2016 PSLE Discussions (Born in 2004)

[janet88]

for compo, i told my daughter to stick to 3 pages or else there will not be a conclusive story, besides too short a compo cannot pass.

[Sun_2010]

hquek:

ilovelaksa:

I am wondering, what is the number of pages your child writes for Chinese compo and English compo?

My dd's Chinese teacher told her class that they MUST write at least 4 pages. She is in a Higher Chinese class.
Dd got 27/40 for a 2.5 pg compo once. Reason was she did not meet the requisite min of 4 pages but subsequently gets btw 36-38 if she writes 4 pages or more. There are ppl in her class who writes 6-8 pages regularly! I think 4 pages is too much under exam conditions. She is also confused as her Chinese exam essays gets 36-37 even though she writes only 2.5 pages.
It is the same for her Eng teacher. High marks are only given for those who writes in excess of 5-6 A4 pages. And yes, there are those that writes 7 pages or more. I can't understand how this helps to train the kids for exams.

BUT....the more they write, the more wrong they can be. I don't know exactly how much but I think for HMT, maybe about 3? (DS1 Chinese not that good, asking him to write more is just to open up more weakness to scrutiny). His English is better and he probably can do 5-6 pages.

I just know for sure that kids MUST not veer off course, else how many pages also won't rescue. Then plus big handwriting? I had a classmate in sec school who dashed 3 words per line (I couldn't read) and she can do many many pages...but if one were to condense it, I think it's probably usual length.

To me, it's not the number of pages but rather whether the compo sticks to the topic, good phrases used to show language mastery, no spelling/grammar mistakes, story flow that makes a good compo. I don't think the examiner want to read 7 pages of tedious and repetitive :imdrowning:

Totally agree.
Meandering plot, disconnected info, repetitive description, elaborate but not very relevant intro /setting can take up pages but I don't think the teachers want that.

My advice for DS is about 350 -500 words for eng compo which could be 3-4 pages given DS's writing style he has about 120 words per page.

[ilovelaksa]

janet88:

for compo, i told my daughter to stick to 3 pages or else there will not be a conclusive story, besides too short a compo cannot pass.

Do you mean the teacher fails the essay if it is less than 3 pages?

[hquek]

ilovelaksa:

janet88:

for compo, i told my daughter to stick to 3 pages or else there will not be a conclusive story, besides too short a compo cannot pass.

Do you mean the teacher fails the essay if it is less than 3 pages?

I rather think that if a compo is too short, a bit hard to be a good story. But so true like what jedamum said, kids must allocate enough time for a good ending...else a lot of effort wasted. Not too sure how long they have to write a compo but my impression is that time is in very short supply.

So planning have to be super fast and spot on - cannot spend time to think about embroidering dragons and phoenixes and end up with no time to execute....

[StillThinking]

hquek:

ilovelaksa:

[quote=\"janet88\"]for compo, i told my daughter to stick to 3 pages or else there will not be a conclusive story, besides too short a compo cannot pass.

Do you mean the teacher fails the essay if it is less than 3 pages?

I rather think that if a compo is too short, a bit hard to be a good story. But so true like what jedamum said, kids must allocate enough time for a good ending...else a lot of effort wasted. Not too sure how long they have to write a compo but my impression is that time is in very short supply.

So planning have to be super fast and spot on - cannot spend time to think about embroidering dragons and phoenixes and end up with no time to execute....[/quote]Well, it doesn't need to be a good story, it only needs to make sense and be relevant. The way to score high is really having no mistakes.

[ilovelaksa]

hquek:

BUT....the more they write, the more wrong they can be. I don't know exactly how much but I think for HMT, maybe about 3?

Dd is required to write at least 4 pages for both MT and HMT essays. She does a Chinese essay every week since school started. Hers is the only HMT class in her school, 25 pupils.
I tried taking her out of HMT beginng of this yr. This is not bcuz she is doing badly, her overall MT is around 83-85 usu in P5, just like my older dd. I feel the HMT work load was too heavy for her and was afraid it will kill her interest in Chinese. But the other 2 MT classes are too full to accommodate her (there's already 42 in each). The classes that follows these 3 hv many students who fails/barely passes MT so her Chinese teacher says it is not advisable.

[Joy of Learning 111]

In English, it is quality, not quantity; and it is word count, not page count. The minimum is 150 words.


Most high ability children I encounter usually write about 250 words. I find that diminishing returns sets in rapidly after 250 words for most students. A high ability student who keeps to about 250 words will show that succinctness but richness of expression and focused personal voice that are some of the hallmarks of an A* composition.

[Joy of Learning 111]

StillThinking:

Well, it doesn't need to be a good story, it only needs to make sense and be relevant. The way to score high is really having no mistakes.

I would include making sense, being relevant and avoiding mistakes as among the criteria of 'goodness'.

[janet88]

important point is, don’t write out of point.

[ilovelaksa]

janet88:

important point is, don't write out of point.

Yes, this is really VERY impt. My dd misinterpret an essay bef when she was younger. She got zero for content, only language marks.