done writing. Check carefully! If the topic words or the usage of a picture is missing, you may fit them in your conclusion at least!

• Don’t give a rushed conclusion

This is where planning is extremely important. If you plan out your compo before you start, you will not have to rush your conclusion. Your conclusion should be insightful and show the character’s growth. With a well thought out plan, you should know what your character has gone through and what kind of thoughts your character should have at the end of the compo.

A well-written conclusion reflects the student’s understanding of the given topic, so even though it is just one paragraph, it will heavily affect your Content marks.

But before you continue reading, you might want to download this FREE Ebook of Model Compos first!

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• Common Test / Exam Compo Topics
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• Impactful Endings
• Powerful Vocabulary

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English Paper 2 – Language Use and Comprehension

Here’s a look at the breakdown of Paper 2.

Booklet A (MCQ)

Booklet A consists of multiple-choice questions, and each answer is worth 1 mark.

Grammar MCQ

This section tests your understanding of grammar, such as tenses, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions. There will be 10 questions. Each question contains a sentence with a blank, and you will need to choose the correct word to fill in the blank from 4 options.

The questions are rarely straight-forward. Look out for keywords in the sentences that could be possible clues to the correct answer. Keywords can include nouns or verbs. Take note of whether the noun is singular or plural, and which tense is used in the sentence (past, present or continuous).

For this section, the questions tested are quite repetitive, and the grammar rules and questions can be memorised.  Securing full marks for this section is very possible and students should be aiming to do so. 

(To learn the advanced grammar rules tested and common mistakes to avoid, you can consider joining this online course for grammar MCQ. Click here >>> PSLE Grammar Crash Course.)

Vocab MCQ

This section tests your ability to understand the context of a sentence and your vocabulary. There are 10 questions and each question is a sentence with a blank. From 4 options, you need to choose the correct word to fill in the blank. Some options will have very similar definitions and that may trip you up. First, cancel out the options that are totally wrong. Then carefully consider the other options. Pick out the subtle difference in definitions, connotation and usage, then select the word that best suits the context of the sentence.

Vocab Cloze

Similar to the Vocab MCQ section, you are looking at vocabulary in context for this section. For this section, you are given a passage and you are asked to select the most suitable synonym (from 4 options) for each underlined word in the passage. There will be 5 underlined words.

Read the entire passage first to understand the topic. Study the options and cancel out the ones that are completely wrong. You will likely be left with 2 options that are strong contenders. To check if the word you have chosen is correct, replace the underlined word in the passage with your chosen word, and see if the sentence still retains its meaning.

Visual Text Comprehension

For this section, you will be given 2 pictures with lots of headings and text. Each of the 8 questions will ask about the information from the visual text. Usually, out of the 4 options for each question, 2 will be obviously wrong and the remaining 2 options will be very close.

Cancel out the wrong options and then compare the remaining options with the original information from the pictures. Don’t rush or assume! Always think carefully and check the visual text to confirm the information before you choose an answer.

Booklet B (Open-Ended)

Booklet B consists of open-ended questions. Each question in Grammar Cloze, Editing for Spelling and Grammar, and Comprehension Cloze is worth 1 mark, while the questions in Synthesis and Transformation are worth 2 marks each. The questions for Comprehension (Open-ended) are worth 1-4 marks each.

Grammar Cloze

This section is testing your knowledge in prepositions. You will be given 15 words but the passage only has 10 blanks. You will need to fill in each blank with 1 option from the 15 words.

Before you fill in the blanks, skim through the entire passage to get the overall meaning of the topic. As you write down your answers, cancel out the options that you have used, but be prepared to change your answers. You may find that the word you used earlier is a better fit for another blank. Be flexible! When you are done, read the passage again to check that the sentences make sense and flow smoothly. 

Editing for Spelling and Grammar

This section tests your spelling ability and grammar knowledge. You will need to correct 12 grammatical and spelling mistakes, which will be underlined, in the given passage.

