Finally ! Learning Log 7 ! Today, i am going to share with you about my major Literature project that i had been busy with these few months, and that is none other than my "Romeo and Juliet" performance ! I can swear that this is my most favourite project i ever done in my life ! It was totally awesome and fun !


Firstly, let me introduce my handsome and pretty group members ! They are Iqbal, the director, JingYan, the Romeo, YuetYan, the Juliet, LiYu, the Capulet, JiaYing, the Serving Man and Wardrobe Supervisor, JiaYi, the Tybalt, Brian, the Benvolio, Diana, the Nurse, Jasmine, the pianist and Stage Manager and Set Decorator, and of course me, the Cousin ! Personally, i feel that my group had performed very well on the actual performance. They acted so much better than the rehearsals we had previously. I guess it is because they are more serious as it is the actual performance ?


Normally, during our practices, we do not concentrate and take it seriously. For instance, we will joke around and play with the props which i think wasted many of our practicing time. While some of the group members will use their phones to message and play games. However, when the actual performance day is nearer, our group got serious and managed to finish all the props and our acting.


Sometimes, we also have conflicts among the group members which i think is one of the most difficult problem to solve. I think that it maybe due to our lack of understanding for each other. For example, Jasmine and LiYu, who live in Malaysia. When they are late for the practices, we must understand them as coming to Singapore will have traffic jam. Thus, it is not their fault. We also faced many problems of group members being very irresponsible such as not coming for several practices, not contributing for the props and being late for practices. However, we opened up to each other and talked things out such as telling them about the unfairness to those who contributed a lot. I think that having a few conflicts were not so bad after all, as we learnt from our mistakes and try to change. Plus, End of Year Examinations are around the corner, so we tend to be very stress up and impatient. It was really funny when we threatened those who dares to turn up late for practices.


The major problem faced by my group, which i think all groups will surely face, is getting our parents' cooperation. Why do i say so ? From what i had observed in my group, we normally skip practices or refuse to bring the props home is due to our parents' objection. Like i had mentioned previously, examinations are near, parents are concern about our studies. Therefore, they prefer us to study at home, rather than doing project which they think is a waste of time. Due to this reason, we also have conflicts with our parents when we insist to go for practices. It do work when we tell them the importance of this performance and the need of every member in the group. This leads me to teamwork and communication among the group members. Everybody plays a vital role in a group work. Without a single group member, there will be lesser helping hand, thus the making of props is more time consuming. Also, a missing member means a missing character in the performance. As a result, our rehearsals cannot go on smoothly as we cannot practice the parts where we need the missing character. This problem can be overcome if we have good communication with the members and can talk things out nicely.


Now, let me talk about the problems i faced personally. For me, i think i am really lack of time management. Everyday, i reached home quite late due to the practices for this performance. Thus, i can only start my homework at night and finish them at midnight. As examinations are near, the numbers of tests for each subject increases. So after finishing those homework, i will be very tired and often fell asleep when i revise for my tests. I also cannot concentrate during lessons as i sleep late and woke up early. These really affected my results and worried me. I think that maybe things will be better if i bath and eat my dinner faster and have time planning.


It seems that we were having a hard time preparing for the performance ? You are wrong ! As i had yet to share with you the fun moments my group had together ! First of all, it is our lunch time together ! Sometimes, we eat Subway or MacDonald for lunch ! It was really yummy ! However, 7eleven shop in the Republic Polytechnic, is the one which we visited the most number of times. We often had our lunch there. We ate instant noodles, bread or crackers to fill our stomach. The funny thing is, JiaYing and me will always have a Kit Kat chocolate stick after that. As our practices were held in the Republic Polytechnic, the 7eleven shop owner had became our friend ! Some of the cardboard we used for the props were also provided by him and the "Popular" in Causeway Point. One of the staff in "Popular" had also became our friend as we kept asking cardboard from her. Besides our two new friends, some other shop owners also became our friends as we walked the whole Causeway Point several times to search for the costumes. We indeed made a lot of new friends !


