English for 1C

Hi 1C!

Time for english!

What have we done so far in our 7 lessons together?

Firstly, I think we have achieved some improvement in our narrative compo skills! I have corrected a few of your compos and I do see some improvement or at least more effort put in! Well done people, keep it up! Give yourself a pat on the back!

Just to help you remember, here are some of the pointers i mentioned in class.
1) Narrative compos are always written in the PAST TENSE.
That is because you can only tell a story after it has happened, whether it is something real or something you made up.

2) Punctuation is very important because it will cause your language marks to be low!
Remember to write your full stops and commas clearly. One very common mistake was Once there was a little girl... There should be a comma after once. meaning, Once, there was a little girl. Also, use exclaimation marks where needed. It helps to get your readers mroe involved!

3) Paragraphing.
Especially when it comes to conversation. Conversations should be a new paragraph. Look at the exercise we did with The Apple and The Moon for a clearer idea. Remember too that each paragraph should express a unique idea.

5) DO NOT USE SHORT FORM! and NO DIGITS!
As your compo is a formal piece of writing, you should not be using conjunctions like don't, shouldn't, haven't, 1, 2, 3, etc etc. Must must must remember this alright? We are all lazy people and tend to look for the easy way out! hehe..

6) I always comes last.
Meaning, it should be my friends and I, Susan and I, my sister and I, my mother and I. Not me and my friends, or my friends and me. Always use I in this case. and I always come last. =)

7) Details people. Details!
Remember to include more details, such as what your monster looks like, how your character feels. Your reader is only understanding your story through your words, so make sure your idea is clearly expressed.

8) Interest your reader!
It's very important to interest your reader by making your idea clear. Leave your reader in suspense at the front and excite them towards the end. Imagine yourself as painting a picture with your words! Some of you do that very well! =)

Next, we have done 2 newspaper articles. 1) the exhumation of the teochew cemetery and 2) tough love shows parents care. For those who have handed up your blue books, I have looked through your views for 1). It's mostly well thought and well written, but the vocab was quite badly done, maybe because I didn't go through them with you. I will post the vocab answers here. I hope you will take the initiative to do your corrections!

For those who have not handed me your blue books, please do so ASAP. I believe you all are young adults and don't need me to nag right??

Thirdly, the Helen Keller comprehension. I have not had time to look at them yet but this was a fairly simple comprehension and I think most of you had no problems. I will try to go through the compre next week. I hope you remember what i said from my first lesson with you about writing your comprehension answers well and not lifting directly from the passage. Again, some of you have yet to hand up your compre book to me. Please put your book in Mrs Pathy's pigeon hole by Friday. Thanks!

Lastly, Grammar! Last week we did some fairly simple exercises about present tenses. I think most of you had no problems with them. One thing i would like to clarify would be that the present perfect tense is used when you are looking at something that has past at the current moment. It is slightly confusing but if you read often, all these should come naturally to you. Here is a good website you can look at for more information on present perfect tense: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html

Phew! Hope this helps all of you recall what we have done so far instead of wasting the time that has past! Do check back regularly for updates and to copy the vocabulary for your newspaper articles! Those who have yet to hand up homework, please please please do so! =) Thanks for your cooperation! Let's work hard together and do well!