Signing off a formal letter...

Questions On 'In The Midst Of Hardship'

Here are a list of questions derived from the poem 'In the Midst of Hardship' by Latiff Mohidin created by students from set 4(1)A.

1. Why didn't they feel any despair?                                                                 (Farhanah / 4D)

2. What were the obstacles faced by 'them'?                                                     (Anis / 4C)

3. Why were there bloated carcasses and tiny chips of tree bark

    between the water?                                                                                       (Zubaidah / 4D)

4. What characteristics were shown by the couple in stanza 2

    of the poem?                                                                                                 (Rachsyikin / 4D)

5. Why do they never complain from what they had gone through?                (Yusrina / 4D)

6. Why were they trying so hard to search for their son's buffalo?                     (Najwa / 4D)

7. What is the writer's intention of writing this poem?                                      (Nabilah / 4B)

8. What does the condition of the buffalo tell you about the couple?               ( Maryam / 4B)

9. Why are they sttill making jokes while facing the difficulties

    of life?                                                                                                            (Azmina / 4B)

10. Why did you think that the son did not look for the albino buffalo

       on his own?                                                                                                    (Maizan / 4B)

11. Why did the people approach the stove?                                                    (Maisarah / 4B)

12. When facing a hard time, do you handle it the same

      way the family in the poem does? Why?                                                    (Atikah / 4C)

13. Do you admire the actions of the people?

      Give a reason for your answer.                                                                   (Hakimah / 4C)

14. Why did they return home at dawn?                                                           (Farihah / 4C)

15. What did they do to forget about their problems?                                       (Waida / 4C)

16. In your opinion, how did they endure the hardships

      they face during the flood?                                                                          (Yaya / 4A)

17. What is the meaning of albino buffalo?                                                       (Nisa / 4A)

18. What are the lessons learnt from this poem?                                            (Raza / 4A)

19. What does the poem tell you about the people?                                        (Husna / 4A)

20. State the themes in this poem.                                                                  (Syidah / 4A)

21. What does the phrase 'bloated carcasses' refer to?                                 (Nadiah / 4A)

ANSWERING SUMMARY IN 1119 ENGLISH SPM PAPER 2

SECTION C: SUMMARY (ESPECIALLY TO MY SETS 4(1)A and 5(1)E!!)

The third section in Paper 2 English SPM, section C requires students to complete a set of reading comprehension questions (RC) and a one paragraph summary based on a reading passage. RC is not the hardest part of the paper, because every student would have been doing this since standard 4. The problem will be the summary. Let me give you some tips on answering summary.

1.       Read THE QUESTION FIRST.

Scroll down after the RC questions and you will find the summary question. This should be done BEFORE reading the passage.*

For example,

31 Based on the passage given, write a summary on:
• the suggestions given by Mahes to promote laughter therapy at the office.

Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to change the original meaning.

 Your summary must:

• be in continuous writing form (not in note form)

• use material from lines 16 to 34

• not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below

Begin your summary as follows: Mahes suggests that laughter clubs are set up to make ...

*You should get the idea of what the passage is about just by looking at the question. Reading the questions before reading the passage is good because it gives you focus on your reading and you will understand the passage a lot faster.

2. Read the passage

3. Complete the Reading Comprehension Questions

4. To start summarizing, use the BRIEF  technique

B	BOX
R	READ
I	IDENTIFY
E	EXTRACT
F	FINALIZE

5. B=BOX

This is VERY SIMPLE. Just draw a box on the paper. Start the first horizontal line ABOVE the line mentioned in the instruction (In RED) and another after the last line mentioned. In this case it is line 16 and line 34.

31. Practice 3 Questions 26 – 31 are based on the following passage.

1 Work-related stress is a common problem among employees. It can result in feelings of depression, frustration and demotivation. Stress management therapist, Mahes Karuppiah recommends laughter therapy to deal with this problem. Mahes says that laughter helps to reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that weakens the immune system.     

                                                                             

 5 Studies have found that a good laugh session can lead to a sense of wellbeing and optimism. It can also reduce blood pressure, increase circulation and relax the muscles. Mahes, who began using laughter as therapy four years ago says laughter is the easiest and most practical way to manage stress. It is also inexpensive as everyone possesses the natural ability to laugh. “You don‟t have to learn how to do it or buy equipment to help you laugh; it is in you.

 10 If you look at children, they laugh at the simplest things while adults are finding it difficult even to smile.” Mahes says employees who are facing pressure and stress usually cannot cope with their work. This drags down their productivity and may even compel them to come up with excuses not to come to work. “If you start work at the age of 25 and retire at 55, you would be spending 30 years of your life at the office. And you work about nine hours or more there every day. So, if you are unhealthy and

15 unhappy during this period which is the prime time of your life, you have wasted the bulk of your life with these emotions.” To make the office a fun place, she suggests the establishment of a laughter club at each company. “Get a few people together every morning and have a laughter therapy session for about 15 minutes. All the laughter club members should try to identify and remove negative feelings such as guilt, anger, fear, jealousy and ego,”  she says.