To keep things short, let me talk about the happiest day my group had together. That day, all my group members went to my house straight after school to finish all the props and improve on our acting skills. We managed to finish everything at around seven at night. That sense of satisfaction is beyond description ! My caring mother also bought Old Chang Kee such as curry puffs, fish balls and nuggets, for us to provide us with energy to move on ! That was really a tiring day but it was all worth it ! I really missed the time we had together.


Back to the actual performance, i think that we improved a lot. We spoke loudly, contained our laughter and remembered all our hand actions and lines. Maybe we did not performed as great as other groups such as Phania's group, which i think was totally a perfect performance, i am already very contented as we know that we had did our very best.


Last but not least, to JiaYing, i really want to say is, it is not your fault to fell down that day, we did not blame you. Of course, to all my group members, thank you very much for the efforts put in and the happiness you all had gave me for these few months. I really cherish it and will not forget the cool mustache you all drew for me. I really miss you ! Team 2 all the way ! We are the hottest group ! (quoted from Rachel).

Recently, I had learnt the meanings of twenty-five new literally devices in my Literature lessons. They are categorised under three groups called the Imagery and Figurative Language, Sound Devices, and Diction and Sentence Structures.


In Imagery and Figurative Language category, it consists of the 'Simile' , 'Metaphor' , 'Personification' , 'Symbol' , 'Visual' , 'Auditory' , 'Olfactory' , 'Gustatory' , Kinesthetic' and 'Tactile' , which are basically used to describe objects and humans such as using our five senses, and to compare things. In Sound Devices category, it consists of 'Rhyme' , 'Rhythm' , 'Alliteration' , 'Onomatopoeia' and 'Tone' , which are basically used to show one's expressions and feelings by making use of the sounds, such as having stresses or repetition of consonant sounds. While in the Diction and Sentence Structures category, it consists of 'Connotation' , 'Oxymoron' , 'Hyperbole' , 'Paradox' , 'Simple Sentence' , 'Complex Sentence' , 'Incomplete Sentence' , 'Exclamation' , 'Rhetorical Question' and 'Repetition' , which are commonly used in sentencing to express one's feelings.


Among all these literally devices, my favourite device is 'Rhetorical Question' . Unlike the questions we normally ask everyday, 'Rhetorical Question' is a question which is not asked to request information or a reply, but to achieve an expression tone different from a direct question. For instance, mothers will always ask their children this question :" How many times do i have to tell you to clean up your room ?" In such situation, children cannot possibly answer their mother :" Ten times ." . Hence, this is why i like this device as it is very special and unique.


Personally, i feel that learning these literally devices is very important, as they are closely related to how we answer our Unseen Text questions. Like i had mentioned previously in Learning Log 5, taking note of our feelings and emotions are vital when reading an Unseen Text. Therefore, by identifying these literally devices which created feelings and emotions on the text, can help us to better understand and answer the Unseen Text questions.


Different Literally Devices create different effects on the text and readers. This enables us to get what the text is trying to convey to us more easily. For example, in this sentence :" This was because Mui Mui, aged eight and perpetually sick and whining like a kitten, was a source of irritation to the father." , 'Simile' which is the comparison between two distinctly different things, indicated by the use of 'like' and 'as' , is used. The 'Simile' :"Whining like a kitten" , makes us feel that the character has a small physique and dependent nature. This comparison also suggests that the character's persistence in seeking the attention she needs , is just like a kitten seeking attention from its mother. From this example, we can see that, just merely using a literally device can bring the characters in the text to live and enable us to picture the scene in the text.


In conclusion, i feel that it is very beneficial for us to learn the meanings of these twenty-five literally devices, as they helped us to understand the text and answer the questions better. Also, to discover our feelings and emotions more easily. However, i hope that my Literature Teacher can gives us more practices on the commenting of the text using the literally devices as i am still not confident in doing the comments on my own. Lastly, i wish that i will have a chance to use these literally devices i had learnt in my English compositions too !

