SPM semakin mendekati

Teks: Teacher Rozanne

SPM tidak lama lagi bakal menjengah. Apa persediaan anda sebagai calon SPM? Setakat hari ini apa perasaan anda? Gelabah? Atau ada yang merasakan masa anda masih panjang sebelum menjelangnya hari keramat tersebut?

Apa pun yang anda rasai sekarang ini sebagai seorang yang bakal menghadapi peperiksaan besar ini, baca tips di bawah untuk persediaan subjek Bahasa Inggeris anda. Mudah-mudahan tips yang diberikan bakal merubah sedikit hala tuju anda ke arah melengkapkan lagi persediaan anda menghadapi SPM dengan 'senjata' yang ampuh. Jom lihat di bawah:

1) Ingat, komponen yang menyumbang markah terbanyak dalam kertas Bahasa Inggeris 1 dan 2 adalah 'writing'. Merangkumi: [Kertas 1] Directed Writing (35 markah), Continuous Writing (50 markah) & [Kertas 2] Summary (15 markah), Novel (15 markah). Jumlah keseluruhan adalah 74 peratus!

2) Jika masih lemah dalam 'writing', apa perlu dilakukan? Baca, baca & baca sebanyak mungkin 'sample essays', kemudian pilih 1 tajuk, simpan semua bahan rujukan tadi, dan tulislah dengan tekun, sambil mengingati sebanyak mungkin fakta-fakta yang telah dibaca tadi & masukkan dalam penulisan anda. Amaran: JANGAN SEKALI-KALI HAFAL DAN TULIS SEMULA TEKS YANG DIHAFAL! Tujuan anda membaca 'sample essays' adalah supaya anda mendapat idea bagi 'sentence structure' & percambahan idea untuk menulis mengikut tajuk yang diberikan. Menghafal dan menulis semula teks yang dihafal 'blindly' adalah amat berbahaya kerana anda mungkin tidak menjawab soalan yang dikemukakan. DO NOT EVER DO THAT PLEASE!

3) 'Bertarung' dengan diri sendiri. Pada masa-masa begini, jangan sesekali 'compare' diri anda dengan rakan yang lain. Ini boleh menyebabkan tekanan anda menjadi semakin hebat. So, do not put unnecessary pressure on yourselves. Ikut 'pace' sendiri tapi mesti konsisten & bersemangat tinggi kerana masa tidak menunggu anda!

4) Latih diri menjawab setiap bahagian dalam kertas peperiksaan mengikut masa yang ditetapkan. Paling baik jika anda boleh kurangkan 5 minit bagi setiap bahagian, supaya anda boleh gunakan baki masa tersebut bagi memeriksa semula jawapan anda, andai ada yang anda cuai semasa menjawab tadi.

5) Jaga kesihatan diri. makan makanan berkhasiat, tinggalkan 'junk food', sekurang-kurangnya untuk ketika ini sehingga selesai peperiksaan. Pastikan rehat secukupnya dan buat jadual aktiviti seharian anda, jangan lupa masukkan riadah atau senaman dalam jadual anda. Ingat, minda yang cerdas datang dari badan yang sihat.

5) Akhir sekali, walau apa pun perasaan anda ketika ini, ingat bahawa Tuhan sentiasa mendengar dan tahu apa yang anda buat. Jadi, selain usaha tanpa henti, jangan berhenti berdoa.

Selamat maju jaya!

Teacher Rozanne

Teknik menjawab novel SPM Sing to The Dawn

Teks: Rozanah Zakaria

Contoh soalan:

Write about a memorable event in the novel. Explain how this relates to a character in the novel.

In the novel Sing to the Dawn by Minfong Ho, a memorable event in the story is when Dawan is announced as the winner for the scholarship to further her study in the city. This event is closely related to Dawan as she did her best to attain the scholarship.

When Dawan is announced as the winner for the scholarship, she is shocked as she never expects a girl would win the prestigious award. This part is memorable as it relates to her determination later, when she seeks help from people around her, to let her achieve her dream. Her determination is shown when she goes to see the head monk to help her convinve her father, to let her go to the city. Her father believes that a girl furthering her study is a waste of time. Since she knows her father respects the head monk, she is confident that, if the head monk persuade her father, he will let her go. However, it turns out to be a sour affair for her as the head monk, similar to others in the village, belief that a mere schoolgirl like Dawan does not deserve a higher education. She is so frustrated that she runs out of the temple crying. Yet, she does not stop there. She is still determined in convincing her father to let her go. Looking at Dawan's determination, it is indeed a memorable event when she is announced as the winner for the scholarship. It sparks the determination in her to secure what is hers. We as teenagers should always follow Dawan's characteristic.

