Parents’ Talks (Feb and March 2024)

By WR!TERS@WORK

In the first quarter of 2024, WRITERS AT WORK had the privilege of hosting parents over for a Parents’ Talk! To help parents and students navigate the difficult journey of preparing for their PSLE and O Level exams, WRITERS AT WORK hosts these events so that parents (and by extension, their children) can be enlightened about what they need to do to prepare. The subject matter of the talk was: “The Smartest Way to Study for English Composition”. We are proud to say that the Parents’ Talk was a massive success – we had a full house on that day!

In this blog post, we will break down the various topics covered during the talk, namely:

• Introduction
• Hard Facts
• Problems Students Face
• Proposed solution: Storybanking

Let us begin.

A. Introduction

It is an unspoken secret that writing is the most difficult literacy skill to learn. Parents themselves will know that when children are born, they learn how to listen to and speak the language, and soon after, they learn how to read. The reason why writing is the last literacy skill children pick up (as it is the most difficult) is because it is a complex process involving multiple cognitive skills. Writing is not only the most difficult skill to learn – it is also the most difficult literacy skill to teach. Getting better at writing is a lot like getting better at playing an instrument – at times, it is not a linear process, and it requires a lot of guidance, feedback, and discernment on the teacher’s part to advise the student on how to improve.

B. Hard Facts

There are some hard facts and truths that all parents and students sitting for PSLE eventually will need to grapple with. The reality of the Singaporean education system is that it is highly rigorous – students are expected to learn many difficult skills in all of their subjects. For PSLE English, there are 4 Papers: Papers 1, 2, 3, and 4. In 2025, there will be changes made to the PSLE English syllabus, with Paper 4 becoming significantly harder. Given the entire PSLE cohort every year, the national average for AL1 to AL4 in PSLE English stands at 45%. WRITERS AT WORK is proud to announce that 90% of our students achieve this goal.

C. Problems Students Face

The first problem students face is a lack of practice. Many students complain that there is too much homework given by the school. As a result, they may feel overwhelmed as they are burdened to complete so much in a week. As English teachers in school have many things to do, they may not prioritise writing compositions. When students do turn in a composition, it may sit unmarked for a long, long time – by the time it gets back to the student, the student would have forgotten what it is they had written about! Even if the marked script does find its way back to the student, the holistic marking style which teachers adopt may not be useful to students – often, teachers will underline phrases without explaining what the student could do better or correct. As such, it is no surprise that many students struggle with compositions.

The second problem is the lack of priority that Paper 4 (the English oral paper) gets. A lot of practice in school is needed to ensure students speak confidently and with the correct content (especially since there are more rigorous criteria for Paper 4 when 2025 rolls around). This oral paper is often neglected, and students typically only get to practice when they have mock exams, such as prelims. Receiving a bad oral paper grade during prelims may demoralise the student, as they may mistakenly believe that their skills at the paper will be the same for PSLE. Furthermore, there are no Paper 4 notes to revise for the oral exam, which does not help the student in figuring out how to master both the content and its delivery.

Another issue is the way English is taught and practised in the classroom. To prepare for English Paper 2, many teachers get their classes to self-mark Paper 2 practices in school. Although this may seem like a convenient way to get students to check for the correct answers, students cannot explain to themselves or their classmates why their answer is wrong. There are many strategies for language use, comprehension answering, and comprehension cloze which students will not know of if they mark their own papers. Similarly, when teachers get students to write a composition as a group, this is an inadequate form of practice as students will never learn how to do the entire composition on their own.

As a parent, you may feel stressed that your child has no time to practice and is struggling with composition writing. You may also not know about the examination requirements, especially given the upcoming changes in the PSLE English syllabus in 2025. Your child may also experience a high level of exam anxiety and stress, which could affect relationships at home. Furthermore, performing poorly for one PSLE subject will affect the overall PSLE score. When tensions and emotions are high – it is time for a good solution to the issue.

