SECTION C SPM ENGLISH

Substantial Section C
Today we will take a look at Section C of the SPM 1119 paper. This section, which carries a substantial 25
marks, is divided into two parts, reading comprehension and summary writing. 10 marks are allocated
for reading comprehension and 15 marks for summary writing.
Guidelines for reading comprehension
1. Read the whole passage through once to get a general idea of what the passage is about. Do not
worry if you come across unfamiliar words. Sometimes, it is not necessary to understand every word you
read.
2. Do read the passage a second time, if necessary. The second reading helps you take in the details and
improve your understanding.
3. Read the questions carefully. Use cue words in the questions to help you answer the questions. These
can be the wh words (what, when, where, why, who, whose, how) and action verbs (identify, find,
list).
4. Questions sometimes contain words found in the passage. Use these words to help you identify the
part of the passage where the answer can be found.
5. You do not have to answer questions in complete sentences (look at the sample answers given).
6. You can lift words, clauses or sentences from the passage to answer questions. You do not have to
use your own words unless you are told to do so. Moreover, there is a danger in paraphrasing you
might alter/distort the meaning expressed in the passage and hence lose precious marks.
7. For questions on vocabulary, if you are asked for a word, then give only ONE word and nothing else.
Make sure you spell the word correctly. If you are asked for a phrase, then give the relevant phrase. If
you copy the sentence where the word or phrase are found, you must indicate the chosen word or
phrase by underlining it or putting it within quotation marks.
8. Some questions require you to use your own words and you must do so.
9. Do pay attention to the tense (and sometimes pronoun) used in the questions when formulating your
answers.
Pitfalls to avoid
1. Do not give more than the required information. Sometimes, students copy chunks from a passage,
giving two or more sentences. This only highlights their weakness failure to understand the question
and/or text.
2. Do not give two or more answers to a question. Some students write down all the possible answers to
a question just to be on the safe side.
3. Do not waste time paraphrasing answers unless you are asked to do so.