Enhancing Writing - Swiiit

Enhancing Writing

Friday, 13th March 2015

4.10 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.

P5 & P6 EL Parent Workshop

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at the following website:

www.bit.ly/eng1303

Survey

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Overview

• Format of Paper 1

• Assessment Criteria for Continuous

Writing

• Tips on How to Enhance Content in

Writing • Expanding Vocabulary

• Five Senses Approach

Format of Paper 1

Paper Components No. of

Items

Marks /

Weighting

Duration

1 Situational Writing 1 15 marks

1h 10 min

Continuous Writing

1 40 marks

Format of Paper 1

Question 1: Situational Writing

•Letter / Email / Notice / Report Writing

Questions 2: Continuous Writing

•Theme-based question

Two questions – Compulsory to attempt both questions.

Paper 1 – Situational Writing

Strategies

• Read and understand the given situation and task.

• Identify the format of writing:

– Letter

– Email

– Notice

– Report

• Time-management:

– Planning - 5 mins , Writing – 10-15 mins

• Take note of PACT during writing.

P – Purpose

A – Audience

C – Content

T - Tone

Paper 1 – Continuous Writing

Strategies:

• Understand the given theme and pictures.

• Time-management:

– Planning - 10 mins, Writing - 40 mins

• Expand main ideas with details and elaborations

• Take note of STA during writing.

S – Senses

T – Thoughts & Feelings

A – Actions and Behaviours

- Assessment Criteria - Paper 1 – Continuous Writing

Content

Language & Organisation

Relevant

Adequately developed

Mundane events

Too many dialogues

- Assessment Criteria - Paper 1 – Continuous Writing

Content

• Encourage the use of 5 senses

• Do not just think about the visual elements

• Try to imagine the smells, tastes, sounds

and feelings

Continuous Writing: Content

• Example:

– As Mdm Tan dragged herself

towards the bus stop, cars

whizzed past her along the

road. Her legs were aching

from the hours of running

errands and grocery shopping

that morning.


For once, the whirring of the steely industrial fans that

made a harmoniously monotonous drone took my

attention as I entered the hall with apprehension.

Licking my lips nervously, my friends and I waited with

bated breath for the moment to arrive. I fiddled with

my fingers clumsily as I looked at the faces of my

friends. They wore blanched expressions, which

reeked of apprehension and fear. We exchanged

muted and fearful looks while anticipating the

moment of truth.


Above text shows the author’s anxiety, describes the

environment

Paints a vivid picture of the scene in the reader’s mind.

• Move the Plot Forward

• It is important to keep your plot in mind no

matter what you are describing

• Avoid adding excessive details that do not

relate to your plot

• Character development and word-building are

both necessary to give your story life, but try

not to bog your story down with too many

trivial details

• Delve into who your character really is and

what motivates him/her


• Instead of telling the reader your character has a scar

on her right knee, you may write:

“Liz ran a finger over the scar on her knee,

remembering how she had fallen off her

motorcycle in the Championship race last

year and lost the race.”

• From this, we find out about the scar as well as how

Liz liked to ride motorbikes competitively.


• Grammar, spelling & punctuation

• Varied & appropriate vocabulary

• Sequencing & paragraphing

• Linkage of ideas

Spelling errors - vocabulary

Punctuation errors e.g. in dialogues

Multiple conjunctions in a sentence

Continuous Writing: Language & Organisation

Varying sentence structures

• I licked my lips nervously as I walked into the hall.

• Licking my lips nervously, I walked into the hall.

• Nervously, I licked my lips and walked into the hall.


Appropriate apportioning of the

story parts

• Is Introduction too long / short?

• Did the story focus on the main idea? (e.g. cause of the conflict, scene of the fire / accident, complication and resolution)

• Is the ending abrupt and illogical


Enhancing Content

Description is the key

You have succeeded if you have

managed to let the reader picture

fully what you have written in

words.

Strategies to Enhance Content

• Usage of Adverbs & Adjectives

• Expanding Vocabulary


Using Adverbs & Adjectives

Adverbs Adjectives

These are important words to give more details to your readers to describe the action or the thing that you are writing about, which are often left out.

Adding Adverbs & Adjectives

Example

I continued walking and came face to face with the

man.

How did “you” walk?

What does the man look

like?


Example

I continued walking and came face to face with the

man.

I continued walking hesitantly and came face to

face with the burly, intimidating man.


I continued walking hesitantly and came face to face

with the burly, intimidating man.

hesitantly (adv)

in an indecisive

manner, lacking

confidence or

firmness

burly (adj)

large and strong

or heavily built

intimidating (adj)

to make timid or

fearful

Justin Lever shook his fists at the

paparazzi to warn him to stay away.

How did he shake his fists?

How did he look like?

How did he feel?

Elaborating Details Using Adjectives and Adverbs

The incensed Justin Lever shook his fists

furiously at the scrawny paparazzi to warn

him to stay away.

Use of adjective related to emotion

Describing the action of the person experiencing the emotion

Use of adjective to describe physical appearance


My neighbour’s baby was crying.

Describe the neighbour.

How did the baby cry?


My fairly grumpy neighbour’s baby was

crying loudly. Her shrill cries sounded like

the wailing blast from the sirens during

Total Defence Day.