20 According to Mahes, there are a few types of laughter therapy. Among them are putting a pen between your teeth to simulate a smile and the “Ho, Ho, Ha, Ha,” which involves laughing while clapping your hands. You don’t need to listen to a joke or look at something funny. You can do it as a form of exercise just like aerobics. It is said that laughter is like internal jogging. It keeps the mind and body fit.  “There should also be a laughter room in every office,” she says. “You’ve heard of people

25 screaming to release their tension. Why not have a laughter room where instead of screaming, they can laugh?” Employees can use the room to practise laughter exercises, watch a funny video or sit there and just laugh their frustrations away. The cost of having this room is small. And in return it will help boost morale among the workers, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity. Another suggestion is to have a Public Announcement or P.A. system in the office so that someone can tell a

30 joke of the day or just begin laughing. Laughter is contagious. Once you get someone to laugh, soon everyone in the room will be laughing or smiling as well. Post funny jokes or cartoons on a bulletin board, as long as they are not lewd or offensive. Employees can rotate the postings every week. The best joke or cartoon should be declared the “Humour of the week”. This is the cheapest way to bring fun into the office.

35 According to a study by David Abrams of California State University in the United States, people who have fun on the job are more creative and productive, are better decision-makers and get along better with co-workers. So, start the day with a laugh and you‟ll find the saying “Laughter is the best medicine” is really true. (Adapted from The New Straits Times, July 2003)

Example of the box:

6. R=Read the passage

This is not simply reading. Focus on what you are going to summarize. Especially the one in the box.

7. I=Identify

This means you must identify the points/ key ideas that are relevant to what the instructions want. Be careful of what the question wants especially the PARTS OF SPEECH.

For example-the instruction above is QUESTIONING about SUGGESTIONS TO PROMOTE LAUGHTER THERAPY IN THE OFFICE. Now SUGGESTIONS should fall into the NOUN CATEGORY/PART OF SPEECH. So you have to search for ACTIVITIES.

I WOULD HIGHLIGHT THE POINTS

8 E=Extract

This basically means when you have identified the ideas, you have to take the idea out from the text and ON A PIECE OF A DIFFERENT PAPER, write them out again according to the ORDER THEY ARE FOUND IN THE PASSAGE. Making this list of ideas/points is CRUCIAL because we need to weed out the unnecesssary details and to recheck whether the ideas we identify is relevant or not. Remember, only highlighting on the text IS NOT ENOUGH. You have to REWRITE THE POINTS.

Ok, let’s look at the list

SUGGESTIONS ON PROMOTING LAUGHTER THERAPY AT THE OFFICE

1.       she suggests the establishment of a laughter club at each company. “Get a few people together every morning and have a laughter therapy session for about 15 minutes. All the laughter club members should try to identify and remove negative feelings such as guilt, anger, fear, jealousy and ego,”  she says

WHAT IS STRUCK OUT: ELABORATION ON WHAT IS A LAUGHTER CLUB

2.       According to Mahes, there are a few types of laughter therapy.

WHAT IS STRUCK OUT: MENTIONING THE WRITER IS UNNECESSARY

3.        Among them are putting a pen between your teeth to simulate a smile and the “Ho, Ho, Ha, Ha,” which involves laughing while clapping your hands. You don’t need to listen to a joke or look at something funny. You can do it as a form of exercise just like aerobics. It is said that laughter is like internal jogging. It keeps the mind and body fit.  

WHAT IS STRUCK OUT: ELABORATION OF LAUGHTER THERAPY AND HOW IT WORKS

4.       “There should also be a laughter room in every office,” she says. “You’ve heard of people screaming to release their tension. Why not have a laughter room where instead of screaming, they can laugh?”

WHAT IS STRUCK OUT: JUSTIFICATION FOR HAVING A LAUGHTER ROOM

5.       Employees can use the room to practise laughter exercises,

WHAT IS STRUCK OUT:  WHO IS USING THE ROOM BECAUSE IT IS EXPLAINED IN THE POINTS ABOVE.

6.       watch a funny video or

7.       sit there and just laugh their frustrations away. The cost of having this room is small. And in return it will help boost morale among the workers, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity.

WHAT IS STRUCK OUT:  THE COST AND BENEFITS OF THE ROOM

8.       Another suggestion is to have a Public Announcement or P.A. system in the office so that someone can tell a joke of the day or just begin laughing. Laughter is contagious. Once you get someone to laugh, soon everyone in the room will be laughing or smiling as well.

