Dear readers,
I hope you are doing well and this blog post receives you well. Recently, I received a request from a student who reads my blog for some essay writing tips. I thought it would be a good idea to compile my top tips on how to write a good essay, and why doing these things will really help you score well in your exam. These tips apply for Section B in Paper 1 of the SPM English exam.
1. Pick an essay topic you are confident in.
This might be very obvious, but I personally can remember times that I chose the more difficult essay question because I thought it would make me unique and appear better to the examiner. In reality, I was just making myself way more stressed out than I needed to be. Read all 5 questions that are given to you, and think about the points that you can use for each. Then, choose the topic where you are confident that you can write 4 or 5 points about, and you’ll be able to explain those points well.
2. Write an essay “skeleton”
Just like in Bahasa Malaysia, it is important that your essay has an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Whether you choose to write an informative essay or a story, this will make sure that you don’t get stuck halfway in the exam. This also prevents you from going off-topic. Spend the first 5 or 10 minutes of the exam after you’ve picked your exam topic to write an essay skeleton. Here is an example below.
Question: What are some ways that students can spend their free time productively during the school holidays?
Introduction
- holidays are a time for students to rest — sometimes students might waste their holiday or feel bored without things to do — instead they should do something productive —
Body
- Find a part-time job
- during long holidays — students have something to do — can improve our conversational skills — can also earn extra income — save up money to buy something they really want
- Take up a new hobby or play a sport
- students don’t have time to focus on hobbies during school term — good way to keep the brain and body active — gain useful skills and work in teams
- Read books for pleasure
- finally got the time to read books you enjoy — examples like fiction, comedy, drama, mystery — become a smarter and more interesting person
- Spend time with parents and help with chores
- make our parents’ burdens lighter — become more responsible — parents also enjoy the time spend together — learn essential life skills
- Getting involved in volunteer work
- help those in need by donating food and clothes — volunteer to do some tasks e.g. playing with the young children or talking to the elderly — become more selfless — learn to appreciate what we have
Conclusion
– there’s many things that students can do — don’t waste time because “time and tide wait for no man” — fill our time with meaningful activities and make good memories of our holidays
3. Read through your essay for grammar and spelling mistakes
It is always a good idea to leave 5 minutes at the end of the exam for you to read through your essay a couple more times before submitting it. Make sure that your words are clearly written – if not, cross through the words and rewrite them. Don’t forget to check for spelling errors and grammar mistakes – it is better to correct them while you still can.
! Bonus Tip !
As both a student who completed her SPM examinations recently; as well as a current English tutor — my #1 advice to students would be to use simple English when writing any essay. It is better that you are confident in the words that you are using, instead of using big words that have a high chance of being misused. You are able to clearly explain yourself to the examiner and it will give you more confidence when you explain your points.
I hope this blog post is useful for you and if you have any other questions, feel free to email me at nuramalina3108@gmail.com! All the best for your exams 🙂
Soothing Studying 