Firstly, after reading "The Unseen" booklet, i learnt how to find the main points and what the poet wishes to convey to the readers at a shorter time. We should at least read the Unseen Prose Passage three times in order to get a clear understanding of the text. For the first reading, read through it briefly to know what it is about and at the same time, take note of the difficult words and phrases. For the second reading, read it slowly and carefully to get a better understanding of the events, mood, setting and relationship between the characters.While for the third reading, read through the questions and jot down notes or take note of where the answers and quotes could be found. We can understand the meaning of the difficult words and phrases by studying the way it was used . I also learnt about the "Do"s and "Don't"s when answering Unseen Prose Passage questions.


As a student, i have problems organising and presenting my points when answering the questions. Hence, my Secondary One Literature teachers will always have difficulties understanding what i am trying to say. However, after reading "The Unseen" booklet, i learnt two techniques, which i hope will benefit me in my answering of questions in the future. They are 'IBC' which stands for Introduction, Body and Conclusion, and 'PEEL' which stands for Point, Explain-Elaborate, Evidence-Example and Link. Initially, i do not really understand these methods, but with the help of the given examples, i managed to understand them !


Next, i learnt how to quote words, phrases or sentences from the Unseen Prose Passage. We must use inverted commas when incorporating quotes into our own sentence and use colon when inserting quotes at the end of the sentence. Just like 'IBC' and 'PEEL' , 'ABCS' is the technique for quoting of text. It stands for Attention, Brief and Context respectively. Generally, it means to pick words or phrases that caught our attention and keep it as short as possible, when we are searching quotes. Then, try to fit the quotes into our answer so that our writing will flow and it will show that we truly understand the text. The examples given in the booklet also helped me to understand this method.


While writing a Literature essay, analysing the text is not enough. We must be sensitive to the techniques used in the text and have the ability to critique, analyse and be persuasive through clear writing and organisation. To score in a Literature essay, one must have Comprehension, Interpretation, Analysis and Insight and Response skills. First, spend a maximum of five minutes reading through and analysing the text. After which, write down what the text is about, its genre, mood, themes and issues. As we read, we should also go beyond what the text is about such as questioning ourselves the reason of using this word instead of another. We must also take note of the various techniques or devices used by the writer, and the changes in the language, tone or mood as there is always a purpose behind it. We can also relate it to human nature and the world.


When answering an essay question, we must include the Introduction, the Body and the Conclusion. We should state our standpoint immediately in the introduction. The way to write the body and the conclusion is to follow the 'PEEP' acronym which stand for Point, Evidence, Elaboration and Personal Response. A point which answers to the question is used to start the paragraph and we can choose to use direct quote or paraphrase for the evidence. For elaboration, we must explain how the quote is related to the point. As for the personal response, we express our views towards the characters and events. This method is quite similar to the 'PEEL' technique. The two important things to note when quoting from the text is to add value and explain the point instead of merely just repeating it, and to not start a sentence with a quote.



Lastly, when commenting about irony, we must show the contradiction clearly by stating both sides of the situation, which is the expected and what really had happened.


In conclusion, i think that 'The Unseen' booklet is very beneficial and easy to understand as it provides many examples. I had also discovered that our feelings and emotions on reading a poem is very important as it will help us to better understand and answer the questions !

From this Macbeth Performance , i learned some precious values such as teamwork and leadership . These two values are very important factors needed in a group work . We have to cooperate with one another and each member must have the initiative to lead the group in order to get the task done . I am really glad that my group had demonstrated these two values . I also believe that my group members , Melisa , Li Ling , and me could get things done on time was due to our good time management . Although , the three of us were busy with our SYF practices , we still tried our very best to cope with our work . Most importantly , the reason why my group and other groups could make through this period of time and overcome all the problems faced was because of our teamwork and encouragements from each other .


Although that was not my first time acting in front of the class , i still felt really nervous as my group's turn to perform was getting nearer . My group members and i were very panic before our performance . We got really confused and things did not go according to plan ! Some of the props were left in the classroom and we had no choice but to perform without them .