Next, after she is announced as the winner for the scholarship, Dawan shows her caring side when she is more concerned of her brother's feeling. After knowing the result, friends surrounded her. Yet, she has mixed feeling of happy and worry at the same time. She is looking for her brother Kwai. As usually they will walk home togeher after school, that day she is worried as Kwai is seen clutching to his books, looking sad. Then Kwai disappears. When she reaches home, Kwai is not there either. This shows that Dawan is caring towards her brother. Even she is happy that she gets what she always wants, she is aso concerned about Kwai since she knows that he has high hope to get the scholarship as well. This is shown when they are sitting on the old rickety bridge at dawn, whenKwai tells her about his dreams of exploring the city if he gets to go there. Kwai also tells about how he will come back to the village and help his father with new ways of farming. Remembering all these, Dawan is sad for her brother. She is in dilemma as she herself really yearn to be there in the city, but at the same time, she is concerned of her brother's frustration of not getting what he always dreams of. Here, we can see that Dawan is caring towards her brother even she has got what she wants. I believe we should always be caring towards our siblings, like what Dawan shows towards her brother, Kwai.

Other than that, this is a memorable event for Dawan when she is announced as the winner for the scholarship as this shows Dawan's bravery to speak up for herlself. In her village, it is uncommon for girls to speak up. For example, Dawan is not confident at first when she wants to ask questions to her teacher. However, with Kwai's encouragement, she speaks up. She ia surprised when her teacher doesn't ignore her. Then, she is brave to talk to her father, to let her pursue her study in the city. She asks her father to let her try, giving example of the sparrow that is never let out of the cage. Her father is shocked but eventually he grants her his permission to let her go. We can see Dawan's bravery here as she speaks up for herself with his father when her mother is also afraid of him. I believe we should be brave like Dawan, in fighting for our right in life. 

All in all, it is a memorable event when Dawan is announced as the winner for the scholarship as this shows us her determination, caring and bravery in fighting fir her right for education. Let us be like Dawan, fighting for our right, as well as for our society's whenever it is needed of us. 

How to improve your essay writing for SPM

Text: Rozanah Zakaria

Improving your essay writing is a crucial thing to do. It is not as easy as ABC, yet it is attainable if you have enough determination to pursue it.

As for your SPM examination that is around 5 weeks to go (minus one week of holiday in October), these are some quick ways that may help you:

1) read articles of current issues.

I would like to recommend the Star Online paper as this will help you with the sentence structure, vocabularies and most importantly, giving you ideas on what to write for your essay.

2) make dictionary your best buddy.

Always look up the dictionary for any words you find difficult to understand.

3) practice writing every day.

Write every day as this will prepare you to get used to writing. At this time, since your SPM is getting very near, you can write a page a day. Topics to write? Rewrite whatever you read on the newspaper. Hopefully by doing this, you will find it easy to write during your exam.

Happy writing! 😊

Report Writing

Text: Rozanah Zakaria

Dalam section A, kertaa 1, Bahasa Inggeris 1119/1, bahagian A ini adalah Directed Writing.

Kali ini jom tengok bagaimana menulis Report atau Laporan.

Mulakan dengan stabdard format:

To:

From:

Title:

Bagaimana anda tahu format Report ini begini? Well, dalam kertas soalan, buasanya bahagian bawah selepas content points, akan ditulis begini:

When writing the report, you must:

• address your report to the Teacher Advisor

• provide a title

• include your name

• use all the notes given

• add one suggestion _______

Address your report maksudnya tujukan report itu kepada individu yang berkenaan, contoh di sini adalah Teacher Advisor. Kalau di situ ditulis Principal, jadi ikut kehendak soalan, ok?

