Wednesday, June 24, 2009
We are on facebook!!!!!!!!
Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/spm-english-1119-with-Jenny-Ho/ and become a fan or just to ask questions regarding spm english 1119. I hope to get other teachers to join as well.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Descriptive Essays
In the next few weeks, I would be posting some excellent essays written by my students.
My Best Pal
Close friendships are hard to come by these days. In an ever-changing world with people striving to achieve their interpretation of preordained success, it is hard to know who your true friends are. Fortunately, I found my best pal early at the tender age of seven. We were both enrolled at the same school and were at wits’ ends as we searched tirelessly for our designated classes.
Samantha and I got acquainted as both of us were in the same class and sat next to each other. Samantha was a happy-go-lucky girl who always managed to breathe fresh air into the sometimes arid classroom. She always knew what to say and would voice them at the best possible moments. Both pupils and teachers alike enjoyed her company and liveliness. There was hardly ever a dull moment when she was around with her funny quips and expressions.
Samantha was born with a silver spoon. Her father was a businessman and her mother owned and ran a boutique. Both her parents were very caring towards her as she, just like I, was the only child of the family. Samantha came to school each day with a perpetual smile. She was a very nice person to be around with. She and I used to go everywhere together and both of us were rarely seen apart. We used to talk about so many things as we walked, thoroughly enjoying our time together.
One day, I went to school and forgot to ask my parents for lunch money. At first, I was not hungry and thought I could bear going without a meal but soon, my stomach began to growl. Without asking, Samantha generously paid for my meal and drinks during recess. The incident revealed to me how lucky I was to have such a caring and compassionate friend.
As time went on, people started teasing us as we were spending more and more time together. We seemed to know what each other thought and we cared for each other deeply. Was I in love with her? I did not know then and we both knew we were too young for all that emotional roller coaster.
Currently, Samantha and I are studying at different schools. It was hard to be apart at first, but technology in the form of instant messaging and e-mails have helped to bridge the gap in our friendship. I sincerely wish our friendship will never end as it would be equivalent to waking up from a beautiful dream.
Written by, Manu Menon (2007) (edited version)
My Best Pal
Close friendships are hard to come by these days. In an ever-changing world with people striving to achieve their interpretation of preordained success, it is hard to know who your true friends are. Fortunately, I found my best pal early at the tender age of seven. We were both enrolled at the same school and were at wits’ ends as we searched tirelessly for our designated classes.
Samantha and I got acquainted as both of us were in the same class and sat next to each other. Samantha was a happy-go-lucky girl who always managed to breathe fresh air into the sometimes arid classroom. She always knew what to say and would voice them at the best possible moments. Both pupils and teachers alike enjoyed her company and liveliness. There was hardly ever a dull moment when she was around with her funny quips and expressions.
Samantha was born with a silver spoon. Her father was a businessman and her mother owned and ran a boutique. Both her parents were very caring towards her as she, just like I, was the only child of the family. Samantha came to school each day with a perpetual smile. She was a very nice person to be around with. She and I used to go everywhere together and both of us were rarely seen apart. We used to talk about so many things as we walked, thoroughly enjoying our time together.
One day, I went to school and forgot to ask my parents for lunch money. At first, I was not hungry and thought I could bear going without a meal but soon, my stomach began to growl. Without asking, Samantha generously paid for my meal and drinks during recess. The incident revealed to me how lucky I was to have such a caring and compassionate friend.
As time went on, people started teasing us as we were spending more and more time together. We seemed to know what each other thought and we cared for each other deeply. Was I in love with her? I did not know then and we both knew we were too young for all that emotional roller coaster.
Currently, Samantha and I are studying at different schools. It was hard to be apart at first, but technology in the form of instant messaging and e-mails have helped to bridge the gap in our friendship. I sincerely wish our friendship will never end as it would be equivalent to waking up from a beautiful dream.
Written by, Manu Menon (2007) (edited version)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Directed Writing
You will be required to write the following:
1 Letters - Formal
Informal
2 Report - for a survey, for a school magazine/newsletter
3 Articles
4 Speech
5 Description of an event/person/place
6 Recount (e.g. retelling of events in a diary)
The first thing you need to know is the format for each of the above for they garner about 3 marks.
Letter - the usual addresses, date, salutation, etc should be there. You should sign off with "Yours faithfully" for formal letters and not 'Yours sincerely'.
Salutations: Dear Sir or Dear Madam or Dear Edmund
For informal letters: Dear Susan,
For report, follow the format given by the textbook.
Title of the report
End with:
Reported by:
Jenny Ho
Secretary
English Society
For articles:
Title of article
By: Jenny Ho
1 Letters - Formal
Informal
2 Report - for a survey, for a school magazine/newsletter
3 Articles
4 Speech
5 Description of an event/person/place
6 Recount (e.g. retelling of events in a diary)
The first thing you need to know is the format for each of the above for they garner about 3 marks.
Letter - the usual addresses, date, salutation, etc should be there. You should sign off with "Yours faithfully" for formal letters and not 'Yours sincerely'.
Salutations: Dear Sir or Dear Madam or Dear Edmund
For informal letters: Dear Susan,
For report, follow the format given by the textbook.
Title of the report
End with:
Reported by:
Jenny Ho
Secretary
English Society
For articles:
Title of article
By: Jenny Ho
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Tips for Summary Writing
1 Read the text once through and try to get a gist of what the text is all about.
2 Read the question and determine the task; look out for words like
feelings, response, what you saw and did, benefits, problems, advantages and
disadvantages
3 Do not try to rephrase if you are not very good in English. It is better to
select intelligently and join the sentences with connectors.