During our performance , there was an awkward silence while we waited for the sound of the Paddock to be played . Again , we had no choice but to continue our act without the "callings" of the Paddock . Finally , our performance ended . I was really sad and disappointed about the performance as i thought that i had acted poorly . However , i felt better after the comforting from my friends .


In my opinion , i felt that Jia Yi's group performed the best and they were the most outstanding group in our class . It was really entertaining and funny ! Their body language and delivery of lines were very good too ! The performance by Jia Yi"s group was also the part i enjoyed the most for the overall Macbeth Performance and there is nothing needed to improve on .


Last but not least , no natter how many marks we get , we should be satisfied and contented as our class really put in all our efforts into this Macbeth Performance and our efforts had finally paid off ! I look forward to upcoming Romeo and Juliet performance by 2 Commitment !

Predictions . Well , should we believe it or not ? Initially , i thought this lesson would help clear my doubts and i would get an answer . However , my class was split into two with differing opinions - some proved that it is worth believing in predictions while some not . Personally , i have a higher percentage of believing in predictions . Perhaps there are people around us who can really predict the future ? People who learn dark magic ? I guess there is no definite answer to it .


Back to the lesson , i think that the lesson was very fun and interesting as we got to know some of our classmates' real life experiences . I also found out that most of them are negative predictions . Among all the presented predictions , two of them left a deep impression on me . One from Steffi's group and one from Yuet Yan's group .


Steffi's group presented the experience that befell on Steffi . It was about Steffi's mother who predicted that the Oral Examination's topic will involve a market scene as she dreamt it the day before . To Steffi's surprise , the market scene was really tested for the Oral Examination .


Well , her incident lead me to another question . Was it a coincidence ? I have been thinking and i guess it could only be so .From what i had thought through , a market scene for a Oral Examination is quite popular , therefore it is likely to be just a coincidence .


As for Yuet Yan's group , their "experience" really frightened me . The story was so scary and shocking ! It was about an old lady from an old folks home which Yuet Yan visited told her that she had the ability to predict the future and she told her something bad will happen to her family on that day . The old lady was right ! Yuet Yan's father met an accident that night . Yuet Yan decided to return to the old folks home , in search of the old lady , but unfortunately , one of the nurses told her that the old lady had passed away long ago ...


Luckily , to my relief , it was just their "wonderful" made up story . Their story reminded me of a show , it was about people's true weird real life experiences . If i am not wrong , one of the stories was quite similar to Yuet Yan's story ! So is it true that people can predict the future ? In any case , i sincerely hope that i had remembered the scenario of the show wrongly .


All and for all , i think that there are no improvements needed for the lesson and i hope to have more of this activities in the future !

The things i mentioned are just the obvious , every lesson conducted in school will always have precious values hidden it , such as respect . Perhaps , we may find some of the superstitions that other culture believes in are ridiculous and not logical but we need to respect one another's beliefs and not make nasty comments about them . If we respect our classmates' beliefs , they will surely respect ours . So we have to accept and respect our classmates for who they are .

While at the last part of the Literature lesson , some classmates were chosen to act out the first scene from Macbeth , where the three witches gathered in a bleak , remote place and agreed to meet Macbeth . From here , Mrs. Woo explained the significance of having the three witches at the beginning of the story . It is actually to hint that something bad might happen in the story as witches bring bad luck . She also demonstrated how witches probably sounded like to guide us and it amused the entire class . We cheered and clapped for her loudly .

Mrs. Woo had chosen two groups to act out . The second group had performed better . However , in my opinion , i think that both groups have performed equally well . I admire their courage and acting skills . They did their best to imitate Mrs. Woo , and managed to entertain the class . The performers probably felt awkward for the performance when we laughed . So Mrs. Woo explained that "people usually laugh because of your fantastic performance , not because you acted badly ." I had finally understood this precious meaning and also learnt to be braver and aspired to improve on my acting skills .

In my opinion , I think that the Literature lesson is perfect as there are no improvements needed . Plus , i am really glad that Mrs Woo had changed the group for the group discussion so that we can interact more with different classmates and know more about them .