D. Proposed Solution: Storybanking

WRITERS AT WORK features specially curated lessons that cover Papers 1, 2, and 4 of the English PSLE syllabus, in addition to having a dedicated programme just for English Composition Writing. What’s more, WRITERS AT WORK teachers are prepped with the most up to date student curriculum (we conduct periodic reviews of our syllabus to ensure that the stories that students learn are important to the current cohort of students). Students will not only learn sentence mechanics and key phrases, but soft skills like inference, logic, and analysis. Our trademark STORYBANK technique helps students to quickly recall stories they learn in our weekly tuition classes and repurpose them to adapt to any PSLE composition question thrown their way. WRITERS AT WORK students step into the exam hall already prepared to deploy their secret strategy – TWEAK AND PLUG – breaking down the question picture and drawing upon complex phrases learnt during class to tackle a variety of potential examination questions. Writing is a skill that can be practised, just like any other subject. The rigour and training happens during the weekly lessons at WRITERS AT WORK, such that when students face the actual obstacle, they will be able to tackle it, having built up exam stamina from the regular practice during weekly lessons. Before they face their exams, parents can aid students in their revision by re-reading their past drafts to go over mistakes.

WRITERS AT WORK teachers are trained to give helpful feedback to students in their multiple drafts. Having a few drafts will help students implement such feedback into their new essays. Our teachers also keep up with assignments and exams at school, interpreting feedback and using your child’s exam papers as a springboard for them to improve. Students who attend lessons with us will not only learn and apply writing techniques but also become acquainted and familiar with the stories well enough to retain creative phrases and a rich vocabulary.

What did parents and students have to say about the Parents’ Talk?

“The session was very informative, especially for a Secondary 1 student like me.”

• Jovan Low

“Good overview about the learning objectives of the school and appreciate how this relates to the materials parents see when guiding our children.”

• Jun Wei

“I attended the sessions “Learn the smartest way to study for English composition writing”. The session was crisp and informative. It was easy to follow, and I learnt about the ways that students are trained at WRITERS AT WORK to improve their composition writing. I am happy and hopeful that I enrolled my child at the right place.”

• Dhivya Dominic

We at WRITERS AT WORK are so thrilled that the parents and students who attended the talk had nothing but good things to say about it! Teacher Mitsuko, who conducted the talk, was highly informative, coherent, and concise when delivering the breakdown of the topics. Hopefully, after the session, parents will be able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that writing, just like any other skill, is something that can be trained with the proper guidance and practice.

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@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. W@W 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 W@W makes a difference, feel free to explore our website and watch our YouTube videos!

If you are interested in our primary English tuition and secondary English tuition in Singapore, WRITERS@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@WORK!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

1. Is Creative Writing Good for Kids?

Creative writing is good for children as it teaches them how to use their imagination. Children have a vivid imagination and will enjoy coming up with different storylines and characters. Through the use of creative writing, children can express themselves using the English language, which is also good for their emotional development and maturity.

2. What are Good Creative Writing Topics?

A good start is to write about what you know. Students can start by writing about things that are familiar to them, such as school or family. Then, students can move on to more complex topics, requiring them to use their imagination about events which would be unlikely to happen in real life, such as a fairytale or an adventure story. Older students can write descriptive essays about being in a situation or about more abstract concepts, such as regret.

3. How to Begin a Story?

A good story should have just the right amount of exposition to illuminate the setting and the characters for the reader without giving away the entire plot. The story should begin where it is relevant, and the general gist of the situation should be outlined. The writer should know how to move the plot along from where they start easily, and the story should flow logically.

4. What are the Basic Steps in Creative Writing?

A good first step would be to plan out the story – it is important that the story follows a Plot Curve which has a logical sequence of events and a clear conclusion. The main and supporting characters should be clear – there should not be a whole village of characters – just enough to further the plot. Moreover, the central conflict of the story should be clear.