WHAT IS STRUCK OUT:  REASON FOR USING THE P.A SYSTEM

9.       Post funny jokes or cartoons on a bulletin board, as long as they are not lewd or offensive. Employees can rotate the postings every week.

WHAT IS STRUCK OUT:  WHAT CAN BE POSTED AND WHO CAN POST IT.

10.   The best joke or cartoon should be declared the “Humour of the week”. This is the cheapest way to bring fun into the office.

WHAT IS STRUCK OUT:  THE COST
.

Remember, NO EXAMPLES, ELABORATIONS AND 

REPEATED IDEAS IN A SUMMARY

.

9. F=FINALIZE

Use the sentence as an opener for your summary given to start writing a paragraph of summary. Be sure not to exceed 120 words.

Mahes suggests that laughter clubs are set up to make people release their tension. First, there are a few types of laughter therapy:  Among them are putting a pen between your teeth to simulate a smile and the “Ho, Ho, Ha, Ha,” which involves laughing while clapping your hands. Second, create a laughter room in every office. Then use the room to practise laughter exercises, watch a funny video or sit there and just laugh their frustrations away. Third, use the Public Announcement or P.A. system in the office so that someone can tell a joke of the day or just begin laughing. Finally, post funny jokes or cartoons on a bulletin board and the best joke or cartoon should be declared the “Humour of the week”

              

               You must write the number of word                                       (126 words)

In finalizing, you can write in Sequence connectors like the numbering of points to make your points clearer. Before submitting, check your sentences and grammar.

There you are. we are done. You can start practising!

Good Luck!

A Lesson in Punctuation

To master writing, one must master punctuation. Punctuation is arguable the most taken-for-granted part of grammar. Many students do not optimally use punctuation marks in their writing; hence their writing lose that versatility and invite ambiguity.

Punctuation rules 

Punctuation marks are symbols which

1. organize the structure of written language,
2. and indicate intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud.

Punctuation marks are also used to avoid ambiguity. For example, "woman, without her man, is nothing" has a different meaning from "woman: without her, man is nothing"
This is a summary of punctuation rules.
Read the punctuation rules and study the examples given.

End punctuation marks:

1. Full stop , or period (.)

• Used a full stop at the end of a sentence:
  She stood up and went away. She was furious.
• Used for abbreviations:
  Co. (Company)
  M.P. (Member of Parliament) 

2. Question marks (?)

• Question marks are used at the end of direct questions:
  Where do you live?
  Are you crazy?
  Did you do the homework?
• Use a question mark at the end of tag questions:
  You will help me, won't you?
  He likes soccer, doesn't he? 

3. Exclamation marks (!)

• Used to indicate strong emotions:
  She's so beautiful!
  What a nice girl!
  How interesting!
• Used after interjections:
  Oh! It's awful.
  Hi! What's up?

Commas (,)

• Commas are used between items in a series or list. The last two items of the series usually do not need a comma between them. They are separated by "and".
  I like spaghetti, fish, pizza and couscous.
• Commas are also used between adjectives or adverbs:
  I'd like to have a big, black, German car.
  She speaks slowly, quietly and eloquently.
• After the street address and city in an address:
  34 Hassan II Street, Rabat, Morocco.
• Before or after direct speech:
  He said,"I hate being treated like that."
  "I'm sorry", she replied.
• Before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
  He woke up late, so he had to drive to work.

Semicolons (;)

• Semicolons are used instead of a full stop or period to separate independent sentences:
  They woke up early; then they went jogging.
• Use a semicolon to separate items in a series when those items contain punctuation such as a comma:
  They visited the Eiffel Tower, Paris; Big Ben, London; and the statue of liberty, New York

Colons (:)

• Use a colon to introduce a list:
  He visited three cities last summer holiday: Madrid, Roma and Athens.
• To introduce an idea or an explanation:
  He had one idea in mind: to see her as soon as possible.
• To introduce direct speech or a quotation:
  The secretary whispered in his ear: "Your wife is on the phone. "

Dashes (--)

• To introduce parenthetical information:
  I put on a blue jacket --the one my mother bought me-- and blue jeans.
• To show an afterthought:
  I explained to him my point of view-- at least I tried!

Apostrophes (')

• Use an apostrophe to indicate a missing letter or letters in a contraction.
  I'm fed up with his stories
• Use an apostrophe plus the letter "s" to show possession.
  My brother's girlfriend is such a sweet girl.

Quotation marks ("")

• Quotation marks are used to quote speech, sentences or words.
  She said, "I love you."

Taken from myenglishpages