In conclusion , I have learnt quite a lot from this Literature lesson and wish that there are more group discussions in the future .

In addition , i learnt a few important and precious values during group work in class , such as being respectful and the importance teamwork . We learnt to respect each other's decision and listen attentively to the speaker during discussion on the Cinquain poem that should be done together .

Secondly , i learnt that teamwork plays a critical role in getting any task done . We assigned each person a role to play in the group such as the writer and the presenter . We will get things done more efficiently when we work as a team and be united as we each contribute to the task .

In my opinion , i feel that this Literature lesson is very useful and enjoyable as we get to know more about our classmates when we interact with each other during the group work . We can also help to work on each other's weakness and amplify their strengths through discussions . It was really fun when we composed the Cinquain poem together as some groups came out with creative topics such as "ice cream" or even "toilets" . It can also train us to be braver and more confident when we present our poems . The whole class will be increasingly bonded as we work together often .

Last but not least , i hope that the duration for us to complete the task will be extended so that we have more time to brainstorm and hopefully hand up better work . Also , i wish that the groupings can be changed for each different group work so that we can interact with more classmates and know each other better .

In a nutshell , i sincerely enjoyed the Literature lesson and look forward to more group work in the future .

Finally ! Learning Log 7 ! Today, i am going to share with you about my major Literature project that i had been busy with these few months, and that is none other than my "Romeo and Juliet" performance ! I can swear that this is my most favourite project i ever done in my life ! It was totally awesome and fun !


Firstly, let me introduce my handsome and pretty group members ! They are Iqbal, the director, JingYan, the Romeo, YuetYan, the Juliet, LiYu, the Capulet, JiaYing, the Serving Man and Wardrobe Supervisor, JiaYi, the Tybalt, Brian, the Benvolio, Diana, the Nurse, Jasmine, the pianist and Stage Manager and Set Decorator, and of course me, the Cousin ! Personally, i feel that my group had performed very well on the actual performance. They acted so much better than the rehearsals we had previously. I guess it is because they are more serious as it is the actual performance ?


Normally, during our practices, we do not concentrate and take it seriously. For instance, we will joke around and play with the props which i think wasted many of our practicing time. While some of the group members will use their phones to message and play games. However, when the actual performance day is nearer, our group got serious and managed to finish all the props and our acting.


Sometimes, we also have conflicts among the group members which i think is one of the most difficult problem to solve. I think that it maybe due to our lack of understanding for each other. For example, Jasmine and LiYu, who live in Malaysia. When they are late for the practices, we must understand them as coming to Singapore will have traffic jam. Thus, it is not their fault. We also faced many problems of group members being very irresponsible such as not coming for several practices, not contributing for the props and being late for practices. However, we opened up to each other and talked things out such as telling them about the unfairness to those who contributed a lot. I think that having a few conflicts were not so bad after all, as we learnt from our mistakes and try to change. Plus, End of Year Examinations are around the corner, so we tend to be very stress up and impatient. It was really funny when we threatened those who dares to turn up late for practices.


The major problem faced by my group, which i think all groups will surely face, is getting our parents' cooperation. Why do i say so ? From what i had observed in my group, we normally skip practices or refuse to bring the props home is due to our parents' objection. Like i had mentioned previously, examinations are near, parents are concern about our studies. Therefore, they prefer us to study at home, rather than doing project which they think is a waste of time. Due to this reason, we also have conflicts with our parents when we insist to go for practices. It do work when we tell them the importance of this performance and the need of every member in the group. This leads me to teamwork and communication among the group members. Everybody plays a vital role in a group work. Without a single group member, there will be lesser helping hand, thus the making of props is more time consuming. Also, a missing member means a missing character in the performance. As a result, our rehearsals cannot go on smoothly as we cannot practice the parts where we need the missing character. This problem can be overcome if we have good communication with the members and can talk things out nicely.


