Step By Wicked Step- Simple Answering Techniques

Hello my lovely students,

I know that SPM is really just around the corner and some of you are bored to death when you have to read and reread all the notes that I gave to all of you previously in my extra classes. However, some of your friends came to see me just now and asked a very interesting question on how to write a simple answer for the question on literature component (Step By Wicked Step). I hope this sample will help some of you, especially for my students who are quite weak in finding and providing evidences from the novel.

So basically, I showed my students this simple template. 

If the question wants you to give one character/moral value/theme/event, give ONLY one and support your answer by giving 3 simple elaborations/evidences from the novel.

e.g.: Choose one character that you like and give your reasons why you like the character.

Your answer  should be something like this:

Character I like : Claudia

Why do I like her? 

a) She is a kind girl.

Elaboration 1

During her father's birthday party, Claudia wears her green pyjamas given by her father's girlfriend, Stella. She decides to do this because she feels that the guests in the party are very rude when they refuse to talk to Stella. They act like Stella is invisible and Claudia feels angry because Stella is actually a very nice person.

b) She is loyal to her mother.

Elaboration 2

Claudia is a very loyal daughter. She knows that her mother hates the fact that her father is happy with a new woman in his life so she pretends that she is unhappy when she has to go to her father's house. Claudia also refuses to accept Stella's kindness because she wants to show that she is loyal to her mother.

c) She is mature and wise.

Elaboration 3

Claudia feels that the guests for her father's birthday party are very rude. They do not want to acknowledge that Stella is her father's new love by giving her a cold shoulder during the party. Claudia is very angry with all those immature adults so she decides to give all of them a lesson by wearing her new green pyjamas and showing it off in front of the guess, hinting that Stella and her are very close. The guests are ashamed so they start to treat Stella nicely after the incident.

So, you have the points and the elaborations. You next step should be writing them nicely in paragraphs.Your answer might look like this.

     From the novel 'Step By Wicked Step' by Anne Fine, I like Claudia from the story the Green Pyjamas. I like Claudia because she is kind, loyal and she can be very mature and wise.

     Claudia is a very kind girl.  During her father's birthday party, Claudia wears her green pyjamas given by her father's girlfriend, Stella. She decides to do this because she feels that the guests in the party are very rude when they refuse to talk to Stella. They act like Stella is invisible and Claudia feels angry because Stella is actually a very nice person.

     Other than that, Claudia is also a loyal daughter to her mother.She knows that her mother hates the fact that her father is happy with a new woman in his life so she pretends that she is unhappy when she has to go to her father's house. Claudia also refuses to accept Stella's kindness because she wants to show that she is loyal to her mother.

     Lastly, Claudia shows that she is very mature and wise. Claudia feels that the guests for her father's birthday party are very rude. They do not want to acknowledge that Stella is her father's new love by giving her a cold shoulder during the party. Claudia is very angry with all those immature adults so she decides to give all of them a lesson by wearing her new green pyjamas and showing it off in front of the guess, hinting that Stella and her are very close. The guests are ashamed so they start to treat Stella nicely after the incident.

     From these three reasons, I choose Claudia as the character I like the most. Claudia shows that she is a good daughter to both her mother and father and she is also kind enough to accept Stella as her future step mother.

There you have it! A simple answer for you to use. I would like to remind all of you that this is not an A script answer. This is just a simple sample answer to help you gain enough points and I hope you would at least write something simple like this rather than not showing any attempt to answer the question, ok? :)

THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY- Part 2 (Event / Plot)

MODEL QUESTION AND ANSWER.

Based on the novel above, choose one event which you think is important/you like. Write about the event that you have chosen and give reasons for your choice.

