DIRECTED WRITING -REPLYING TO UMAIRAH'S

LETTER-HOW TO PREPARE FOR SPM EXAMINATION

Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics,

Universiti Teknologi MARA (Uitm),
4000 Shah Alam,
Selangor Darul Ehsan,
25th June 2013

Dearest sis,
Thank you for your letter which I received this morning.As usual I am fine over here and at the
moment very excited making my preparation for the Mount Kinabalu expedition next week.I guessed you are
fine too of course feeling nervous and jittery for the coming SPM examination.Thank you for your
complements on me but as your sister, I think both of us are of same standard.Remember we came from the
same breed so practically I think what I can do,you can do too.Please do not be too nervous on the coming
SPM examination, I remembered I had faced this before so as you said ,you must build up that spirit and
determination to bring you to the top.

Firstly, you must plan your study times thoroughly.Time is an essence so you must be wise in
planning your timetable daily and weekly.Slot in on your weaker subjects,example allotting two hours English
Language on Sunday and Thursday. The other critical subjects Sejarah and Bahasa Melayu you can do on
any other days.Similarly for weekend, you can plan for other subjects.I wish to point out on the importance of
not to procrastinate.When you have plan your study times thoroughly, you must not procrastinate to any other
time or any others day.I always discipline myself when it comes to planning because good planning make a
good system which then produces good results.

Next, when the teacher is teaching ,you must be attentive and focus.If you lose your focus then its
hard for you to score high mark for that subject as you are not able to follow the lesson properly.Moreover,
you will lose your spirit and as time goes on you will be left behind.Definitely, you will lost interests in
that subject.The next class when the teacher comes in with a new topic then it will be worst for you as the
new topic may relates with the previous one.Besides, you are advised to ask questions on certain topic that
you are not capable to understand it.This way may improve your skills.You may also ask your teacher for your
personal reference after the school hours and for sure your teacher will give the best explanation for you.In
addition, you should go for tuition for weaker subjects such as Physics, Biology, and Chemistry.As for me, I
prefer to form a study group that consisting of 3 to 4 friends.It helps you to discuss and clarify on things that
require proper and lengthly explanation.

It is imperative for you to go through past year questions to get familiar with the format of the actual
SM questions.Doing regular practices also help you to review all the things that you have learnt.As a saying
goes, practice makes perfect.Through this way, you can memorize all the important notes by jotting down all
the earth-shattering points.

The most important thing is you must take a good care of your health by doing regular medical check
up.Taking a good rest and having sufficient sleep may help you to keep your mind fresh and ready to learn
mew things during the lessons in your class.Doing exercise frequently not also keep your body as fit as a
fiddle but also help you to overcome depression and stress with all the school stuffs.As a saying goes, a
healthy mind comes from a healthy body.
Well, I would like to pen off.Please convey my regards to our lovely parents. Hope to hear from you soon.I
wish you all the best.

Yours sincerely,
TIRA ZAINAL
 The Secret Of Success
The UPSR, PMR, SPM and STPM examination is just around the corner. All the students
study really hard and all teachers will not miss even one class. They make sure that their
students get good grades in the examination as it will decide what their future will be.
But some students are lying around and do what they should not to. If they want to
get excellent grades in the examination, they should not waste time. Wasting time doing bad
and unhealthy activities such as watching television, playing computer games, surfing
internet and listening to music all day would not make you smarter. It just makes you
dumber. So, drop out these activities and use the time to do activities that are not beneficial
like playing computers games at cybercaf, loitering at shopping mall and sucking cigarettes.
You also must not miss classes. If you always miss a lot of classes, you will also
miss the lessons that really important in your examination. Leave class if you only need to
and with a reasonable excuse. It is a really bad habit to leave class especially you used the
wasted time to do not beneficial activities. So, do not ever miss class without a good
explanation.
Next, do not do last minute studying. Do not wait for the last five day until you do
your revision. Revise your studies the moment your teacher leave class. Doing last minute
studies is not good for your brain. Your brain will be packed of things. You should have a
relax when it comes to last five days before your examination.
Moreover, do not stay up late weather you are studying, reading novel or even
watching television. Sleep at 10 pm and you will have a great day the next morning. Staying
up late is also not good for your mind and brain. Besides, if you stay up late in the midnight,
you will sleep in class. And, sleeping in class is a really bad habit and you will miss some
lessons. These are the things you should not do when you in your examination year.
If you want to get 5As, 8As, 9As or 4as in you examination, the first things you
must do is paying attention in class. That would help you a lot. If you do not understand, just
ask the teacher. No one will be mad or laugh at you unless you asking the things that
unrelated to your studies. And, do write notes.
Next, revise regularly. Do revise at night or during your free time. Check your notes
that your teacher gave you. Read the notes regularly. That will help you to remember the note
that is very important such as history, science, chemistry or biology. These subjects will test your
memory skills so always read these notes.
Besides, if you really do not understand what the teachers are teaching in class, get a help from
your friends. Create a study group with your classmates. But, choose a positive, intelligent and
friendly one. Do our study groups in the evening. Your friends will help you a lot and you understand
better.
If you still do not understand the subject, go to an additional class. Get the information
about some tuisyen class that is really effective. Or, you can get a tuisyen teacher to go to your
house. Get a friendly but strict one. You will feel comfortable with you r teacher and you will not
scared to ask question to your tuisyen teacher.
 Make a timetable for your daily activities. For example, in the morning, you go to tuisyen
class. In the afternoon, you can watch television or surf the internet. Then, you do your chores or
homework. Later that evening, you can have an exercise outside the house. In the night, you can do
your revision. These are the wise students activities. Make sure that you follow the timetable.
Moreover, eat a balanced meal everyday. For breakfast, you can have two slices of
toasted bread or, a half-boiled eggs and a cup of coffee. We must eat carbohydrates for breakfast
so, we will have enough energy to start the day. Do not ever leave breakfast. For the lunch, eat rice
and side-dishes that contains protein and carbohydrates. But, do not forget to eat vegetables and
fruit that contain fiber and vitamin. For dinner, you can have fried rice. You also can eat fat but
reduced it. Here a good tip, eat dinner at 8.00 pm. Most people eat at 8 pm. But, Malaysian usually
have their dinner at 9.30 pm. It is not good for our health especially for those who sleep early at
night.
Lastly, have an exercise every morning or in the evening, three times a week. Exercise is
very important for your body and brains. After the exercise, you will fell refresh and active.
Do follow these steps if you want to see flying colors in your grades. And, practice makes
perfect.
 Tips on Coping with Stress for Students

