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!l\,ue Chong Juniex CoLI"ege

The Comprehension Paper - An lntroduction lhe entire CP examinalion;35 mdrks The, ompr.hension p.rPer is worlh 50 m"ri ' of
for Conlenl and l5 marks for Use o[ l-nglish

content [35 markr] of one or two Passages' The This is used to assess a candidate's understanding question' nted at the .i-"tt" allocated for each question js P you do not end of theyour own in answer "rlli", ;.;;;"a;;k-" ""n be deducted in this sectton if words and merely coPy the mdterial
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between the questions but given at the This is an 'invisible' mark that is not divided The iy-iil" "l<"-^er based on a candidate's ovemll comPetence in English ""1 follou/ing are taken into account: and instances o{ weak expression I Lurtgiug" . ftelegree"rror" the candidate has used his own words to which fluent sentences in their own To sain hiqh marks, students must $'rite clear and are all errors and ;:t%.'*o"ilJ" ;;pii,tg, r"q'"'tt language candidate's clLrmsy exPression handrciting is illegible' f,uv t" a"ao'tJa iia

Use of English [15 marks]

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.VnltmJVfinditusefultoskimlhroughthePassagestoknowtheirgenera] - j':;"",'"'"r1;*,i"tl-a throughlhe questions to know whaL inlormation "ri-put"'g""' more carehrllv when skim-rnine pick out i.Y;;;;;, ;;;;;;"uJi"g il'" skip the o'rt"n ti.ut"J ur the start of tie paragraphs' and ii"';;;;;;-*"
examples and details'

. lt is even more imPortant to read the questions calefully- .Erarniners have of questions' ;";;tk"i ,ita -any^students lose marks through a careless reading resulting in irrelevar1ce' . Most questions will specify which part of the Passage to- focus !n (e g "From from these paragraPhs only' ;;;;ryh b "o..r urswer should be taken each question as a . Time management is essential Use the mark allocation fol enough timc (about leave
nride to lhe lenrth of answer requiJed MaLe sure you

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undelstanding the content

summary and application questions at the end' reading irnproves your Being widely read is delinitelv a boon EYtensive will olten ard you jn dnd it vocabuldry and mdslery ol the ldnguage the pus'sag-es This is especially useful when

of

answering the aPPlication question

Hwa Chong Joniot Colege 2Oo2

1

Using Your Own Words

Precision of Meaninc
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but signifrLdnt aj,"."", L ;i your answer. Also, word_for_worJ subsnudon is ctu*"y u'a ort",i to repfuase the entire sentence, especially when the,;;-;," figu?ative or proverbial expression. For erampJ(l' do not ParaPhrase "jump the gun" as "leap over the weapon"!

;'x;::':lT:;'il1 ;:l i,t":' mus t rcarn and sha rpen is rha r or paraphra ns ',,,1' comprer ski, rhan s,mprv .,;;"ff ^::ili:i'j:XT llf"T'i::rlT:,;: Ihdr has a similar meaning. While rhai ,*,-',"iq,i" _"i _".i''"iffT, Lhe trmc. yoJ musr ever be alert to subtle
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Wlen a quesiion asks you

pre.rsp dnd dccur.rrF with regard to conre\t,

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explain a word ot a phrase, your answer ,""' "," has to be

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context

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Crve the meaning of the word ar aer,n*ion- nisl""c;: medtung (e.9. cornmon). Keep in nind rhar manv ., a"p!"a i"f r..i,';#",.:':l:o :l1l* le ''outrdgeous', in tlre lollowing senten, es:

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(a) She made a dramatic enkance tc) the party' wearing the most outrae:eous dress I have ever seen. (b) The soidiers attacked several villages arrd cornrdtted outtaqgeus acts on the defenceless iniabitants.

In (a), "outrageous" is used to me

dress has

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Tone

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E.g. He had frugal habits. Iruccurale p\planation: "stiogy",',miserly, l'relerred expianation:',thriftv,,

approvar. i*ff:;i:i#"J:",ti: ;:#'J:.:*'otatio& imprvinsusing wor<isrhererore, vou _ your explanatiory by with a similar tone
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Degree

An earthquake struck the city' and this terrible catastrophe ieft thousands of people dead or homelesslndccurate e\planation: "unluckv har "appenins' mishap

E.g.

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Chong Jun/or Co//ege 2Oo2

"(lisaster" The first two answers ale not strong enough in their meaning while Always conveys the same degree of seriousness and thus would be more accePtable take note of whether i wor<i is extreme or modelate in its meaning'

1.

Explaining Words Always try to exPlain the \'/ord using the same form or Parts of speech For

instance, do not define an adverb in terms of an adjective or a verb in terms ot a noun- When in doubt, look carefully at the Passage to see how the !!ord is usedAlso, for verbs, use the same tense as in the original' E.g. The wealth of the oceans remains unexplqllgd' Inaccurate explanatiotl: "not Iully using and developing resources" Prefered exPlanation: not fully used and developed" Remember to explain the meaning of the word as used in the passage- Beware: many words have *ore than one neaning, so be sure that you have looked at the context of the sentence and chosen the right meaning' E.g. The two counkies signed a treaty based on their common interests. Which is the correct definition of "comrnon" here? (a) ordinary ft) shared (c) widespread

2.
l

Give only ONE answer. This is imPortant because when you- add a wrong an.swer to a right one, the whole answer will be marked wlong So give the one
answer You are most conJident of. E.g. malicious: "having evil intentions and being angry" Tie above aruwer will not be awarded any marks as "malicious" does not mean "being angrY".
4.

Do not include extra details within your answer that aPPly to neighbouling
words but not necessarily to the word in question' E.g. Curiosity is a fu1Q41q9gq! human trait'
Inaccurate explanation: "basic to people" Preferred exPlanation: "basic" does "Basic to people" is incorect because the adjective "fundamental" not dPPIY only to human beings'

5.

