Exam Season Tips: The Sleep-Success Connection

By WR!TERS@WORK

With the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) looming near, your child might be pulling all-nighters to ensure he/she is well-prepared for the first major examination of his/her life. During this stressful exam season, ensuring that your child gets sufficient sleep is crucial. Having a well-rested mind will go a long way in allowing them to effectively absorb and retain information, leading to better performance during exams. This is particularly important for subjects like English, which require a high level of analytical and comprehension skills across the various papers.

Sleep plays a major role in regulating brain function, affecting students’ memory, concentration, cognitive function and overall academic performance in the long run. When we sleep, the brain remains active in consolidating and storing information in our memory, allowing it to be accessed quickly during revision and examinations. Analytical skills can also be enhanced with sufficient sleep, as the brain makes and strengthens neural connections between old and new concepts.

Being sleep-deprived is the last thing you would want your child to encounter during the examinations, as sleepiness manifests decreased alertness and lower levels of concentration. English exams often require students to understand and analyse complex texts, write compositions and articulate their thoughts clearly during the oral examinations.

For English Language Paper 1, writing coherent and grammatically correct essays requires clear thinking and creativity, both of which are augmented by quality sleep. Let’s look at a few examples of PSLE composition questions.

2021 PSLE Paper 1: Write a composition of at least 150 words about a promise.

Consider the following points when you plan your composition:

• What was the promise?
• Was the promise kept?

2020 PSLE Paper 1: Write a composition of at least 150 words about something that was lost.

Consider the following points when you plan your composition:

• How did it get lost?
• Was it found?

Knowing how to write a good composition starts with answering the composition questions effectively, a key strategy your child will learn how to manage using WRITERS AT WORK’s composition writing techniques taught during English tuition. In order to elevate the writing to another level, using complex vocabulary and creative writing phrases that were previously memorised is recommended. Recalling and correctly applying these techniques are definitely easier done when having adequate sleep. However, excelling in the English examinations requires more than a good night’s sleep, it needs long-term preparation as well. WRITERS AT WORK provides creative writing classes for primary school, which ensure that your child has a good grasp of the English language, and master composition writing techniques that can help them ace their PSLE!

As a general guide, primary school students should aim to have at least 9 to 11 hours of quality sleep every day for healthy brain development, cognitive function and physical growth. Now, let us share some tips on how you as a parent can help your child achieve sufficient rest before the examinations.

1. Limit Screen Time

Blue light emitted from electronic devices can upset the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep. This can disrupt your child’s natural sleep cycle and increase sleep latency. Hence, reducing exposure to screens an hour before bedtime can improve your child’s sleep quality.

2. Establish a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Try to maintain a regular bedtime and wake time, even on the weekends. Having a regular sleep schedule regulates the body’s internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up at the same time every day. Consistency in sleep patterns will also improve your child’s quality of sleep, leading to an improved academic performance in school.

3. Create a Comfortable Sleep Environment

Having a proper bedroom setting is essential for a good night’s rest as it reduces external stimuli that can disrupt sleep. Try using blackout curtains to block out light, and reduce noise levels at home. Ambient sounds, or white noise, can help mask disruptive noises and allow your child to fall asleep easier.

Attain Stellar Results with WRITERS AT WORK!

English is a compulsory subject which all students must undertake. However, mastering the English language is not something which happens overnight – it takes consistent practice and effort to learn the nuances of the language. Students must read more and practice writing to gradually improve. Cramming for a language subject nearer to the exams is an impossible feat. After all, Rome was not built in a day! Attaining such a skill will have positive implications for not only your child’s education in school, but also employment prospects in future.

At WRITERS AT WORK, we are committed to providing the smoothest learning experience for your child sitting for their English exams. With our carefully curated methods of teaching your child how to write well, your child will learn how to present their thoughts and arguments in a coherent and concise manner. WRITERS AT WORK reinforces your child’s language skills and provides a strong foundation for their academic success, keeping up with all aspects of their progress both inside and outside of the classroom to nurture them holistically. For more information about how WRITERS AT WORK makes a difference, feel free to explore our website, watch our YouTube videos and catch us LIVE on TikTok!

If you are interested in our primary English tuition and secondary English tuition in Singapore, WRITERS AT WORK has expanded to 9 convenient locations. To find the nearest location that suits your needs, please explore our options. If you have any inquiries regarding our range of programs or class schedules, please feel free to contact WRITERS AT WORK!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

1. What Do You Learn in English Writing Class?

At WRITERS AT WORK, students are first taught to break down questions to understand what is being asked. Learning what the question wants is just as important as learning how to answer it. Next, students will learn how to use the Plot Curve to craft logical and coherent plots, and interesting, well-developed characters, all the while learning key phrases which broaden their vocabulary. Students will use ideas from all the lessons taught at WRITERS AT WORK in the exam.

2. How Can I Improve My Child’s Creative Writing Skills?

One way to enhance a child’s creative writing skills is by reading model compositions. After all, children cannot write about what they do not know. By reading how good essays are written and attempting to imitate them, children will pick up sentence mechanics and vocabulary they can use in their own exams. Reading more will also give students ideas about the various contexts they can write an essay about as they will be able to broaden their horizon of experiences.

3. Why is It Important to Take Writing Classes?

Writing is the most challenging literacy skill to teach because it is a combination of many different skills and abilities. Students must be logical and creative when writing to create a coherent plot while remembering how to use the correct sentence mechanics. Furthermore, a wide range of vocabulary suited to the context must be used to create the correct imagery and tone.

4. What Age Do Kids Start Creative Writing?

Children typically begin creative writing in primary school. In Singapore, children are required to do Situational Writing and Composition for their PSLE exams in Primary 6. They may begin with simple prompts and first learn how to craft basic sentences, then progress to telling a story with a coherent plot which has a source of tension and then a resolution.