From the novel The Boscombe Valley Mystery by Sir Authur Conan Doyle, one important event for me was the tragic killing of Charles McCarthy which was committed by John Turner. I think this event is important because it is the starting point of the whole issues and conflicts portrayed in the novel.      In this story, we learn that John Turner was a rich and respected gentleman but in the past, he was known as the notorious Black Jack of Ballarat. Twenty years later, his past caught up with him when Charles McCarthy recognized him and started to blackmail him. John Turner decided to put up with the blackmailing at first but Charles McCarthy had bigger plans. He decided to reap all John Turner’s wealth by forcing his son to marry John Turner’s only daughter, Alice.      Out of fear of his past being exposed and his love for Alice, John Turner was willing to do anything to protect her. He even goes to the extent of murdering Charles McCarthy so that Alice would be safe from the evil and scheming Charles. However, the murder was committed out of rage, so John Tuner left the murder scene in a hurry. James McCarthy was accused of killing his own father and Alice Turner asked Sherlock Holmes to help her to clean James McCarthy’s name.      This event is important because it opens my eyes to a lot of hidden stories behind the lives of the Turners and McCarthys. I hate the fact that John Turner was forced to kill Charles McCarthy. However, he had to do it because he loved his daughter very much. I was also very angry at Charles McCarthy for being so greedy but committing a murder was still unacceptable. In the end, John Turner got his punishment and the story ended nicely when Alice and James were married without knowing the truth about their fathers.

State the novel you have chosen. State some general background of the story and relate it with the event (the murder of Charles McCarthy) Describe the event in general (the murder of Charles McCarthy) State your own opinion.

I had a few requests from my message box to discuss about 'an/one important event' from the novel. However, this sample answer was done in a hurry because currently I am not that well, so I hope this will help you guys to understand the story more. 

To my new readers, I just want to say 'HELLO!'... Thank you for reading my blog...  :)

To my cheeky students of SMK Seri Mulia (2B and 1D)… I miss you guys very much! Please pray for me, alright!  

THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY- Part 1 (Character / Moral Values / Theme)

For my Form 1 and Form 2 students, here are some useful notes for all of you...

TECHNIQUES AND GUIDELINES FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTION OF PAPER 2 

~THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY~

•          Choose only one novel for the answer. Do not write about all the novels.

•          Your answer should be a short essay of more than 50 words.

•          Your answer must be in continuous writing.

•          Check your spelling and grammar.

•          Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this section.

Outline:

•          Name the novel that you have chosen.

•          You can briefly state what the novel is about.

•          Name / state the character / event / lesson etc you have chosen, depending on the question.

•          Describe / list / highlight at least 2 characteristics / actions / events etc as examples / reasons to  support your choice.

•          Describe / show how character / event / lesson etc affects other characters / people and you.

MODEL QUESTION AND ANSWER.

Based on the novel above, choose one character which you think is important. Write about the character that you have chosen and give reasons for your choice.

I would like to write about Charles McCarthy from the novel Boscombe Valley Mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Charles McCarthy was an evil man. He knew that John Turner was Black Jack from Ballarat, a group of notorious robbers that robbed stagecoaches carrying gold from Australia. When Charles McCarthy met John Turner in England twenty years later, he started to blackmail him. Charles did not know that John Turner had turned over a new leaf and started a new life in England.      Charles McCarthy is an important character because he was the real villain in this story. In the initial bargain, he asked for a house and some land and John Turner gave him a house on his farm and allowed him to stay rent-free. Over the years, Charles McCarthy became greedier and demanded more money and finally, he wanted his son, James to marry Alice Turner so that he could lay his hand on the Turner estates and wealth. John Turner loved his daughter very much and he did not want her to suffer so he killed Charles by hitting him violently with a stone on the head.      Charles McCarthy was an evil man. His greed made him lose his life under the hands of John Turner. If he waited for a while, maybe his son would have married Alice Turner because both of them were in love with each other. In the end, John Turner killed him because he was afraid that his beloved daughter would know the truth about his past and he did not want Alice to suffer because of his past mistakes.

State the name of the character and the novel you have chosen. State some general background of the story. Highlight the points of the question (an important character) State your own opinion.

Based on the novel above, state one lesson that you can learn from this novel and give reasons for your choice.

One important lesson that I can learn from the novel Boscombe Valley Mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is crime does not pay. We can never run from a crime that we have committed because the past will always come back to haunt us. In this story, we learn that John Turner was a rich and respected gentleman but in the past, he was known as the notorious Black Jack of Ballarat. Twenty years later, his past caught up with him when Charles McCarthy recognized him and started to blackmail him.      To keep his secret safe, John Turner agrees to let Charles and his family lived on a farm in his estate rent-free. However, Charles became more greedy and demanded more money and demanded that his son, James to marry John’s only daughter, Alice. John Turner finally had enough and murdered Charles in cold blood.      From this story, I learnt that crime does not pay. We must be responsible for all our actions because one day, this past mistake will come back to us and we have to pay a high price for it.