Now, let me talk about the problems i faced personally. For me, i think i am really lack of time management. Everyday, i reached home quite late due to the practices for this performance. Thus, i can only start my homework at night and finish them at midnight. As examinations are near, the numbers of tests for each subject increases. So after finishing those homework, i will be very tired and often fell asleep when i revise for my tests. I also cannot concentrate during lessons as i sleep late and woke up early. These really affected my results and worried me. I think that maybe things will be better if i bath and eat my dinner faster and have time planning.


It seems that we were having a hard time preparing for the performance ? You are wrong ! As i had yet to share with you the fun moments my group had together ! First of all, it is our lunch time together ! Sometimes, we eat Subway or MacDonald for lunch ! It was really yummy ! However, 7eleven shop in the Republic Polytechnic, is the one which we visited the most number of times. We often had our lunch there. We ate instant noodles, bread or crackers to fill our stomach. The funny thing is, JiaYing and me will always have a Kit Kat chocolate stick after that. As our practices were held in the Republic Polytechnic, the 7eleven shop owner had became our friend ! Some of the cardboard we used for the props were also provided by him and the "Popular" in Causeway Point. One of the staff in "Popular" had also became our friend as we kept asking cardboard from her. Besides our two new friends, some other shop owners also became our friends as we walked the whole Causeway Point several times to search for the costumes. We indeed made a lot of new friends !


To keep things short, let me talk about the happiest day my group had together. That day, all my group members went to my house straight after school to finish all the props and improve on our acting skills. We managed to finish everything at around seven at night. That sense of satisfaction is beyond description ! My caring mother also bought Old Chang Kee such as curry puffs, fish balls and nuggets, for us to provide us with energy to move on ! That was really a tiring day but it was all worth it ! I really missed the time we had together.


Back to the actual performance, i think that we improved a lot. We spoke loudly, contained our laughter and remembered all our hand actions and lines. Maybe we did not performed as great as other groups such as Phania's group, which i think was totally a perfect performance, i am already very contented as we know that we had did our very best.


Last but not least, to JiaYing, i really want to say is, it is not your fault to fell down that day, we did not blame you. Of course, to all my group members, thank you very much for the efforts put in and the happiness you all had gave me for these few months. I really cherish it and will not forget the cool mustache you all drew for me. I really miss you ! Team 2 all the way ! We are the hottest group ! (quoted from Rachel).

Recently, I had learnt the meanings of twenty-five new literally devices in my Literature lessons. They are categorised under three groups called the Imagery and Figurative Language, Sound Devices, and Diction and Sentence Structures.


In Imagery and Figurative Language category, it consists of the 'Simile' , 'Metaphor' , 'Personification' , 'Symbol' , 'Visual' , 'Auditory' , 'Olfactory' , 'Gustatory' , Kinesthetic' and 'Tactile' , which are basically used to describe objects and humans such as using our five senses, and to compare things. In Sound Devices category, it consists of 'Rhyme' , 'Rhythm' , 'Alliteration' , 'Onomatopoeia' and 'Tone' , which are basically used to show one's expressions and feelings by making use of the sounds, such as having stresses or repetition of consonant sounds. While in the Diction and Sentence Structures category, it consists of 'Connotation' , 'Oxymoron' , 'Hyperbole' , 'Paradox' , 'Simple Sentence' , 'Complex Sentence' , 'Incomplete Sentence' , 'Exclamation' , 'Rhetorical Question' and 'Repetition' , which are commonly used in sentencing to express one's feelings.


Among all these literally devices, my favourite device is 'Rhetorical Question' . Unlike the questions we normally ask everyday, 'Rhetorical Question' is a question which is not asked to request information or a reply, but to achieve an expression tone different from a direct question. For instance, mothers will always ask their children this question :" How many times do i have to tell you to clean up your room ?" In such situation, children cannot possibly answer their mother :" Ten times ." . Hence, this is why i like this device as it is very special and unique.


Personally, i feel that learning these literally devices is very important, as they are closely related to how we answer our Unseen Text questions. Like i had mentioned previously in Learning Log 5, taking note of our feelings and emotions are vital when reading an Unseen Text. Therefore, by identifying these literally devices which created feelings and emotions on the text, can help us to better understand and answer the Unseen Text questions.