For figurative/ metaphorical use of words, do not simPly use a synonym E.g. The p;!qg! of racial hatred seeped into all levels of society' lnaccurate exPlanation:' venom' Preferred explanation: "corrupting influence"

6.

Do not givc

word using the same root form to exPlain the meaning E.g. practicality: "the trait of being Practical" iffational: "noi rational"
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Hwa ahong

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Colege 2002

Explaininq phrases Sometimes, you will be called upon to answer a vocabulary question involving phrases. Here you are usually asked to explain what the author means by these
phrases. Keep in mind these two tips: . Use full sentences rather than a word or a phrase to explain the plrrases. Explain the full contextual meaning of what the author is trying to say do not just give a word-for-word paraphrase or definition. E.g. Explain what the author means by ,,they advertised the fact,,? Incomplete / inaccutate explanation: ,,they publicised the inJormation,, Preferred explanation: ,'they made known information in a consDicuous way"

Notice the answet avoids using the key words in the given phrase and, most im?ortantly, links the phrase to the context. It spells out exa.tly wnut the author i,
referring to by the words ,'advertised,, and "the fact',.

lmportant Tips . All significant in the giwen pluase must be your own. For example, -words "integral part of a new world order,' - if you write "essential part of a new world order", you will not have used your own words sufficiently.

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Metaphodcal figurative or proverbial expressions should be explained in plain language. Do not simply substitute another metaphol or image. Danger! Very ofter; students attempt a literal word-fot,word hanslation of a sentence-,ot phrase. This usually cannot fuIly explain what the author mears and, worse still, can lead to a serious misinter?retation or confusion. E.g. author's sentence: ,,The promises made by the advertisement were mote Iiction than fact.,, Qn: Explain what the author means by the phrase ,,rllore fiction
than fact',. Incorrect explanation: ,'the vows of the comrnercial wete more literatllre than actuai reality" ,,promises" here is The meaning of quite different from ,,vows. and ,.fiction,, does not mean "literature'r here. The student has not explained tlle metaphorical and contextual meaning of both words. Preferred explanation: "the real quality of the product did not live up to the exaggerated claims of the comrnercial"

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Hwa Cho.g Junial aoteg.' 20OZ +

5ummary Writing The main skill in summarising is in Picking out the main idea. For example "He was cowe ng in a corner of the room, shaking with extreme fear" may be
surtuna sed as "He was terrified" (Notice the deletion of extra details).

Try both these techniques in your assignrnents to see which works best for you' Method A may seem more laborious but you should Practise it to learn the skiils oi
sumrrrarising. Suggested Method A: The List

1.

2. 3. Go through

Read the question catefully to know exactly what is required- Kcep in mincl that the surrmary is selectivc you do not need to inciude everything in the text, only what is needed to answer the question. Mark where you should begin and end in the passage.

4. 5. 6.

the relevant Portion slowly- On anothel sheet of PaPer, mal<e brief notes of the relevant Points, in your own words. Arrange your Points irl a logical order (e.g. for/against) according to the question requirements (see next page fot advice). Re-read to check that nothing has been omitted in you! list. Use your list to wlite a rough draft. Refer to the passage only to cla {y points Make sure you link Points with link words (e.g. but, since, afld, thus). Count the wotds. If the number is far below the word lirnit you have probably missed something out.

Suggested Method B: Sketch ExPress 1. Follow steps 1 and 2 of Method A.

2- Go tfuough carefully the relevant Portion. Underline the rnain Points and 3.

4. 5.

delete anything trelevant to the question ol unnecessaty (details, examPles' repetitioru). Write a number in tie margin for each separate Point' The number of points you make should be aPProximately equal, or slightly more than. The number of marks given for the question lf you have too much or too few points, check to see if you have missed anything. Write your draft in youl own words using the underlined passage as a guide' Follow stepsN ol MPthod A

+-6

Post-marking: When your scriPt is returned and the tutor goes tfuough the answers' compuro yo.,i list (method A) ol your numbering system (method B) with the tlrtor'sIn this way you wiil learn what counts as a seParate and relevant Point

Hwa ahong Junior Co/tege 2Oo2

Summary Exercise
The first stages of summary work have been done for you and you are only given the relevant sentences. You have to paraphrase, that is, find an;ther way to write the points down. You will also have to write your notes in grammatical sentences.

Question: Describe the benefits of the kangany system in about 100 words. Use your own lyords as far as possible.
N_ote:

Malaysia and Sri Lanka were then called respectively), it became a specilic term for the foreman of a group of labourers working together on a plantation or constructton The points that were identified as relevant are as follows: 1. "A superior labour force was thus Drovided,'
labourerq"

Karganl is Tamil, meaning supervisor or overceer. ln Malaya or Ceylon (as

/\ 2- "The kangany could be expected to exercise qreater care in the choice of exercise

3.

"As the recfliting was done by a person known to the communitv, lhere would be greater willinqness to volunteer as emjqrants

4. "Thus,
5.
6-

of coercion, and other abuses inherent in the indenture system were <rone awav "There was now scope for lhe miqration of families rather than individuals,, 'When the kangany returned to Malaya... lhere was a continuinq connection between the kangany and the rabourers. This considerabrv reduced ihe hirdihG resulting from the migration as far as the labourer waiioncerned

indiscriminate recruitjnq, the danger

with-

Task 'l;
1.

Put the above points, especially those that are underlined. in vour own words. Use note form- DO NOT WRITE pULL SEtteruCpir
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2.

4.
5
6.

Task 2

Using only your own notes, write the summary in simple, correct English.

Hwa ahoag /unral ao//egc 2aO2 6