A quick guide to SPM English 1119

by StudyMalaysia.com on March 29, 2016 | Top Stories

Ten things to remember for English 1119 Paper 1

Section A
1. Section A contains tasks where the essay is usually a letter, report, talk, speech or article. All these types of
writing tasks have formats; make sure you know them.

2. Use all the given notes. Do not write too much. One elaboration per point and one additional point of your
own is usually sufficient.

3. Spend a maximum of 45 minutes. Do not waste too much time here.

4. Reports, articles and formal letters require formal language. Do not use slang or ‘buddy’ language.

5. 250 words should be sufficient.

6. Many of the writing tasks require the past tense. Know when to use them.

7. Language carries 20 marks; keep your sentences short, clear and accurate. Spelling is crucial.

8. Addresses and names can be fictitious. Don’t worry too much about them.

9. Some of the reports, formal letters and articles need the writer’s name and position, if any. Reports and
formal letters must be signed.

10. Here is a simple time schedule:

 15 mins to plan and write your draft

 10 mins to edit

 15 mins to rewrite

 5 mins to check grammar and spelling

Important: Please do not submit a blank piece of paper. Any attempt however small, garners
marks. Please do not write more than the necessary in this section; many students do and find
themselves short of time in section B. The ideal length is about 250 words or so.

Did you know?

Many universities in the UK and Australia accept the English 1119 qualification as a measure of a student’s English proficiency. In

these cases, students need not take the IELTS or TOEFL if they have the required English 1119 grade.

Students who want to sit for the English 1119 as a private candidate can register with the Jabatan Pendidikan

Negeri(http://www.moe.gov.my/my/direktori-jpn) or Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah (http://www.moe.gov.my/my/selangor). The

general registration fee for SPM is RM20 and the exam fee for English 1119 is RM20.50.
 Registration is usually open from 1-31 March each year.

The writing tasks in Paper 1 Section B comes in five choices: narrative or descriptive, expository,
argumentative, imaginative and now, a new type that has replaced the one word essay – proverb
or idiomatic expression. The last one often comes with a given situation (this makes it easier!).

Here is an example of the 2014 questions:

Describe an important family celebration and how you felt about it. (Descriptive)

There is a lack of freedom given to teenagers today. Do you agree? (Argumentative)

Why are animals important to human beings? (Expository)

Write a story about a fisherman beginning with: “The wind blew strongly. Out at sea, …”
(Imaginative)

‘A friend in need is a friend indeed.’ Describe how a friend helped you in difficult time. (Proverb)

Ten things to remember for English 1119 Paper 1

Section B
1. Underline key words in the question and read it several times.

2. Use a mind map before starting. Each point should be followed by an elaboration and an example.

3. Try to add facts and figures where necessary. Refer to newspaper articles regarding people, places and
events.

4. Keep a scrap book to read these articles before the exam.

5. Keep sentences simple and vary them with long and short sentences. Use paragraphs to introduce new ideas
and points.

6. The word limit is a minimum of 350 words. A rough guide would be: introductory paragraph – 25 words;
conclusion – 25 words; and six paragraphs of 50 words each for the body.

7. Don’t write too much. This could cost you language points if you make grammatical and spelling errors.

8. Try to be cheerful and positive in your writing. Sad essays may seem unappealing.

9. Try practising for at least three essay types. Do not limit your choice to one essay type.

10. Here is a sample time schedule for this essay task:

 5-10 mins for the mind map/outline

 10 mins to draft

 20-30 mins to write

 5-10 mins to check

Ten things to remember for paper 2

1. Section A – 15 marks. The objective questions are tricky. Read them at least twice underlining key words
in the question and answers.

2. Read the cloze passage once in questions 9-15. They usually deal with tenses (simple present/past,
present/past perfect tenses), articles (a, an, the), determiners (the, this, that), prepositions (in, on, of, for, at),
pronouns (his, hers, its, their, our) – Write the answers in the blanks before deciding.

3. Section B – 10 marks. The answers are usually short and precise. Do not put two answers in one blank.
Answers that are copied directly from the source text will not gain marks.
4. Section C – Answers for the comprehension task are usually short and precise. Lifting the entire sentence
can result in errors. Underline main points as you read. Each paragraph has at least two points that you need
for the summary. Keep the summary within the 130 word limit. Use the 10 words given. Connect each
sentence with a sentence or sequence connector.
5. Section D – Question 32 is on one of the poems you learnt. This section involves at least two questions that
require you to quote lines from the poem and one personal response from you. Pay attention in class and
you will be all right.

6. Question 33 is about the novel you studied. Have quotations ready for each character in the story. Quote
what they said to support your point.

7. There must be an introduction, three points with elaboration and evidence from the text in three distinct
paragraphs followed by a summing up or conclusion based on the question.

8. The questions are on Theme, Characterization (like/dislike), Moral Values, Lessons and your personal
response or evaluation of the novel, plot or storyline.

9. The time and setting of the novel are as important as the author and his/her views. Read up on it.

10. Never use a revision book as a substitute for reading the novel.

The SPM English is a compulsory subject that all students must sit for. It comprises of two written
papers and one oral examination. Before looking for SPM English Tips 2018, make sure you
know the structure of the written paper, which is as follows.

Examination structure of SPM English 2018:

Paper 1
  To be answered in 1 hour and 45 minutes
 Section A: Directed Writing
 Section B: Continuous Writing

Paper 2

 To be answered in 2 hours and 15 minutes

 Section A: 15 Multiple Choice Questions (Answer ALL)
 Section B: 10 Short Questions (Answer ALL)
 Section C: 5 Short Questions & 1 Essay Question (Answer ALL)
 Section D: 1 Short Question & 1 Essay Question (Answer ALL)

The papers are marked dually by the Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia (MPM) and the GCE
Cambridge O Level examination board, resulting in two scores. It is harder to score an A for the
GCE board and is important for anyone wishing to study in universities abroad. The oral
examination is carried out by the school teacher.

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SPM English Tips 2018

DO

1. Use the correct formatting for letters. Remember where the addresses and signatories:
2. Formal letters on the left, Normal letters like the right!
3. Use idioms and similes sparingly to show a good command of language.
4. For poems, keep your answers short and precise while trying simplify the poem’s
meaning based on what the question asks.
5. For novels, make sure you know the themes, moral values, main plot and character
motivations to be able to score in this section.
6. Do remember the difference between words like ‘your vs you’re’, ‘affect vs. effect’,
‘definitely vs defiantly’ and other similar sounding but different meaning words.

DON’T

1. Use Manglish like “You very clever one meh?”, even if writing dialog.
2. For formal letters, don’t use words like buddy, pal, bro, BFF, and other slangs, and try to
stay away from them in general.
3. Don’t write sentences that are too long or don’t use proper punctuation.
4. Don’t write essays in point form! Make sure to use full sentences and reduce spelling
errors.

MUST STUDY
 1. The novel and literature. There is no way to escape this, though you can refer to short
notes and reference books that break down the stories by themes and plots.
2. Must memorise and be familiar with formal and informal letters.

The above are just a short summary of SPM English Tips 2018 that projects some do’s and
don’ts. For more SPM Tips for all subjects, get this extremely useful SPM answering guide here.