From identifying key points to differentiating between formal and informal language, help your child ace PSLE situational writing with these simple writing tips!
Worried about the challenge posed by the PSLE English Paper 1 for situational writing?
That’s understandable. A lot of students find this part of the leaving exam daunting, which is why it doesn’t hurt to get them ready for it in advance.
Fortunately, we’ve found many ways over the years to prepare children for this component of the PSLE. Today, we’ll share the most effective ones with you through PSLE composition writing tips that have proven their worth time and time again.
Situational writing is a type of writing that requires students to produce content based on a specified scenario and rules. It typically gets allotted 20 minutes of the time students are given to complete Paper 1 for the exam.
This section is also given 15 marks in total (out of the 55 that Paper 1 is worth). This is how they’re spread out:
Teach your child to identify all of the key points in the instructions before they start writing. This will avoid wasting effort on words that don’t follow the rules set out by the component.
A good rule of thumb may be to train your child to answer these questions first:
For the last item, remember that the instructions may not always specify the answer. However, it’s possible to tell the answer anyway from the answers to the two questions before it.
For example, if the target reader is a friend or family member, the style is meant to be informal. On the other hand, if the target reader is a school principal, it should be formal.
In any case, have your child review all of these points before starting to write. Afterwards, check them again to ensure the writing covers all of them.
As we said earlier, the “task fulfilment” part of the component is worth 6 marks corresponding to 6 tasks. Have your child review these before and after writing to ensure all 6 are completed.
Here’s an example. Say the instructions ask your child to write an invitation to a cousin for a family potluck party. These are possible tasks that might be assigned:
If all 6 points are covered by the writing, that already guarantees your child 6 marks! This is one of our favourite PSLE composition writing tips because it’s so easy and rewarding to follow.
Just bear in mind that some of the content tasks won’t be specified outright in the instructions during the exam. Occasionally, some points have to be inferred.
This is where a lot of children struggle in the component. They seem to get confused over how formal and informal language compare to each other.
One way to help here is to have your child convert formal lines into informal ones and vice versa regularly. Show them the differences between opening salutations (“Greetings” vs. “Hey”) and contractions in words (“do not” vs. “don’t”).
This will get them accustomed to the differences between the two styles before the exam.
Your child is more likely to be required to do this for situational writing using a formal style, but it never hurts to check either way. You can usually figure out if this is needed by seeing what the purpose of the content is.
Train your child to recognise these to make it easier to fulfil them in the paper. Give them examples and help them identify the best action lines for those based on their purposes.
In our earlier example about inviting a cousin to a family party, for example, an action line might be something like this: “Please let me know ASAP if you can come and if you need us to pick you up for the party.”
Language is worth 9 marks so it’s worth going over it before submission of the writing. Teach your child to check their grammar, spelling, and punctuation after writing the whole piece.
Show them what to look for during practice, like the following:
The PSLE Paper 1 is difficult for a lot of students, but these P5 and P6 situational writing tips should help. With them and targeted practice, your child can improve on their skills for this component ahead of time.
If you want more surety for their performance though, come to us. Our tutors at Aspire Hub have helped many students ace the exam with a comprehensive P6 English programme. Our tuition covers key skills in situational and compositional writing that your child will need.
To learn more about our PSLE prep and review courses, enquire now!
Worried about the challenge posed by the PSLE English Paper 1 for situational writing?
That’s understandable. A lot of students find this part of the leaving exam daunting, which is why it doesn’t hurt to get them ready for it in advance.
Fortunately, we’ve found many ways over the years to prepare children for this component of the PSLE. Today, we’ll share the most effective ones with you through PSLE composition writing tips that have proven their worth time and time again.
Situational writing is a type of writing that requires students to produce content based on a specified scenario and rules. It typically gets allotted 20 minutes of the time students are given to complete Paper 1 for the exam.
This section is also given 15 marks in total (out of the 55 that Paper 1 is worth). This is how they’re spread out:
Teach your child to identify all of the key points in the instructions before they start writing. This will avoid wasting effort on words that don’t follow the rules set out by the component.
A good rule of thumb may be to train your child to answer these questions first:
For the last item, remember that the instructions may not always specify the answer. However, it’s possible to tell the answer anyway from the answers to the two questions before it.
For example, if the target reader is a friend or family member, the style is meant to be informal. On the other hand, if the target reader is a school principal, it should be formal.
In any case, have your child review all of these points before starting to write. Afterwards, check them again to ensure the writing covers all of them.
As we said earlier, the “task fulfilment” part of the component is worth 6 marks corresponding to 6 tasks. Have your child review these before and after writing to ensure all 6 are completed.
Here’s an example. Say the instructions ask your child to write an invitation to a cousin for a family potluck party. These are possible tasks that might be assigned:
If all 6 points are covered by the writing, that already guarantees your child 6 marks! This is one of our favourite PSLE composition writing tips because it’s so easy and rewarding to follow.
Just bear in mind that some of the content tasks won’t be specified outright in the instructions during the exam. Occasionally, some points have to be inferred.
This is where a lot of children struggle in the component. They seem to get confused over how formal and informal language compare to each other.
One way to help here is to have your child convert formal lines into informal ones and vice versa regularly. Show them the differences between opening salutations (“Greetings” vs. “Hey”) and contractions in words (“do not” vs. “don’t”).
This will get them accustomed to the differences between the two styles before the exam.
Your child is more likely to be required to do this for situational writing using a formal style, but it never hurts to check either way. You can usually figure out if this is needed by seeing what the purpose of the content is.
Train your child to recognise these to make it easier to fulfil them in the paper. Give them examples and help them identify the best action lines for those based on their purposes.
In our earlier example about inviting a cousin to a family party, for example, an action line might be something like this: “Please let me know ASAP if you can come and if you need us to pick you up for the party.”
Language is worth 9 marks so it’s worth going over it before submission of the writing. Teach your child to check their grammar, spelling, and punctuation after writing the whole piece.
Show them what to look for during practice, like the following:
The PSLE Paper 1 is difficult for a lot of students, but these P5 and P6 situational writing tips should help. With them and targeted practice, your child can improve on their skills for this component ahead of time.
If you want more surety for their performance though, come to us. Our tutors at Aspire Hub have helped many students ace the exam with a comprehensive P6 English programme. Our tuition covers key skills in situational and compositional writing that your child will need.
To learn more about our PSLE prep and review courses, enquire now!
