Hi everyone, it is Ms Celina here again from Lil’ But Mighty. Has the editing section in English Language paper 2 always been a challenge? Do you want to know how to improve? Well, stay tuned because I will be guiding you through the process of tackling this section today using the PSLE English Language 2019 paper.
Let’s start unpacking it now!
What is the Editing section all about?
The Editing section appears in the English Language Paper 2. In this section, you will be tested on spelling and grammatical errors. This section consists of 12 marks. There are a total of 6 spelling errors and 6 grammar errors for you to correct.
For each question, I will be explaining how you can get the answer and clues required for the grammatical questions.
Now let us take a look at how to attempt the questions.
For this question, it is a grammatical error. The clue given is highlighted in red. The author had been stuck at home for four days. The word ‘feel’ also indicates that the answer requires a feeling. Therefore, the answer is ‘bored’.
Take note that a common error will be “I feel so boring!” The meanings of ‘bored’ and ‘boring’ are very different. “I feel bored” means that you find something uninteresting while “I feel boring” implies that you find yourself uninteresting!
Q40) is a grammatical error. The author felt unwell, so you should use an adjective ‘feverish’ instead of the noun form ‘fever’ to describe how the author felt.
Q41) is also a grammatical error. The author had chickenpox. When one is sick, it is said that the person ‘came down with’ an illness. The phrasal verb ‘down with’ should be used for this question.
Q42) is a spelling error. The clue about the school being worried suggests that the author’s Mum was contacted quickly by the teacher. You should read out the error word and pay attention to the number of syllables and how it sounds like. The word ‘immideatly’ has five syllables so the answer should also contain the same number of syllables. The answer is ‘immediately’.
Q43) is a grammatical error. ‘be’ usually stands for being verbs – is, are, was or were. Let’s take a look at the clues in the text. The ‘school’ is a singular noun and ‘would’ in the same sentence gives us the clue that this event is in the past tense (you can also refer to ‘called’ in the previous line). Therefore, the answer is ‘was’.
Q44) is a spelling error. The clue ‘infect others’ and ‘highly’ tells us that the disease spreads easily. The word has three syllables. You can separate the syllables and segment the sounds of the words (in orange) to help you spell out the word. The answer is ‘contagious’.
Q45) is a grammatical error. The word ‘entertain’ is spelt accurately and its meaning fits the context in the sentence. The adjective, “main” is used only before a noun. Hence, the noun form of ‘entertain’, should be used. The answer will be ‘entertainment’.
Q46) is a spelling error. The clues are ‘blisters’ and ‘bubbles’ forming with liquid inside. Therefore, the word is fluid.
Q47) is a spelling error. The clues are the spots are ‘really itchy’ and could not be soothed. So, the author could not stop ‘scratching’.
Q48) is a spelling error. The clues are ‘resting at home’ which would help the author to recover faster. The word has four syllables and “recuperate” fits the sound and the context.
Q49) is a spelling error. The words ‘However…more…than ever’ show that there is a contrast with the previous detail about recovering faster. Instead of that, the author felt more tired and the word with a similar meaning would be ‘lethargic’ with three syllables.
Q50) is a grammatical error. The word ‘has’ would need to be followed by a participle form of the verb, ’forbidden’, to form the present perfect tense.
We have come to the end of unpacking the PSLE 2019 EL Editing Section.
If you would like to learn more strategies in tackling the Editing Section, our new online Editing course, Edit with Edit-Tea is available! Click on the link below to find out more about the course!
See you next time!
Course Features:
1. Video Lessons
2. Targeted Worksheets and Overall Practice
3. Notes to recapitulate video content
4. Notes to extend learning e.g. commonly misspelt word list