SPM ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1119

GUIDELINES FOR
ENHANCEMENT IN ESSAY
WRITING: PART 3

Prepared by
ZANURIN BIN MOHAMAD SAFAR
Guru Cemerlang Bahasa Inggeris
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kulim

 TASK 3: Tell your friend next to you

HOW AND WHEN to use each of the
verbs below:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

drives
drive
were driving
is driven
have driven
drove
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STRATEGY 1: APPLY DIVER

FORMS TO ENHANCE YOUR
MASTERY OF TENSES
DIVER FORMS (Different Verb
Forms)
Why?
To enhance the mastery of basic
tenses
To reduce errors
To improve language quality
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 LETS REVISE SOME BASIC RULES

(page 4):
Simple present tense
Simple past tense
Continuous tense
Perfect tense
Passive verbs
APPLY Sub-TiMe

 Apply SubTiMe - three crucial questions

which students must ask:
Question 1: SUB stands for subject
Students must determine the status of
the subject in the sentence by
determining the status of the verb. They
ask themselves, Is the verb singular
or plural?
Therefore, always remind yourself
When the verb is singular, the
subject must be
singular/uncountable/abstract &
When the verb is plural, the subject
must be plural/countable
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Question 2: TI stands for

time Does the action
happen at present or in
the past?
Question 3: ME stands for
meaning What does the
verb mean?
Ask the questions above
BEFORE CONSTRUCTING EACH
SENTENCE

 TASK 4: Construct a sentence based

on each of the verbs below
1. ban
2. banned
3. has banned
4. bans
5. are banning
6. is banned
Time: 6 minutes
Be prepared to present them
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 MESSAGE:
EVERY SENTENCE THAT YOU WRITE HAS
A VERB
IT IS A FACT THAT ONE OF THE
COMMON ERRORS IS ERRORS ON
VERBS
THEREFORE, THERE MUST BE ONGOING
PRACTICES TO MASTER ALL TENSES
TO REDUCE ERRORS ON VERBS
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. AGREE?
APPLY DIVER FORMS (page 5 & page 6)
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 STRATEGY 2: MASTER PAST TENSE VERBS.

HOW?
PARAGRAPH WRITING SCHEME (PAWS)

STEPS:
1. Think of one starting sentence
2. Continue writing several more sentences
3. Write whatever ideas/details that come
across your mind.
4. Determine the length of the paragraph
5. The length must increase from time to
time
6. Underline every past tense verb in the
paragraph

Starting sentence: I was totally clueless why

I kept on thinking of my biggest enemy.
I even dreamt of him last night.
He apologised to me repeatedly but I just
ignored him.
Finally I accepted his apology and he was
bursting with joy.
My handsome enemy invited me for dinner
at a posh restaurant which belonged to his
father.
I really wanted to say No! but out of thin
air, I said Yes to him [73 words]
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 TASK 5 :
Write a paragraph based on the
starting line given:
Suddenly I heard my name was called
repeatedly and the person shouted at
the top of his/her voice saying I love
you!
Preparation: 5 minutes
Get ready to present your paragraph

THE POINT IS

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 OTHER STARTING SENTENCES

OPA STYLE: VERSION 1
(GENERAL)
When I opened the door, I saw a
bag full of money in front of me.
I wanted to tell him how much I
liked him but
The moment I stepped into the
classroom, all my classmates
looked at me strangely.
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 OTHER STARTING SENTENCES

OPA STYLE: VERSION 2 (BASED
ON INCIDENTS/EVENTS)
I witnessed the tragic accident.
The robbery happened right in
front of Maya.
It was a memorable farewell party.

Everybody had fun at the reunion.

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MESSAGES:
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. AGREE?
(Page 7)
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WRITE 100
ESSAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR PAST
TENSE VERBS
HOWEVER, YOU ONLY NEED TO
WRITE SHORT PARAGRAPHS ON
ONGOING BASIS
TRY TO WRITE ABOUT AS MANY
EVENTS OR INCIDENTS AS POSSIBLE

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 TASK 6:
Feeling?
He is
Feeling?
She is
Feeling?
He is
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STRATEGY 3: USE SOPHISTICATED

WORDS AND IDIOMS IN YOUR
ESSAY
Why? To enrich your language quality +
to gain merits
TASK 7: List down adjectives and idioms
that you know to show happiness.