Kemudian provide a title. Bagi tajuk untuk report. Baca arahan di atas sebelum content points, ha, dekat situ ada diberikan apa yang anda perlu tulis. Jadi tajuk sudah diberikan, cuma ambil dan tulis. Make sure setiap letter permulaan is capitalised. Contoh: Report On Cleanliness At Our School.

Include your name, maksudnya tulislah nama anda ye. As simple as that! 😉.

Selesai semua tu, dah dapat 3 markah untuk format. Senang kan? Macam mana pula nak kembangkan isi kandungan atau content points? Ikuti entri seterusnya ok?

Selamat menghadapi peperiksaan percubaan SPM!

Preparing for your SPM trial exam

Teks: Rozanah Zakaria

Photo: Carian Google

Trial semakin hampir. Bagi Penang, minggu 4 September adalah minggu yang mendebarkan. Peperiksaan Percubaan SPM akan berlangsung!

Bagi sesetengah negeri lain, mereka sudah di pertengahan 'medan pertempuran'. All the best from me!

Bagi yang bakal menghadapi trial awal September ini, apa persediaan saat akhir anda? Apa perlu dilakukan bagi subjek Bahasa Inggeris 1119/1 & 1119/2?

Kita lihat satu-persatu. Kertas 1: esei.

Section A:

Get yourself familiar with all the formats of writing namely:

formal letter, informal letter, article, report & talk/speech. Tak pasti? Baca semula nota-nota dalam buku catatan anda.

Sepatutnya juga, anda juga sudah tahu bahawa setiap isi (content point) patut dihuraikan sekurang-kurangnya dalam 1 atau 2 ayat. 

Section B:

 Pilih 1 tajuk yang anda paling yakin untuk jawab, quickly draw your draft (not more than 10 minutes) dan terus menulis tanpa henti! Berpandukan draft ringkas, idea flow anda tidak akan tersekat. Be confident in writing the topic. Tulis sekurang-kurangnya 2 muka surat.

Are you ready by now? Semoga anda berjaya! ☺️

Love,

Teacher Rozanne

Panduan Menjawab Section B, Kertas 2, 1119/2 Bahasa Inggeris SPM

Teks: Rozanah Zakaria

Section B adalah section yang dikatakan paling 'mudah' dalam kertas 2, Bahasa Inggeris SPM.
Ya, section ini agak 'mudah' sebenarnya jika dibandingkan dengan bahagian-bahagian lain dalam kertas 2 ini.

Jom tengok apa yang 'mudah'?
Lihat juga nanti apakah 'trick' yang mungkin membuatkan anda 'terperangkap' jika tidak berhati-hati di bahagian ini.

1) Ejaan atau spelling amat PENTING bagi bahagian ini.

Jaga spelling dan capitalisation anda. Apa itu capitalisation? Maksudnya kena tahu bezakan yang mana perlu ditulis dengan huruf besar dan yang mana perlu ditulis dengan huruf kecil. Sound simple, tapi ramai SPM candidates yang cuai part ini, menyebabkan markah hilang.

2) Jawab hanya apa yang ditanya.

Jika ditanya 'date', jawab 'date' sahaja, jangan ditambah 'time' atau  'day'. Unnecessary extra information juga menyebabkan markah anda ditolak.

3) Unsur HOTS

Saya yakin semua pelajar maklum tentang hal ini. Eleman HOTS atau KBAT ini menjadi elemen wajib merentasi semua matapelajaran sekarang ini.

Bagaimana menjawab soalan-soalan sebegini?

Pastikan anda gunakan ayat yang diolah dari teks yang diberi atau gunakan ayat sendiri.
Biasanya soalan aras tinggi memerlukan anda faham teks yang diberi, kemudian membuat andaian atau kesimpulan berdasarkan maklumat yang diberi.

Jadi, sudah faham requirement Section B?

Sekarang, cuba buat latihan yang diberi guru anda, lihat samaada anda boleh mencapai perfect score 10/10 setiap kali latihan.

Jika tidak, banyakkan latihan sehingga anda berjaya mendapat perfect score ini!

Selamat maju jaya!

Mastering Summary Writing

Text: Rozanah Zakaria

Photo: Rozanah Zakaria

Writing is like drinking the right tea for your specific needs. *wink*

As simple as it looks, summary can be a complicated matter if you are not careful of its techniques.

One of it is:

- be extra careful not to include unnnecessary details in the writing.

