PSLE 2019 English Paper 1: A Post-Mortem

The PSLE 2019 is finally done and dusted. The general consensus was that Paper 1 was ‘ok’. We are excited to share the following information with you, curated from several of our students and other sources. 

While this serves as a checkpoint to how the current cohort has done, we hope to shed some light on how certain challenging questions can be overcome in the national examinations.

Paper 1

(1) Situational Writing

The pictures depict a comic conversation between a child and her uncle. He has a pair of tickets to a movie but is unable to attend as he would be overseas on a work trip. Write an informal letter to your best friend, Linda, inviting her to a movie with the details, and explaining why she would be interested in joining you. For this letter, the following pointers are crucial:

The following is the essay questions from the 2019 PSLE English Paper 1:

Write a composition of at least 150 words about a celebration. The pictures are provided to help you think about the topic. Your composition should be based on one or more of these pictures. Consider the following points when you plan your composition.

You may use the points in any order and include other relevant points as well. [* The three pictures given include people dancing on a stage; a family portrait of 4 – parents, baby and elder sibling; and an invitation card.]

The topic was doable and the pictures were equally relatable. At Creative Campus, our students had practice on this theme twice, with the various scenarios included.

This year, the topic calls for students to reinforce the theme by relating it to a celebration, such as a performance for a Teacher’s Day celebration, a baby’s first birthday bash, or an invitation to a best friend’s graduation party.

Delving deeper and handling the essay with a better perspective is what differentiates an average student from the crème de la crème. Students should inject scene and emotion descriptors; address the problem and solution that arise from the plot; and showcase their personal voice with unique metaphors, imagery and tone.

The focus on techniques, rather than staid model essays, will gear them to attempt any topic with ease, and in the process, stand out from their peers.