Situational Writing Intro

PSLE 2015 would be starting from 20 August 2015 to 07 October 2015. Do you have a Primary 6
child who will be sitting for this exam this year? Are you feeling all jittery and nervous as the
PSLE dates approaches?
LearnSuperMart understands your anxiety since PSLE is considered by many to be a significant
examination for your child to get into a good secondary school of your choice. To ease your
worries, we would be sharing tips on PSLE topics throughout the year.
We start with Situational Writing in the PSLE Language Paper 1.

12 Primary School Situational Writing Tips - Introduction

Students would be expected to write a short functional piece (e.g. letter, email, report) to suit the purpose,
audience and context of a given situation. This piece is known as Situational Writing.
There are NO CHANGES to this component to the PSLE English Language Syllabus for 2016.
The marking scheme is still as follows.
a. Content : 6 marks
Students must answer all the 6 questions given. I believe to score a full marks here, one must know and
present the context of the writing very well.
b. Language : 9 marks

Tip 1 of 10 It is all about the 3 pillars of the writing Purpose, Audience and Context.

1. Purpose
Is the intent of the writing meant to:
Complain about someone, a service, etc?
Appeal for help?
Thank someone for helping you?
Report an accident to an authority?
Seeking permission?
Always start with a purpose statement. If the purpose is to tell the reader about your visit to Disneyland, the
opening statement might read something like:
Dear Peter, I am writing to tell you about my trip to Disneyland last month.
2. Audience
Are you writing to someone of authority or someone that you are not familiar with? The type of audience decides
the tone and language to be used in the writing.

3. Context
Context is the situation you are writing on. Knowing the context helps you to decide if you should write in the
past, present or future tense. It also helps you to decide what information to include or omit.

Tip 2 of 10 The question paper will almost always present 6 points of information in just
about all the formats. Remember, 6 is the magic number.

The question paper will almost always present 6 points of information in just about all the formats. Remember, 6
is the magic number.
Your child must be able to extract all the 6 information points from the passage given to score the full content
points. They can be merged in such a way that you do not exceed 3 paragraphs.
Increasingly, the 6 points are no longer straightforward such that they can be lifted directly from the passage
given. Your child is expected to fully understand the content that is given and to infer the points.
It would be good if your child makes notes (number 1 to number 6) within the passage itself, so that he does not
leave any points out.
Also, the question usually states that you may reorder the points if you want. Having stated this, I usually
observed that the questions are already logically sequenced, hence, there is really no need to reorder them. But
it is really up to your child.

Tip 3 of 10 The points must be based on the graphic or clues in the information provided.
There is no need to invent extra details.

For instance, if a car is seen in the picture, there is no requirement to state that the car is green. What your child
can possibly state is the license plate of the car, and that is, if it is given in the picture.
He can give more information when the paper asks him to give an opinion or feeling. For instance, he should
write what he thinks about the long queues at the theme park. In this case, he is allowed to provide a few
reasonable conclusions, such as the queue is frustrating and he almost gave up.
Remember, there is no requirement to write more than necessary. Writing more increases the likelihood of
grammar and spelling mistakes too and does not award you more points. So, why take the risk ?

Tip 4 of 10 Ever wonder whether you need to have a Subject Line in the letter or email?

Well, a Subject Line is not mandatory under the marking scheme.

However, the recommended approach is to follow the schools guideline on this matter. Although your child would
not be penalized by PSLE for not having one, your school might, if the school's expectations are not followed.

Tip 5 of 10 Is there a need to leave two fingers indent or spacing for the first line of every
paragraph?

Leave two spacing whenever you start a new paragraph.

Other than that, do keep all other writing to the left side.

Tip 6 of 10 In terms of language, the general understanding is to KISS Keep It Simple

and Straightforward. There is no need for flowery phrases.

In terms of language, the general understanding is to KISS Keep It Simple and Straightforward.
There is no need for flowery phrases.

Tip 7 of 10 Is your child using the right tone for his writing?

Should your child be using Formal or Informal Writing?

