Posted at 07:27hin news by nascans
As a parent, you may wonder how to help your child excel in English composition on the PSLE. This is a common concern among parents who want their child to do well in the exam.
For Primary School students, writing English compositions can be daunting and overwhelming, especially if they lack experience and vocabulary. Achieving a high score in PSLE English composition requires a solid grasp of the English language and strong writing abilities.
In this article, we will share some tips to support your child in improving their English composition writing skills.
Why Do Children Struggle With PSLE English Composition?
The composition component of the PSLE exam allows students to express their thoughts and feelings through writing. However, some children may encounter difficulties with English composition due to various factors such as language proficiency, writing skills, and the structure of the examination.
One common challenge is a limited vocabulary, which can restrict a child’s ability to express themselves in writing effectively. This often results in repetitive or simplistic compositions. Another issue is a lack of creativity and ideas. Some children may struggle to generate engaging storylines or explore interesting themes, negatively impacting their composition scores.
Descriptive writing is an important aspect of PSLE compositions, and some children may struggle to describe settings, characters, emotions, or actions effectively. Inadequate planning can also contribute to a low score in composition. It’s essential for children to plan and organize their thoughts before writing to create a well-structured composition. With proper planning, their narratives may be organized and cohesive.
Finally, the time constraints of the PSLE English composition can be a source of stress for some children. They may feel pressured to complete their compositions quickly, resulting in rushed and less thoughtful writing.
4 Tips to Do Well For Your Children’s PSLE English Composition
1. Practice Good Planning and Brainstorming
• Before beginning to write, it’s essential for children to take a few moments to brainstorm and plan their composition. This can involve considering the plot, characters, setting, and the main conflict or problem.
• Creating an outline to organise their thoughts can help them maintain a logical flow in their composition.
• Encouraging your children to spend more time brainstorming before starting to write can be highly beneficial. Brainstorming is a crucial preparation step that can help them clarify their ideas, structure their thoughts and overcome writing obstacles. This process involves creativity and strategy, leading to more impactful and captivating writing.
2. Compile model compositions from top students
• Compiling model compositions from top students across different themes can be a valuable resource for your children seeking to improve their writing skills.
• Parents can reach out to schools, teachers, or educational institutions with a reputation for producing top-performing students in composition writing. You contact English teachers, writing instructors, or school administrators who may have access to compositions from high-achieving students.
• Once you’ve identified potential sources, seek permission from the students and their parents or guardians to use their compositions as models.
• You and your children can take time to analyze the writing style, vocabulary, organization, and creativity demonstrated in each piece. By offering insightful annotations and explanations, you can help your child better understand the writing techniques used by high-achieving students and inspire them to improve their own writing skills.
3. Practice Writing Regularly and broaden your child’s vocabulary through reading
• After good planning and referring to sample writings of excellent students, it’s time to practice! The more your children write, the better they’ll become.
• You can tell your children to try to write short stories, journal entries, or essays on various topics to develop writing skills. Your children can ask their teachers or peers to read their compositions and provide feedback.
• Spend more time reading: Reading books, newspapers, and magazines exposes your children to different writing styles, vocabulary, and ideas. This can improve their writing skills and expand their knowledge.
4. Edit and Proofread
Editing and proofreading are essential, so children need to pay attention to their writing process. There are some helpful tips on adjusting sentences to get higher scores in PSLE composition as follows:
• Check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
• Make sure the composition has a strong opening and a memorable closing statement.
– Your children can begin the composition with a compelling hook that captures the reader’s attention and piques their interest. It could be a thought-provoking question, a vivid description, a surprising fact, or a powerful statement.
– Then, the writing ends with a sentence or image that leaves a strong emotional or intellectual impact on the reader. This could be a moral lesson, a surprising twist, a reflection, or a powerful message.
• Use a variety of vocabulary to make your composition more interesting, avoid using repetitive words.
• Pay attention to sentence structure:
– Use a mix of simple and complex sentences to add depth to the writing. For example:
+ Simple sentences: “The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky” and “Children played joyfully in the park”.
+ Complex and simple sentences mixed: “As the sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky, casting its warm embrace upon the world, the day promised to be a delightful one. Children played joyfully in the park.”
– Instead of starting sentences with a pronoun like ‘I’ or ‘he’, swap it with the “-ing” form of the verb you would use after it. For example: Instead of “I sat by the window and I watched the rain pour down.”, write “Sitting by the window, I watched the rain pour down.”
• Use of vivid descriptions for stronger details:
– Instead of simply stating that the garden was beautiful in the morning, a more vivid description can be created by writing, “As the first rays of the sun stretched across the garden, it bloomed with vibrant colours.”
Conclusion
It is important to understand that children overcome these difficulties. Children can enhance their writing abilities with proper assistance, practice, and direction.
Teachers, guardians, and mentors can have a significant impact on aiding children in confronting these challenges by providing helpful comments, giving them more opportunities to practice, and cultivating a positive outlook towards writing. Furthermore, a nurturing and supportive atmosphere can enhance a child’s self-assurance and aspiration to excel in their PSLE English composition.