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SOME EXAMPLES OF SOPHISTICATED

ADJECTIVES AND IDIOMS THAT SHOW
HAPPINESS
1. RADIANT
2. ELATED
3. ECSTATIC
4. CONTENTED
5. EUPHORIC
6. I WAS ON CLOUD NINE.
7. SHE WAS BURSTING WITH JOY.
8. THEY WERE DELIRIOUS WITH JOY.
9. SHAM WAS ALL AGOG TO SEE
10.HE WAS OVER THE MOON WHEN
11.SHE WAS IN SEVENTH HEAVEN TO
12.WE HAD BEEN WALKING ON AIR SINCE
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 READ AN ESSAY ON PAGE 8

(DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE TAKING
PART IN A SCHOOL PROGRAMME AND
HOW YOU FELT)
THE ESSAY HAS NO/ZERO MERIT.
LET US REPLACE SOME OF THE
WORDS WITH SOPHISTICATED
WORDS OR IDIOMS SO THAT THERE
WILL BE MERITS THROUGHOUT THE
ESSAY.
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 TASK 8:
READ ANOTHER ESSAY ON PAGE 9
(DESCRIBE YOUR VISIT TO A PUBLIC
PLACE AND WHOM YOU MET).
IN PAIRS, SUGGEST SUITABLE
SOPHISTICATED WORDS OR IDIOMS
THAT CAN REPLACE SOME OF THE
WORDS IN THE ESSAY SO THAT THE
ESSAY HAS MORE MERITS.

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 TASK 9 :
Watch a video. Based on the video,
write a paragraph.
Make sure you get some merits in
the paragraph. Use suitable
sophisticated adjectives and idioms
to enrich the quality of language in
the essay.
Focus on the feelings and
descriptions of characters
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CLOSURE
NO DOUBT ALL OF YOU CAN WRITE.
HOWEVER, MAKE SURE THERE ARE
SEVERAL MERITS IN EACH OF YOUR
PARAGRAPHS.
MERITS CAN BE EASILY OBTAINED BY
USING SOPHISTICATED/LOWFREQUENCY/ HIGH-FLOWN/BOMBASTIC
WORDS OR IDIOMS
FOCUS ON FEELINGS AND
DESCRIPTIONS OF CHARACTERS
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 STRATEGY 4: VARY SENTENCE

STRUCTURES
Simple, compound and complex
sentences
What is a simple sentence?
SIMPLE SENTENCE: Has one main
idea. e.g. The girls are not smart.
What is a compound sentence?
COMPOUND SENTENCE: Has two main
ideas that are linked by and, but, or,
so e.g. The boys are handsome
and brilliant.

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What is a complex sentence?

COMPLEX SENTENCE: Has one main
idea and one or more subordinate ideas.
e.g.
1. The girls, who are mostly romantic,
eat a lot!
2. The girls, who are mostly romantic,
who have great passion for food, are
angry with me.
3. The book that was lost was
expensive.
4. The beggar who was talking to me
was my neighbour.
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TASK 10:
Complete these COMPLEX sentences:
We were delirious with joy when
We visited the museum before
After I came home, I
The boy was punished because
Whenever they saw Mr. Lim, they
Students enjoyed their days when
MESSAGE?
YES YOU CAN VARY YOUR
SENTENCES IN YOUR ESSAYS
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 TASK 11 :
Watch a video
Individually, write a short
paragraph
Make sure there are at least these
sentences in your paragraph:
i) one compound sentence
ii) one complex sentence
describing anything related to the
video
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 CLOSURE:
ENHANCE YOUR LANGUAGE QUALITY FOR
YOUR A+/A/A THIS ENHANCEMENT PROCESS TAKES
TIME. THEREFORE, IT MUST BE ONGOING.
THERE ARE ALWAYS WAYS / STRATEGIES
TO ENHANCE YOUR LANGUAGE QUALITY.
IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET THE BEST
RESULT, YOU NEED TO MAKE PLANS
BECAUSE THOSE WHO FAIL TO

PLAN, THEY ARE ACTUALLY

PLANNING TO FAIL
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 STRATEGY 5: ENHANCE READERS

INTEREST TO READ YOUR ESSAYS
ESPECIALLY YOUR CONTINUOUS
ESSAYS
WHY?
A good mark is awarded when the readers
interest is aroused and sustained
HOW?
Most of you lack creativity, therefore, reading
excellent short stories is helpful.
Task 12: Lets read 2 sample essays
(pp.11-12)

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HOW TO GET MORE

STORIES:
USE ANY SEARH ENGINE

CHOICE 1: TYPE INSPIRATIONAL STORIES

ABOUT LIFE, FOR TEENAGERS, FOR
STUDENTS, OF FAITH
CHOICE 2: TYPE SHORT STORIES WITH
MORAL LESSONS, ABOUT LOVE, ABOUT
FRIENDSHIP
CHOICE 3: TYPE BEST SHORT STORIES
BEST SHORT STORIES OF ALL TIME, BEST
AMERICAN SHORT STORIES, BEST HORROR
SHORT STORIES, BEST COLLECTION OF
SHORT STORIES

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END OF PART 3

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