The language has to be applied appropriately for Formal and Informal Writing. The difference between these 2
types of writing will affect the type of grammar, abbreviation, and tone used.
Essentially, dont forget yourself and switch tones in the middle of the letter. If he is using a formal tone, make
sure he doesnt lapse into abbreviations (e.g. couldve, wont, shell). If he is using an informal tone, dont start
referring to his 12-year-old friend as Mr. Goh.
In the event that the tone allows for abbreviations, ensure that the abbreviations can be found in a dictionary;
some abbreviations, such as aint, are not recognised.

Should he be using formal or informal writing? The language has to be applied appropriately for
formal and informal writing. The difference between these 2 types of writing will affect the type of
grammar, abbreviation, and tone used.
Essentially, dont forget yourself and switch tones in the middle of the letter. If he is using a
formal tone, make sure he doesnt lapse into abbreviations (e.g. couldve, wont, shell). If he is
using an informal tone, dont start referring to his 12-year-old friend as Mr. Goh.
In the event that the tone allows for abbreviations, ensure that the abbreviations can be found in
a dictionary; some abbreviations, such as aint, are not recognised.
Source: MUTB
Tip 8 of 10 There shouldnt be abbreviations for formal writing.

Do not abbreviate, especially for commonly used terms such as "TV", "bike" and "aircon".
Also, keep away from contractions such as "Ill", "hell" and "couldve".

Boss hands over document: There are too many abbreviations in your report ? can you rewrite it
asap?
Take note especially for commonly used terms such as TV, bike and aircon. Also, keep away
from contractions such as Ill, hell and couldve.
Tip 9 of 10 Have you signed off appropriately?

If your child does not know the person (e.g. salutation is Dear Sir, Dear Madam or Dear Editor), end the
piece with a complimentary close of Yours faithfully.
Also, for signing off, include the full name of the sender. e.g. Jessica Loke.
However, if your child does know the person (e.g. salutation is Dear Mr Lim), the complimentary close should
be Yours sincerely.

If you do not know the person (e.g. salutation is Dear Sir, Dear Madam or Dear Editor), end
with a complimentary close of Yours faithfully.
However, if you do (e.g. salutation is Dear Mr Lim), the complimentary close should be Yours
sincerely.
Source: StackExchange
Tip 10 of 10 Always remember to sign off, especially in the rush to finish up the letter or
email.

10

In formal writing, especially for letters of complaint and compliments, it is recommended to conclude with the full
name of the sender, e.g. Josephine Ng.

Also, in formal writing, especially for letters of complaint and compliments, it is recommended to
conclude with the full name of the sender, e.g. Josephine Ng.

12 Primary School Situational Writing

Tip 11

11

There are broadly 8 types Situational Writing formats. They are:

1. format letters,
2. informal letters,
3. reports,
4. speeches,
5. information sheets,
6. memos,
7. magazine articles/newspapers and
8. letters to the editor.

12

If your child really doesn't have the luxury of time to practise everything, you can get him to focus
on letters and emails format. Based on past years' exam papers, letters and emails came up the most number
of times.

13

12 Primary School Situational Writing

Tip 12

14

For the entire Paper 1 which makes up of Situational Writing and Continuous Writing, a total of 70 minutes
are given.
It is recommended to leave at least 50 minutes for the creative writing component.
So for Situational Writing, this is a guide.
Plan: ~ 5 min
Write: ~ 10 to 12 min
Check: ~ 3 min

15

16

12 Primary School Situational Writing

Bonus Tips
By: Jessica
Share this on:

Don't think you had enough of the Situational Writing tips? Here are 4 more for you!
1. With regard to grammar, students must ensure that they use the correct tenses past/present/future, and tone appropriately for all kinds of formats. It is important to
take note that it is possible to have both past/present/future tenses in the single
piece of writing.
2. For vocabulary, it would be good if the student uses a variety of
appropriate sentence starters. E.g. "Furthermore", "On top of that", and "In addition".
Good sentence starters also help to arrange the information in a sequence easy for
the markers to read.

17

3. On spelling and punctuation, it is a no-brainer to state that these errors must not
occur in your child's writing. If they do, they are likely mainly due to carelessness and
the lack of time to do checks.
4. Lastly, do use British English instead of American English.

18