Important English Tips for SA1 Exams

English is an integral part of school syllabus, and being a language subject, it sometimes puts one at a disadvantage from scoring point of view. However, it is also one subject, that proves very useful as well as can be applied to your daily life, both within and beyond school. Therefore, it is worth to put in some time and effort, both to score better and to help you in life. Here are some tips and tricks for students from class 6 to class 10 that will help score better in the examination.

READING COMPREHENSION SECTION

The reading section contains one or two passages and a set of questions based on the passage. Students have to read the passage and answer the questions. So this section essentially checks the attentive reading skill of a student. Passages could be taken from the books, newspapers, journals or any other source and can be based on diverse topics. Hence, a voracious reader is at the benefiting end.

Command in English, as a subject, develops over a period of time. It is not a sudden process of memorisation. Hence, a habit of diverse reading can help students score better. When coping with the examination, time limitation becomes a student’s greatest adversary.

In order to strengthen the weak areas, students must keep in mind some tips and tricks:
> Special attention should be paid to words that are similar in meaning.
> An eye for detail is necessary in order to grasp the major points of the passage.
> Every passage conveys a hidden message or theme. Try finding that out. This will help you derive meaning of the text easily.

MERITNATION TIP: Students may choose to read the questions first and then start reading the passage. This may help them look for specific points and key words while reading the passage. Consequently, the students will save time and extra effort.

Reading Section Resources by Class: Class 6 | Class 7 | Class 8 | Class 9 | Class 10

WRITING SECTION

The writing section mainly has two or three sub parts. This section aims to check the student’s creative faculty of mind, with a key attention to format and style. This section comprises notice writing, report writing and an essay. In order to master this section, students must keep in mind following points:

> Pay attention to the format, that may carry marks
> Write short sentences
> Avoid writing in a passive voice
> Revise for clarity

MERITNATION TIP: Try to include important key words in your writing. Key words are words that your examiner might be looking for, while evaluating your paper.

Writing Section Resources by Class: Class 6 | Class 7 | Class 8 | Class 9 | Class 10

GRAMMAR

The very basic tip to learn grammar is to break a sentence into a few intricate parts and try to explain them to yourself. Grammar primarily consists of conventions and rules, which could be mastered solely by practice. Students must learn grammar with an understanding good enough to explain it to others. This way they will retain more. Hence, group studies are a good idea here.

MERITNATION TIP: A strong hold on vocabulary can help students score exceptionally well. Many students fail to comprehend a tricky question due to lack of understanding.

Grammar Section Resources by Class: Class 6 | Class 7 | Class 8 | Class 9 | Class 10

LITERATURE

Students must read literature with a notion that literature is a way of life. Hence, there is a lot of scope for debate, perceptions and disagreements. There is a lot of scope for creative engagement with the text. To score well, an in-depth knowledge of the text is mandatory. At the same time, students must read a text with an open mind, curiosity and questioning.

The questions in literature section have two or more sub parts. One of them being objective (reference to context) and another being a subjective question (opinion based).

> To tackle the first part, students must have a thorough knowledge of their prescribed text. However, reference to context targets the sections of a textbook that are more important as compared to others. For example, a significant conversation between the important characters, a speech or a fight.

> While answering subjective questions, students should explore their creative writing skills abundantly, at the same time, validating their answers by referring to the specific text.

MERITNATION TIP: A prior knowledge of the writer’s background may help students read the same text with a new perspective and answer the questions in a better way.

English Literature Resources by Class: Class 6 | Class 7 | Class 8 | Class 9 | Class 10

Please take a moment to spread these tips with your friends. After all, Knowledge is the only thing that grows when shared! 🙂