Describing the neighbour using adjectival phrase

Describing the crying action

Using similes or metaphor - likening the

cries to the sirens

Expanding Vocabulary

Tip

•Use a wide range of vocabulary to replace

the simple words found in the writing

(e.g.: verbs, adverbs and adjectives)


“Thank you, Mummy!” exclaimed Sandy.

The petite girl darted to the living room and

ripped off the wrapping paper excitedly to reveal

a big box. Inside, she found the doll set that she

had been pestering her parents for. She adored

the gorgeous dresses and the massive

wardrobe. Indeed, the birthday gift made her

euphoric beyond measure.

darted

petite darted

ripped off excitedly

been pestering her parents adored

gorgeous massive

euphoric beyond measure.


Also available for Apple iOS and Android.

http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/hungry?s=t


• Use a word cline to explore words with

similar meaning but in different “strengths”

said

mumbled

muttered

whispered

shouted

bellowed

yelled

said

from this to this

…whispered softly

…added hastily

…roared suddenly

…pleaded with a frown

…commented the cunning shopkeeper

…cried Ben, pulling the book out of his bag

…hollered Ken, thumping Bala’s back

Use of extensions to “said”

Bury the Dead Words

One Sunday morning Mr and Mrs Arable and Fern were sitting

at breakfast in the kitchen. Avery had finished and was upstairs

looking for his sling shot. “Did you know that Uncle Homer’s

goslings had hatched?” said Fern softly.

“What!” said Mr Arable. “How many?” said Mr

Arable.

“There were eight eggs but one egg did not hatch,” Fern

said barely parting her lips.

“What?” said Mr Arable.

“There were eight eggs but one egg did not hatch!” Fern said .

“Who’s Templeton?” Mr Arable said under his breath.

whispered

exclaimed asked

mumbled

asked

muttered

yelled.

An Example for You to Consider

“The fluffy, white clouds drifted slowly in the vast,

blue sky. The sound of birds chirping melodiously

filled the morning air. There was a gentle breeze

blowing against my face. The sweet smell of the

flower blooms was enough to put me in a good

mood. As I sunk my teeth into the peanut butter and

jam sandwich, an explosion of flavour erupted in my

mouth.”

Description of Setting

Commonly seen for

outdoor scenery or

settings. Do I have to

memorise

these phrases?

No, you need not

memorise them.

All you need to

do is use your…

“The fluffy, white clouds drifted slowly in the vast,

blue sky. The sound of birds chirping melodiously

filled the morning air. There was a gentle breeze

blowing against my face. The sweet smell of the

flower blooms was enough to put me in a good

mood. As I sunk my teeth into the peanut butter

and jam sandwich, an explosion of flavour erupted

in my mouth.”

Description of Setting Using Five Senses

Tips

• Get them to describe the things they see,

hear, feel, smell and taste when they are out,

especially at common places.

• Encourage them to keep a journal of these

descriptions in their note books for use in

their compositions.

Description of Setting Using Five Senses

Five Senses Approach

Do I have to

memorise these

phrases?

Can I write something

like this for indoor

settings too?

Yes, of course.

All you need to

do is use your

five senses.

What you can smell at the place

What you can hear at the place

What you can see at the place

What tastes are associated with

the incident

What you can touch/feel at the

place


Now, let’s give it a try…

You are seated in the school hall,

listening to a talk conducted by one

of the teachers in the school.

However, all you could think of was

“What’s for dinner?”

The droning sound of the air conditioner blended into

the background as the shrill voice of the teacher took

centre stage. All around me, my peers were copying

down copious notes as the talk went on. The person

sitting next to me had dabbed on an intoxicating scent

that was distracting me. Meanwhile, the plastic chair

I sat on provided no form of comfort whatsoever for

my derriere. All I could think about was the mouth-

watering green curry that Mum had promised me this

morning before I left for school.


Using ‘sounds’ as stimulus for brainstorming possibilities

Question requires the child to write

about a shocking discovery

Now put yourself in the scenario and imagine yourself being there.

How would you have interpreted these

possible sounds?

Sound

Number

Sound Origin Direction of story

1 A Hammer • Mysterious man was hammering the padlock off your neighbour’s front gate (burglary attempt)

• Burly man armed with a can of paint was trying to nail planks to the door with a message smeared across: “O$P$”

(loanshark activities)

Sound

Number

Sound Origin Direction of story

2 Faint mews from cat/ cats

Incessant barking from

your neighbour’s dog

• Someone had left a box of kittens at the lift lobby or at the staircase landing (story revolving around finding a home for these strays)

• An intruder had just entered your neighbour’s home stealthily but had caught the dog’s attention.

Tips

• Get them to discuss the things associated

to a particular feeling or occurrence,

instead of just naming it directly.

• Draw out word webs of things that are

related to these common feelings and

occurrences.

Reminder

• Experiment with new vocabulary and

methods during classwork.

• Read with a purpose and with a

notebook and a dictionary nearby.


Summary

• Continuous Writing

– Assessment Criteria

– Enhancing Content

• Using adjectives and adverbs

• Expanding vocabulary using online thesaurus

• Replacing simple words (word cline, replacing

saying verb – ‘said’)


On behalf of English Department

Mee Toh School

2015

Enhancing Writing - Swiiit

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