TIPS TO ANSWER SECTION D - ESSAY WRITING ( PT3 ENGLISH PAPER )

PT3 ENGLISH PAPER : SECTION D - ESSAY WRITING


As I was having some spare time last weekend, I spent the precious time to check my son's writing. I was so disappointed to see he failed to connect his ideas coherently and his grammar was also terrible.

Spontaneously I shared these tips with him. I told him that these tips were useful and applicable every time he comes across a comprehension question that requires a detail explanation of an event or a description/chronology of what happened.

Throughout my observation, most of essay questions for section D require the candidates to describe the event based on the picture/illustration given.

Here are the tips shared with him :

1. The first 5 minutes before starting the essay,  draft the 5 or 6  WH Questions. The questions would be like this :

** What was the incident/event/tragedy ?

** Who involved in the incident/event/tragedy ?

** When did it happen?

** Where did it happen?

** Why did it happen?

** How did it happen?


Answer each question as details as possible. This is to make your essay very informative and illustrative. Try to be imaginative by referring to the pictures given.

Then, connect all the answers to write a chronology of what happened.


2. Tenses to be used for this type of question are PAST TENSE FAMILY. Since you are told to describe what happened so you can use SIMPLE PAST TENSE, PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE and also PAST PERFECT TENSE respectively.
Remember to use appropriate tense for each sentence constructed.
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE is only used if you are told to give suggestions or opinions.


This is one example of SECTION D QUESTION :

The picture below shows an incident of a hit-and-run accident you witnessed while you were coming back from your tuition class.

When writing about the recount, you should

describe what happened
express what you felt
give suggestions of what you think a driver of a hit-and-run accident should do


Obviously in this question, it needs the candidate to describe the incident vividly. Thus, the answers from WH Questions would be a great help. Remember to link the chronology of what happened by using the appropriate tenses as being discussed earlier.

Good Luck My Dear Son & All PT3 Candidates