State the name of the novel and the lesson you learnt. State some general background of the story. Highlight the points of the question (a lesson learnt) State your own opinion.

c)     Based on the novel above, state one important theme and give reasons for your choice.

One important theme that I can find from the novel Boscombe Valley Mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is love. This novel is an excellent example of love because I can see different types of love portrayed in the story. First, we have the love of two young people, Alice Turner and James McCarthy. Alice loves James and understands him well enough to know that he is a kind person who is incapable of killing another human being, let alone his own father. Her love for him driver her to hire the best known detective, Sherlock Holmes, to prove his innocence. Finally, their love triumphs and the two are happily married.      Another evidence of love is between a father and his daughter. In this novel, John Turner loves his daughter, Alice, so much that he is willing to do anything to protect her. He even goes to the extent of murdering Charles McCarthy so that Alice would be safe from the evil and scheming Charles. Alice also loves his father very much and she takes good care of him, especially when he is sick.      In the end, it is this evidence of pure love that melts Holmes’ heart. We should learn from these characters that true love does triumph in the end.

State the name of the novel. Highlight the points of the question (a theme portrayed) Give another example with support from the story. State your own opinion.

Hmm... I hope these notes are helpful when you are revising for your exams, ok! :)

Elements Of A Poem

WHAT IS A POEM?

A piece of creative writing that usually consists of lines and words, often with rhymes and rhythm, to produce a musical effect. It may be descriptive, narrative, abstract or just nonsense and is used to express feelings, emotions, experiences and ideas.

THEME
The main subject or idea of a poem. A poem can sometimes have many themes.

SETTING

      The place, time or background of the poem. It can be specific or general, depending on the poem.

LITERAL AND FIGURATIVE MEANINGS

a)    Literal Meaning – the basic, original meaning of the poem

b)    Figurative Meaning – the deeper, imaginative meaning of the poem

TONE AND MOOD

a)    Tone – the poet’s attitude in the poem (e.g. defensive, positive or negative vibe)

b)    Mood – The feelings experienced by the reader (e.g. happiness, anger, pleasure)

POETIC DEVICES
Refers to the way words are used creatively by the poet to convey his ideas to the readers.

a)   Sound Devices – The arrangement of words to produce the effect of sounds

·         Alliteration – repetition of an initial or beginning sound or consonant in two or more words next to each other.

lovely land and languages

·         Assonance – repetition of vowel sounds in two or more words in a line.

hear the mellow wedding bells

·         Onomatopoeia – a word that imitates a noise or sound.

The people rustle in and out

b)   Literary Devices – The use of special words or expressions to give emphasis to colour, sound, image and emotions

·         Metaphor – an indirect comparison between two things. (e.g. She is a star)

·         Simile – a direct comparison between two things with the use of words ‘like’ and ‘as ____ as’. (e.g. As still as a brooding dove)

·         Personification – an object or animal that is given human qualities or personalities. (e.g. The trees whispered in the breeze)

·         Hyperbole –extreme exaggeration of something (e.g. we are drowning in our own sweat)

·         Repetition – stating something more than once to highlight the matter or for dramatic effect.

·         Symbol/Image – a word or object that has a few meanings and represents several things at one time.

·         Rhetorical question – a question that is asked without really needing an answer. (e.g. O’ wind, If winter comes, can spring be far behind?) 

POINT OF VIEW (POV)

·         Refers to the particular way of thinking about the subject. POV can be expressed in the following manner:

a)    First Person – The speaker is the character of the poem and tells it from his perspective. The pronouns ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘we’ or ‘us’ are used.

b)    Second Person – Not a very common POV. The speaker is not in the poem but mentions the character(s) several times. The pronoun ‘you’ is used.

c)    Third Person – The speaker is not in the poem but is all-knowing and is able to tell what all the characters are thinking. The pronouns ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’ or ‘they’ are used.