Read the passage carefully. Sometimes difficult words that are spelled correctly will be underlined to trick you into thinking the spelling is wrong. It is the tense that is incorrect. Be confident in your spelling abilities. If you are weak at spelling, download the Must-Know Spelling List from our website to study.

Before you carry on reading our exam-smart tips, you might want to download this spelling list first…

Here’s a list of 150 frequently misppelled words that your child needs to learn!

• Practise spelling 10 words a week
• Rewrite words spelled wrongly 5-10 times
• Improve your spelling to improve your writing!

Click here to Download

Comprehension Cloze Passage

This section tests how wide your vocabulary is, for both functional words and suitable descriptive expressions. There will be 15 blanks and you will need to fill each blank with a suitable word from your own vocabulary.

First, read through the passage to know what it is about and pick out clues surrounding the blanks based on the context or the phrasing. Sometimes the words are so simple you may slap your forehead for not thinking about it earlier. Cloze passage is a test of your reading and logical thinking skills.  It also forces you to think of the most suitable word choice based on the context or connotation.

After you are done, read through the passage again to make sure your answer suits the preposition and context of the sentence. Even if you don’t know the answer, never leave a blank. Write in your best guess, who knows – it may be accepted!

(To learn the secrets of scoring high marks for Cloze Passage, you may want to check out this online course by clicking here >>> Cloze Passage Mastery.)

Synthesis/Transformation

This is the section where you need to pay full attention! Maybe even pinch your cheeks to wake up here. For this section, you will need to construct one sentence that will give you the same meaning as the original sentence or sentences.

You must understand what grammar rule is being tested for each question. Take note of the word or phrase provided in the answer space. It will give you an idea of what grammar rule is being tested here and how you should be transforming the original sentence(s). If you only go by what sounds right, you may likely be wrong.

When checking your answers, make sure your sentence has the same meaning as the given sentence(s). Your answer must be as close to the original sentence/s as possible! So do not miss out or change articles like ‘a’ or ‘the’, and always make sure that you are using the correct singular/plural verb.

*You may want to check out this article for a more in-depth look at Synthesis and Transformation strategies >>> 7 Exam-Smart Tips for Synthesis and Transformation

*You may also want to check out this popular online course >>>  Synthesis and Transformation Crash Course

Comprehension (Open-ended)

For this section, you will be given a passage and 10 questions. Your ability to understand the passage and answer in your own words is tested.

• Read the questions carefully

Scan the questions before you read the passage. Highlight the keywords in the questions. As you read the passage, highlight and annotate parts that you think would be useful. Before you write your answer, highlight the information you need from the passage.

• Don’t start from last question

Do not start from the last question then go back to the first. The questions follow the sequence of the passage so it’s easier to start from question 1 and work your way to the last question. Jumping around the order of the questions may just confuse you.

• Give specific answers

Do not give vague answers – be specific. Vague answers show that you are uncertain of your own understanding of the passage, and they will likely be wrong.

• Double-check

When you write down an answer, always double-check with the info in the passage. Some students just answer based on what they remember from the passage and don’t check to make sure. That’s a bad habit!

(To hone your child’s Comprehension Open-Ended skills, you can consider letting him join our Comprehension Mastery Premium Subscription course here >>> Comprehension Mastery)

The English exam pushes you to learn proper grammar rules and spelling. We usually don’t think about such things when we’re chatting with family and friends, and that is why students have difficulty with the written papers.

Confidence is very important when it comes to answering correctly in the English exams. A lot of the questions in the exam are meant to be tricky, to make you think hard so you won’t answer recklessly. To become proficient in the English language, you must study hard and make sure you know grammar rules by heart. Also, if you don’t read the question carefully, you will miss out important keywords and clues. Don’t throw away your marks unecessarily! Every mark makes a difference.

All the best for your exams!

Here’s a FREE ebook that you may find helpful for Composition Writing!

80 Awesome Phrases that you can learn and apply immediately.  Boost your language marks for compo writing and WOW your teacher!

• Simple & Easy-to-use
• Minimal Memory Work
• Examples provided
• Different phrases for different emotions

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