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How To Study O Level English like Pro: Super Tutor’s Advices from Sophia Education
English subject remains to be one of the hardest subjects to score a distinction in for O Level, as it not only requires a competent command of the language, but also skills in answering questions, especially the paper 2 comprehension questions. This article shall discuss some tips for students to do well in this subject.
How To Study O Level English like Pro
Firstly, let’s take a look at the O Level English syllabus. There will be 4 papers that students will sit for.
| Assessment | Content | Marks | Weighting / % |
| Paper 1 (1 h 50 min) Writing | Section A (10 marks) – Editing Section B (30 marks) – Situational writing, where students respond to a given situation which will involve viewing a visual text. Section C (30 marks) – Continuous writing, where students choose one question to answer out of four questions given. | 70 | 35 |
| Paper 2 (1 h 50 min) Comprehension | Section A (5 marks) – Visual text questions Section B (20 marks) – A variety of questions based on Text 2 which is a narrative or a recount. Section C (25 marks) – A variety of questions based on Text 3, a non-narrative text, and write an 80-word summary. | 50 | 35 |
| Paper 3 (~ 45 min) Listening | Section A (24 marks) – A variety of questions based on a number of audio recordings which the students will hear twice. Section B (6 marks) – A note-taking exercise based on one audio recording which the students will hear only once. | 30 | 10 |
| Paper 4 (~ 20 min) Oral Communication | Part 1 – Reading Aloud, where the text is presented on a computer screen. Part 2 – Spoken Interaction, where students will communicate with the examiners on a topic based on a visual stimulus in the form of a video clip. *The two parts are thematically linked. | 30 | 20 |
English is the universal language, and doing well in English will definitely be able to help you even beyond secondary school! Here are some tips on how to study O Level English like a pro, from our very own Super Tutors at Sophia Education:
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Get plenty of practice
If you really want to nab that A for English, practice is key. Rome wasn’t built in a day and being a good writer requires a lot of practice. Try and go about writing an essay every 1-2 weeks so you can really get into the groove of writing, as well as receive as much feedback as you can from your school and tuition teachers for you to improve on your areas of weaknesses. Timing yourself during these practices will also train you to think and write quickly during the actual timed exams.
Practising writing essays is important as it allows you to play around with different argumentative techniques, as well as hone your own writing style. Ample practice will also give you more confidence going into the exams as you would have covered a wide variety of essay questions.
As with everything else, the best way to score well for comprehension is to do as many practice questions as possible. This will help you to understand the different question types better, and also improve your speed and accuracy in answering the questions.
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Have good examination skills
When you receive the question paper, analyse the questions carefully and highlight the key words. For example, for paper 1, if the question is “Who is the person you admire the most and why?”, the key words will be “person” and “admire the most”. You will need to specify who the person is and the 3 reasons why you admire him/her. The person can be your mother, your father or even your teacher.
Do spend around five to ten minutes to brainstorm, plan and organise your essay. Time spent for essay planning is not time wasted at all! In fact, it helps to ensure a smooth flow of ideas and helps to prevent you getting stuck in the middle of writing and have no idea how to continue.
Planning will help ensure that your essay is well-organized and flows smoothly. There are a few things to keep in mind when planning:
- Your goal is to explain something to your reader. Make sure that you are clear about what you want to explain, and that your explanation is easy to follow.
- Use evidence to support your explanation. This could include examples, data, or quotes from experts.
- Be sure to structure your essay in a way that makes sense. An introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion will help ensure that your essay is well-organized and easy to follow.
Similarly, for paper 2, analyse the types of comprehension questions carefully and make sure that your answer meets the question requirements.
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Make use of all available resources
In addition to paying attention in class, there are many other resources available that can help you study English more effectively. These include assessment books, past year papers, prelim papers and online resources.
For reading resources, there are a myriad of online websites for you to read about current affairs, such as New York Times, BBC, The Straits Times, South China Morning Post and so much more! Reading the news can help you to improve your language skills and even provide you with possible examples for your essay.
On our Sophia Education website, we provide both concise notes and examination papers from many different schools. These resources can serve as a great reference for you to go over content and practice writing before your O Level English exam. After all, practice makes perfect. Mastering all the content and skills needed along the way will eventually allow you to be more than prepared for the final O Level examination.
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Work on your language
Aside from the language skills you learn in school, there are other areas that you can work on to improve your English. These include vocabulary, grammar and even your spoken English.
One way to improve your English is to read more. This can be in the form of novels, magazines, or better, sample essays. Reading can help to improve your grammar and vocabulary. It can also give you ideas on how to better structure your own essays.
Having a wide range of vocabulary at your disposal is also important in O Level English. This is because it allows you to express your ideas more effectively and makes your writing sound more impressive. A great way to learn new words is to keep a vocabulary journal, where you write down new words that you come across, and their definitions. You can then use these words in your own writing to help improve your O Level English grades.
We hope that these tips will be useful for you in your O Level journey! If you are interested in finding out more about our English tuition classes, do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website for more information!
At Sophia Education, our professional tutors, with their years of experience, will be able to help you excel in English examinations by equipping you with the knowledge and skills required to do well in this subject. We offer both 1-to-1 and small group classes so that students can receive the attention they need to understand the topics better. Customised lesson plans according to the student’s individual strengths and weaknesses are especially important for significant improvements, which is what we can achieve given our small class sizes.
So, if you are looking for English tuition in Singapore, look no further than Sophia Education! Contact us now to find out more about our personalised tuition services and how we can help you or your child achieve better grades in English!
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