Below
is a list of common questions that many pupils have about the dos and don’ts of composition-writing in
the examinations.
1.
Can I use numerical figures during composition-writing?
You
can and should use numerical figures for:
•
dates (including years)
•
addresses
•
telephone numbers
•
car-plate numbers
•
serial numbers (of police
officers, prisoners, etc.)
2.
Should words like ‘mother’,
‘father’, ‘grandfather’, ‘grandmother’ start with a capital letter?
It
depends. If it is used as a form of address, yes. If it is used as a generic
term, no.
Another
way to put it is if you have a pronoun in front of it, it should not begin with
a capital letter.
Example:
My grandmother is eighty years old this year. (The pronoun ‘my’ is in front of the word ‘grandmother’, which is being used as a
generic term, so it does not begin with a capital letter.)
If
there is no pronoun in front of the word, then it should begin with a capital
letter.
Example:
Janice shout, ‘Mummy, Mummy, where are you?’ (There is no pronoun in front
of ‘Mummy’, it
is being used as a form of address, so it begins with a capital letter.)
3.
Can I used the ellipsis (‘…’)
to end the story?
You
can. But you need to make sure that the story is properly concluded, i.e. the
problem/conflict has been resolved and all consequences arising from it
addressed.
Another
point to note: don’t
overuse the ellipsis. As a rule-of-thumb, don’t use it more than twice for
one PSLE composition (this does not include the use of ellipses in speech to
denote stuttering or trailing off).
4.
Should I use bombastic words to impress the examiner?
This
is a loaded question.
Using
bombastic words blindly to impress the examiner is a no-no. Having a long and
impressive-looking word in every sentence, or even every alternate sentence is
overkill.
That
said, vocabulary does play a critical role in marks awarded for language, so
you have to show the examiner you know enough words.
How
to achieve this?
•
If the word is being used
aptly, go for it.
•
Some people think that
impressive vocabulary has to be long and unusual (think ‘loquacious’) but it actually also refers
to figures of speech, idioms, and phrasal verbs (e.g. Instead of saying ‘sleep’,
you can say ‘turn in’).
•
You can also use short words
that are uncommon (‘merely’ instead
of ‘only’, ‘utterly’ instead of ‘very’, ‘rue’ instead of ‘regret’).
5.
How much dialogue is suitable?
The
rule of thumb here is no more than 3 instances of dialogue on each written
page. This is a very rough guide. It honestly depends on how effective the
dialogue is. But note that it cannot be the case that the whole story is made
up of dialogue. This section is called Continuous Writing, not Scriptwriting.
6.
What sort of storyline should I avoid?
•
No fantasy (talking animals,
elves & fairies, witches and spells)
•
No science fiction
•
No supernatural story
•
No ending the story with a
dream
•
Romance? Several students have
expressed an interest in this topic; personally I’m okay with having a tinge of
it but it shouldn’t be the main storyline.
•
Avoid topics that you are
unfamiliar with and feel uncomfortable tackling (rape/molestation, murder,
etc.) because unless you have a very vivid imagination, the story will come out
fake and unconvincing. You may even get some facts wrong.
For
a more detailed discussion on what topics are acceptable and which ones should
be avoided, click here.
7.
How long should my composition be?
For
examination requirements, a minimum word count is usually given. So many pupils
wonder if adhering to the minimum word count is good enough.
Most
of the time, it is not. I don’t want to encourage writing long compositions for
the sake of long compositions, but the truth is that to have a fully developed
story that is interesting, the word count usually has to be significantly
greater than the minimum requirement.
Excellent
writing that is short and to the point is a skill that only the most
accomplished writers have managed to achieve. Many pupils will not have
mastered this skill at the age of twelve. Case in point: in my more than 10
years of teaching, I’ve only awarded a high-30 score to a composition that is
within reasonable range of the minimum word count (if I remember correctly, it
was about 180-200 words for a P6 pupil).
Below
is a list of word count requirements for primary school. The ideal requirement
is in purple.
•
Primary 1 and 2 : 80 words
(this is not a hard and fast rule as schools have some discretion and some
schools ask for a lower minimum word count of 60 for P1 pupils) / 120-150
•
Primary 3 and 4 : 120 words / 200-300
•
Primary 6 and 6 : 150 words / 450-500
These
numbers are not cast in stone. They are just to give you a general sense of how
much you should write in order to have a decent plot and enough detail to make
your story stand out.
8.Will
I be penalised if I use American spelling?
The
PSLE used to only accept British spelling but in recent years, American
spelling is also acceptable but you must be consistent; that
means if you use ‘color’ in your composition, use ‘color’ throughout the whole
composition. Likewise if you choose to use ‘colour’.
9.
Can I use swear words like ‘fxxx’ and ‘shxx’ in my story if I’m writing about a
gangster and I want to show his speech realistically?
NO!
A most emphatic no! No expletives in your story at all, please. This will be
frowned upon by the examiner and is unlikely to garner you more marks for
realism.
What
some students do to get around this issue is to use symbols of the kind you see
in comics and manga, and in writing whereby the writer doesn’t want to spell
out the strong language for one reason or another.
E.g.:
Ah Huat stepped up to me menacingly, ‘You want to die, is it, you little
piece of s@#^!’
But
it is my sincere belief that even without profanities, you can create a
realistic and interesting story.
