ANALYSIS OF THE 2008 PMR ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER

By : ABIDAH BT SARAJUL HAQ * English Language Master Teacher Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman , Ipoh

PAPER 1 ( 1 HOUR )

Objective Questions
QUESTION NO 1 -10 QUESTION TYPE Graphic Materials & Short Texts Question 1 Sign Question 2 Message Question 3 Notice Question 4 Notice Question 5 Dialogue Question 6 Headline Question 7 Sign Question 8 Advertisement Question 9 Pictures Question 10 Notice Rational Cloze Question 11 Verb Question 12 Conjunction Question 13 Verb Question 14 Verb to be Question 15 Conjunction Question 16 Interrogative pronoun Question 17 Expressions of Quantity Question 18 Verb Closest in Meaning ( Phrasal verbs & Idiomatic expression used) Question 19 Shared out ( divide ) Question 20 Count on ( trust) Question 21 Hand out ( distribute) Question 22 Soft spot ( fondness) Question 23 Heart and soul ( commitment) Question 24 Hold his head up ( be proud )

11-18

19-24

Reading Comprehension 25 - 34 Question 25 -28 : An Advertisement Question 29 34 : A Narrative Passage The Literature Component 35 - 40 Question 35 -37 Question 38- 40 Life s Brief Candle The Pencil

PAPER 2 ( 1 HOURS )

Subjective Questions

Section A

Guided Writing

Writing a speech based on a set of given pictures and notes on Safety Measures in School in not less than 120 words

Section B

Summary Writing

Writing a summary of not more than 60 words on coin collection. Write about an incident that you think is important. Give reasons why you think it is important, in not less than 50 words based on the novel of your choice.

Section C

Novel (Short Response Essay)

AN OVERVIEW OF THE PMR ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER 2009

Question 1 10 Graphic materials & Short Texts

Question 11-18 Rational Cloze

PAPER 1 1 hour
( 40 Objective Questions)

Question 19-24 Closest in meaning

Question 25- 34 Reading Comprehension

Question 35- 40 1 Short Story & 1 Poem

Section A Guided writing

Section B Summary Writing

PAPER 2 1 hour 30 minutes

( 3 Subjective Questions)

Section C Novel

RATIONAL CLOZE

Questions 11- 18 in the PMR English Language Paper 1 are based on a rational cloze passage. The items tested are on your understanding of grammar and vocabulary. You will be given a passage with eight blanks. The short passage given is often a narrative , a formal or informal letter or a factual passage. But this can be in other forms too. You need to choose the best answer out of the four given options.

Examination Tips and Practice

1. Read and understand the passage carefully. It is important for you to get the general idea of the whole passage. 2. Focus on the tenses used in the passage. 3. Look at the given options and go through them one by one carefully. 4. Use contextual clues to help you in getting the correct answer. This means that you need to read the sentence before and after each blank. 5. Sometimes the clues can be found in the earlier or later part of the passage. 6. Do not spend too much time on a question that you are unsure of answering . Go on to the next question and come back to it later. 7. Finally , check to see whether your answers are grammatically correct to suit the sentence.
Below are two rational cloze passages for you to work with. Try them out and check the answers at the end of the exercises.

PMR PRACTICE 1

Peanut is a plant species grown mainly for its fruit. The peanut is a legume- that is, it bears fruit in the form of pods (shells ) that ---(1)--- one or more seeds. The peanut is more closely related to peas ---(2)--- to nuts. There are two seeds in most peanut ---(3)---. These tasty seeds are also ---(4)---peanuts. They are a favourite ---(5)--- whether eaten alone or mixed ---(6)--- sweets, cakes or pies. Peanut ---(7)--- is also a popular food. Peanuts are ---(8)--- worldwide chiefly for their oil.

A B C D A B C D A B C D

containing contain contains contained than by then with stalk roots leaves pods

5 A B C D 6 A B C D 7 A B C D 8 A B C D

time drink food hobby into by of then oil bread cheese butter grow grown grows growing

A call B called C calls D calling

PMR PRACTICE 2

Plastic materials have become a part of our lives. We brush ---(1) teeth with a plastic toothbrush .We comb our hair with ---(2)--- plastic comb. We carry our shopping in a plastic bag. We eat ---(3)--- of plastic plates and drink out of plastic straw. We store our food in plastic ---(4)---. We can find it in our refrigerators, cars, computer and mobile phones. There are so may ---(5)--- for plastic . Environmentalists ---(6)--- that people use 100 million tons of plastic every year !That is good news for plastics ---(7)---because they can make a lot of money. But plastic takes 100 to 1000 years to decompose. Imagine leaving mountains of plastic waste for your children, ---(8)---and great-grandchildren !

A B C D

my our her their

A B C D

using used use uses

A B C D A B C D A B C D

the a an in out from by bags shelves baskets containers

A B C D A B C D A B C D

say saying says said manufacturers workers goods buyers grandfathers grandmothers grandchildren grandsons

ANSWERS PMR Practice 1 : 1B 2A 3D 4B 5C 6A 7D 8B PMR Practice 2 : 1B 2B 3B 4D 5D 6D 7A 8C