Many students and parents alike are under the impression that English is a subject which is hard to prepare for. As such, they may be tempted to leave their revision to the very last minute. However, this is an arguably misguided approach to learning and mastering a language, as we best learn how to speak, read, and write a language through regular exposure to it in different contexts daily. This article hopes to encourage parents and students to take up the healthy habit of writing weekly compositions in a consistent manner for their own benefit.
What Should I Write Weekly?
Students who enjoy journalling or writing stories may find that a weekly story-writing session is a good way to decompress from the stress of school and other commitments. Exercising your creative brain and thinking of the different ways to express yourself are good ways to improve your language skills. Writing more will enable students to become more familiar with crafting complete sentences and communicating ideas effectively.
Students do not need to write rigidly, according to an exam composition prompt, every week. At times, students want to write freely, and they should be encouraged to do so. However, if there is a focus on preparing for examinations (such as nearing an examination date), students should try to practice with exam composition questions as much as possible.
How Should I Write Weekly?
Students can set a certain amount of time for them to complete their composition. For example, students can take ten minutes to plan their essay and then spend the next half an hour writing their composition. Allocating a brief amount of time to it will help students feel more motivated to complete the task. A shorter task will not seem too dreary and arduous.
To keep things fun and fresh, students could write composition questions on pieces of paper, which are then folded and kept in a jar or a bag. Students can shake the jar or the bag and pick out a question or a prompt from the jar for the week. Having this fun lucky draw setup may make students feel like they are completing a game instead of doing homework.
How Can I See Concrete Improvement in My English Compositions?
1. Learn How to Use New Words Every Time You Write
A large part of writing good essays is the accumulation of vocabulary. However, reading the dictionary and adding new words into a mental “database” to store means nothing if the student cannot use them to form sentences. At the same time, students need to learn how to use new words in the correct context, as using complicated words without the proper context will show the examiner that the student is merely using them to sound “smart”.
Students should try to replace certain words or phrases with more complex sentences. To check whether the student has used the word or phrase correctly, students should double check the sentence again and read it out to see whether it sounds natural or forced. Certain essay genres such as descriptive essays require a rich vocabulary, and if students lack inspiration about how to use new words in their writing, they can borrow other author’s descriptions of the same topic and emulate their writing style.
2. Learn How to Use More Complex Sentence Structures Every Time You Write
When writing essays, some students may use the same, repetitive sentence structures. A good essay will feature varied sentence structures. Every sentence should not start with the same words to avoid the essay sounding monotonous and boring. To know how to vary your sentence structures, students should read other essays to see how a paragraph is crafted. A good tip is to copy out other people’s essays to see how they write, and then emulate their writing style in your own essays.
3. Go Back to Old Compositions and Review Where You Have Made Mistakes
An essential part of writing is correcting your previous mistakes. Students will have previous essays or assignments which have been corrected in red ink by their teachers. A good thing to do would be to go back and review these past assignments to see what sort of errors they have made in the past and try to correct them as best as they can. For example, students who are not good at spelling should identify the words they have spelled wrongly in the past and rewrite them with the correct spelling to reinforce good writing habits.
At times, the student’s English teachers may give them feedback such as “elaborate more”, which will require the student to make extensive corrections, like writing a whole new paragraph. It is advisable to correct the essay properly, such as adding the new paragraph and reading the entire essay again to see whether the paragraph is suitable, as this will improve the way the whole essay “flows”. In future essays, students will be better at gauging whether they have elaborated enough on a particular point once they have completed their corrections for previous essays, according to the English teacher’s comments.
Writing weekly compositions will help students improve their grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure to prepare for their final exams. It is important that students get regular practice if they want to see some improvement in their English grades.
Learn How to Write in a Coherent and Concise Manner with WR!TERS@WORK!
At WR!TERS@WORK, we are committed to providing the smoothest learning experience for your primary or secondary school child sitting for their English exam. With our carefully curated methods of teaching your child how to write, your child will be able to craft well-written essays in any genre with good grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure.
English tuition and writing courses are instrumental for students not only in school, but to prepare them for their future undertakings as good writing is a universal necessity. Enjoy a smoother learning process with WR!TERS@WORK as we reinforce your child’s language skills and provide them with a strong foundation for academic success. For more exam tips, parents and students can explore our website and watch our YouTube videos.
If you are interested in our primary English tuition and secondary English tuition in Singapore, WR!TERS@WORK has expanded to 8 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 WR!TERS@WORK.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
1. How Do I Find the Best English Tutor?
Firstly, research and ask around for good recommendations from family or friends. Next, research online and read the reviews of tuition centers to find suitable candidates. A good idea is to drop by the tuition center and let your child experience a trial lesson to find a good tutor.
2. What is the Purpose of an English Tutor?
An English tutor is supposed to guide your child to their full potential in terms of mastering the English language. Different children have different skills and capabilities in their academics, and the job of the tutor is to identify strengths and weaknesses of the child and help them accordingly.
3. What Skills Should an English Tutor Have?
A tutor should have a discerning eye for strengths and weaknesses of the student, patience to deal with different students, the requisite qualifications and experience, and they should be up to date on the relevant changes in the Singaporean English syllabus.
4. What Are Some Important Skills in English?
The English language requires the understanding of simple rules such as grammatical rules and sentence structure. Moreover, it requires more complex skills such as inference and synthesis which come later on as the student progresses to more difficult exercises.
5. Which English Language Skills is Most Difficult?
Synthesis is one of the most difficult skills in the English language as it involves using present ideas to generate new opinions and viewpoints.
6. What is the Most Difficult Part of English Class?