Stress is a word that is closely associated to students like us who are studying
for our SPM examination. Stress comes from our family and teachers who are
pressuring us to do well, as well as from the competition among our friends to
excel. However, there is no way out; we have to find ways to overcome with
stress.

Firstly, we must make time for exercise. Sitting and studying for hours can add
more stress, so going for walks or jogging will do us good. Having hobbies
such as stamp collecting or playing music will help to relax our tensed mind.
For all these activities, you need to have a timetable for studying and relaxing.
Studying in groups is a good idea. You can discuss what you do not know with
your friends and motivate each other to study

Eating a balanced meal is essential to cope with stress. We need the nutrition
and energy to study. You also must have enough sleep. Do not cut on your
sleeping hours, studying too late into the night and walking up early. You will
be tired to concentrate in class.

You also must practice good study skills. Making notes and mind mapping
are good studying techniques. Make a checklist that helps you to monitor how
far you are with revision. If you feel distressed, seek advice from your teacher
or counsellor. Go for outdoor games such as badminton or tennis to release
your tension and get away from books for a while. Talk to your family
members if you think they are pushing you too much to study. Listen to music
that makes you feel light and easy.

If you have difficulty in certain subjects, go for private tuition to get some
assistance. Spend equal time for all the subjects. We tend to spend more time
on our favourite subjects and less time on others. This will affect our SPM
grades. I hope you take heed of my tips and wish you all the best in the
coming SPM examination.
Social networking has caused a lot of problems. How far do you
agree?
Social networking, which is also known as social media, is the use of internet-based applications to
make connections with people such as our family and friends. It is now becoming an important part
of our lives. In order to keep pace with the advancement of technology, almost all of us have learnt
how to use social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.
Despite its popularity, is it true that social networking has caused us a lot of problems?

In my opinion, social networking has its advantages and disadvantages. It actually depends on how
we use it.

I believe that social media benefits us because it brings people closer even though they are from
different parts of the world. By using social networking, a person can communicate with his family
and friends wherever they are. Furthermore, social networking sites are basically free of charge. It is
extremely user friendly and can be used wherever there is internet access. By comparison, it is
more economical than making telephone calls. We are able to share our life stories and special
moments through social networking. For instance, we can see photos of beautiful scenery and
cultural activities posted by users from different countries. We can also interact with them through
the use of chat rooms and also by posting comments and messages.

Another benefit of social networking is that like-minded people all over the world are able to discuss
important topics and share their points of view. This can widen a persons personal knowledge as
he can discover different things that he never knew. For example, young people around the world
are now more involved in their countries politics. They also have a more caring attitude towards
other important issues both at home and abroad.

Just as everything has its pros and cons, social networking is no exception. One of the problems it
has caused us is that it allows us to hide behind the screens. That limits face to face interaction
among people. Some of us might think that it is good enough to be sociable simply through the use
of social networking. This could result in the lack of communication and interpersonal skills when we
come face to face with people. In addition, we tend to neglect the importance of building a good
relationship with friends that we make through social media. For instance, users can have
thousands of friends in their Facebook friends lists, but how many of them do they see on a semi-
regular basis?

Moreover, social networking has taken too much out of our lives. A lot people are busy with
Facebooking or Tweeting instead of interacting with their friends and family when meeting up.
When their elders are talking to them, they are busy with their social networking sites and tend to
ignore their elders. Such insolence is prevalent especially among todays younger generation. Apart
from that, another serious problem which social media has caused us is distraction. For example,
while studying, students may decide to catch up with Youtube videos or update their Twitter
accounts. This causes concentration problems and consequently has a negative effect on the
students academic performance. The similar situation is also not uncommon among workers who
are on duty. This can result in their superiors distrust of them.

In conclusion, I agree to a certain extent that social networking has caused a lot of problems. If it is
misused or used in an improper manner, problems can arise. On the other hand, it can be a useful
tool to people from all walks of life if it is used in an appropriate manner.