4 Content = 10 marks Language = 5 marks
So, it is better to go for content. If the sentences are lifted intelligently,
you will get about 2 marks for language.
5 Memorise some synonyms as they are useful to replace single words. This will
help you get more marks for language.
6 Do keep within the word limit as points after 130 words are not taken into
account.
2 Read the question and determine the task; look out for words like
feelings, response, what you saw and did, benefits, problems, advantages and
disadvantages
3 Do not try to rephrase if you are not very good in English. It is better to
select intelligently and join the sentences with connectors.
4 Content = 10 marks Language = 5 marks
So, it is better to go for content. If the sentences are lifted intelligently,
you will get about 2 marks for language.
5 Memorise some synonyms as they are useful to replace single words. This will
help you get more marks for language.
6 Do keep within the word limit as points after 130 words are not taken into
account.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Journals
Some of the journals from my class as promised....hope you get inspired too
As you can see, some of the journals starts with a word collage. If you find it too frightening to start with an empty page, decorate the page first....
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Join us in our journalling project
As you may have read in my previous posts, I am a great believer in journal writing to help students improve in their writing. My class has just finished a 30-day writing journal and we have started a new one. We are going to spend some time decorating our journal cover. We will also use pictures from magazines and drawings to decorate the pages. I hope to posts some of the students' journal here.
I have copied another 30 writing prompts for them and you can copy and paste it into your journal.
Journal Prompts
Take a prompt each day and respond to it in your journal.
Write as long as you can.
1 Write about someone who influenced your day today.
2 What are some of the traits you most dislike about your mom?
3 What are those those things you love about your mom?
4 What are some of the traits you most dislike about your dad?
5 What are those those things you love about your dad?
6 Write about what your dream life would be.
7 Write about what your dream job
8 Write about your best friend
9 Write about your worst enemy
10 What was your most embarrassing moment, describe in detail.
11 Write about a time when you lied to save yourself. Describe what happened.
12 Write about your grandfather or grandmother
13 As you grow up how have you changed emotionally?
14 If given a chance, what country would you like to visit and why?
15 Make a list of the top 10 cool things in your life
16 What is something you disagree with your parents?
17 Why do you REALLY have to go to school?
18 If you could change one thing about school, what would it be?
19 Make a list of the top 10 values or beliefs you have.
20 Write about 5 life lessons that your mother taught you
21 What is something you would NEVER do, no matter what.
22 What could your best friend talk you into doing?
23 You win the lottery, what then? What would you do with your life?
24 In a storm, you lose all your belongings, and possessions, write how that might feel.
25 Imagine you are dying, who would you deeply talk to, and what would you say?
26 If you have one year to live, what would you like to do?
27 Write about a time you felt rejected
28 Make a list of 10 nice things you would like to do for yourself
29 Write about a teacher who has inspired you when you were young
30 Describe the qualities of your future life partner
31 Describe your ideal bedroom
32 Describe your ideal house
33 What would you do if you were to inherit RM1 million?
34 How would you like to spend your birthday?
35 Write about three interesting characters in your class
36 Collect something from nature today and write about it
37 Who do you talk to when you have a problem?
38 What is your advice to those younger than you?
39 List down the things that you are thankful for in your life
40 Which is least important to you--money, power, fame--and why?
I have copied another 30 writing prompts for them and you can copy and paste it into your journal.
Journal Prompts
Take a prompt each day and respond to it in your journal.
Write as long as you can.
1 Write about someone who influenced your day today.
2 What are some of the traits you most dislike about your mom?
3 What are those those things you love about your mom?
4 What are some of the traits you most dislike about your dad?
5 What are those those things you love about your dad?
6 Write about what your dream life would be.
7 Write about what your dream job
8 Write about your best friend
9 Write about your worst enemy
10 What was your most embarrassing moment, describe in detail.
11 Write about a time when you lied to save yourself. Describe what happened.
12 Write about your grandfather or grandmother
13 As you grow up how have you changed emotionally?
14 If given a chance, what country would you like to visit and why?
15 Make a list of the top 10 cool things in your life
16 What is something you disagree with your parents?
17 Why do you REALLY have to go to school?
18 If you could change one thing about school, what would it be?
19 Make a list of the top 10 values or beliefs you have.
20 Write about 5 life lessons that your mother taught you
21 What is something you would NEVER do, no matter what.
22 What could your best friend talk you into doing?
23 You win the lottery, what then? What would you do with your life?
24 In a storm, you lose all your belongings, and possessions, write how that might feel.
25 Imagine you are dying, who would you deeply talk to, and what would you say?
26 If you have one year to live, what would you like to do?
27 Write about a time you felt rejected
28 Make a list of 10 nice things you would like to do for yourself
29 Write about a teacher who has inspired you when you were young
30 Describe the qualities of your future life partner
31 Describe your ideal bedroom
32 Describe your ideal house
33 What would you do if you were to inherit RM1 million?
34 How would you like to spend your birthday?
35 Write about three interesting characters in your class
36 Collect something from nature today and write about it
37 Who do you talk to when you have a problem?
38 What is your advice to those younger than you?
39 List down the things that you are thankful for in your life
40 Which is least important to you--money, power, fame--and why?
How can I help you?
I have received some requests thus far thru e-mails and comments. One would like to know how to write essays. Someone asked me to mark his essay. Another has a question on literature. Others are searching for past-year questions. I have dealt with some topics in the older posts. So, check it out. However, for those who are sitting for their exam soon, how can I help you? Click on comments or visit my guest page and make your request.
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