How to be sure of that?

Well, read and reread the questions many times to ensure you get the correct understanding of them.

Until the next tip, happy writing! 😍

Teacher Rozanne

Section B Paper 2 SPM

Teks: Rozanah Zakaria
Foto: Rozanah Zakaria

Tekun dan saling-membantu adalah antara syarat utama untuk berjaya.

Bahagian B Kertas 2 SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) mengandungi 10 soalan.

Calon perlu mengisi tempat kosong yang disediakan, berdasarkan stimulus yang diberikan.
Bagi bahagian ini, semua soalan adalah agak 'straight-forward', maksudnya, jawapan boleh diambil terus daripada teks yang disediakan.

Namun, seiring pelaksanaan KBAT (Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi), ada sedikit perubahan bagi teknik menjawab.

Mungkin ada beberapa soalan yang calon perlu tambah perkataan tertentu bagi menjawab soalan berkenaan dengan tepat.

Satu peringatan untuk menjawab bahagian B ini bagi mendapat markah penuh, calon mesti memastikan jawapan tidak melebihi apa yang dikehendaki oleh soalan, atau istilahnya dipanggil 'overlifting.'

Jaga ejaan supaya tidak tersilap walau satu huruf, kerana kesilapan yang selalu dianggap 'kecil' ini adalah antara punca calon hilang banyak markah bagi bahagian ini.

Selamat menjawab!

How to be good in writing, naturally.

Text: Rozanah Zakaria

Photo: Rozanah Zakaria

Try to recall and jot down any occurences throughout your day.

Hi to all readers!

Have you written anything in your writing book today?

Haven't? Well, you better do so now!

What to write?

As one of the SPM examintation candidates next year, you should start with your writing before the school reopen on 3rd January next year!

You can start writing a Daily Journal. It's actually quite similar to your diary writing. Make it a habit to jot down anything that comes to your mind, on papers. Plus, add a few new vocabularies every day.

When to write?

Even you are free to write at any time you wosh, I suggest the time before you go to bed.

Why?

It is the time before you retire for the day and usually that will be your quiet time, so you usually are able to think more clearly. Plus, writing at the end of the day - of all the occurences  throughout the day - will help you boost your memory as well. Does it not sound interesting? Sure, it is, right?

So, wait no more, hit the bookstore, get yourself a notebook for your Journal Writing today!

Happy writing.

SPM Paper 2 1119/2, Summary Writing

Teks: Rozanah Zakaria

Dalam summary, calon SPM perlu ingat, calon perlu:

1) menulis dengan ringkas dan padat (tiada contoh-contoh yang tidak perlu)

2) untuk tidak menggunakan linkers (furthermore, despite, though, next dan sebagainya) jika tidak perlu.

3) memastikan tiada kesalahan ejaan (nampak remeh tapi sangat penting!)

4) menulis dalam hanya 130 perkataan (termasuk 10 perkataan yang diberi).

Selamat menjawab!

Summary Kertas 2, Bahasa Inggeris SPM

Teks: Rozanah Zakaria

Dalam menulis summary SPM, pastikan anda TIDAK:

1) menambah point sendiri

2) mengubah MAKSUD ayat selain dari yang diberikan dalam teks

3) membuat kesalahan ejaan

Kenapa?

Kerana kesalahan yang sedikit, jika dilakukan berulang-ulang sehingga mencacatkan summary, membuatkan anda hilang markah. Rugi bukan?

Selamat menjawab!

Section B SPM Kertas 2 Bahasa Inggeris

Teks: Rozanah Zakaria

Para pelajar calon SPM mesti sangat cermat dan berhati-hati menjawab bahagian B ini. Ini kerana pemarkahan bahagian ini adalah sangat 'strict' kerana ia antara bahagian yang paling 'senang' dalam kertas 2, Bahasa Inggeris SPM.

Antara hal penting yang perlu diambil perhatian adalah:

1) pastikan tiada langsung kesalahan ejaan (termasuk penggunaan kata nama khas)

2) jawab apa yang ditanya sahaja, ringkas tetapi padat (contoh: jika soalan bertanya tentang masa, jadi jawapan mesti berkenaan masa, bukan termasuk hari dan tarikh)

Itu sahaja, selamat skor 10/10 untuk bahagian ini!