Different Literally Devices create different effects on the text and readers. This enables us to get what the text is trying to convey to us more easily. For example, in this sentence :" This was because Mui Mui, aged eight and perpetually sick and whining like a kitten, was a source of irritation to the father." , 'Simile' which is the comparison between two distinctly different things, indicated by the use of 'like' and 'as' , is used. The 'Simile' :"Whining like a kitten" , makes us feel that the character has a small physique and dependent nature. This comparison also suggests that the character's persistence in seeking the attention she needs , is just like a kitten seeking attention from its mother. From this example, we can see that, just merely using a literally device can bring the characters in the text to live and enable us to picture the scene in the text.


In conclusion, i feel that it is very beneficial for us to learn the meanings of these twenty-five literally devices, as they helped us to understand the text and answer the questions better. Also, to discover our feelings and emotions more easily. However, i hope that my Literature Teacher can gives us more practices on the commenting of the text using the literally devices as i am still not confident in doing the comments on my own. Lastly, i wish that i will have a chance to use these literally devices i had learnt in my English compositions too !

Firstly, after reading "The Unseen" booklet, i learnt how to find the main points and what the poet wishes to convey to the readers at a shorter time. We should at least read the Unseen Prose Passage three times in order to get a clear understanding of the text. For the first reading, read through it briefly to know what it is about and at the same time, take note of the difficult words and phrases. For the second reading, read it slowly and carefully to get a better understanding of the events, mood, setting and relationship between the characters.While for the third reading, read through the questions and jot down notes or take note of where the answers and quotes could be found. We can understand the meaning of the difficult words and phrases by studying the way it was used . I also learnt about the "Do"s and "Don't"s when answering Unseen Prose Passage questions.


As a student, i have problems organising and presenting my points when answering the questions. Hence, my Secondary One Literature teachers will always have difficulties understanding what i am trying to say. However, after reading "The Unseen" booklet, i learnt two techniques, which i hope will benefit me in my answering of questions in the future. They are 'IBC' which stands for Introduction, Body and Conclusion, and 'PEEL' which stands for Point, Explain-Elaborate, Evidence-Example and Link. Initially, i do not really understand these methods, but with the help of the given examples, i managed to understand them !


Next, i learnt how to quote words, phrases or sentences from the Unseen Prose Passage. We must use inverted commas when incorporating quotes into our own sentence and use colon when inserting quotes at the end of the sentence. Just like 'IBC' and 'PEEL' , 'ABCS' is the technique for quoting of text. It stands for Attention, Brief and Context respectively. Generally, it means to pick words or phrases that caught our attention and keep it as short as possible, when we are searching quotes. Then, try to fit the quotes into our answer so that our writing will flow and it will show that we truly understand the text. The examples given in the booklet also helped me to understand this method.


While writing a Literature essay, analysing the text is not enough. We must be sensitive to the techniques used in the text and have the ability to critique, analyse and be persuasive through clear writing and organisation. To score in a Literature essay, one must have Comprehension, Interpretation, Analysis and Insight and Response skills. First, spend a maximum of five minutes reading through and analysing the text. After which, write down what the text is about, its genre, mood, themes and issues. As we read, we should also go beyond what the text is about such as questioning ourselves the reason of using this word instead of another. We must also take note of the various techniques or devices used by the writer, and the changes in the language, tone or mood as there is always a purpose behind it. We can also relate it to human nature and the world.


When answering an essay question, we must include the Introduction, the Body and the Conclusion. We should state our standpoint immediately in the introduction. The way to write the body and the conclusion is to follow the 'PEEP' acronym which stand for Point, Evidence, Elaboration and Personal Response. A point which answers to the question is used to start the paragraph and we can choose to use direct quote or paraphrase for the evidence. For elaboration, we must explain how the quote is related to the point. As for the personal response, we express our views towards the characters and events. This method is quite similar to the 'PEEL' technique. The two important things to note when quoting from the text is to add value and explain the point instead of merely just repeating it, and to not start a sentence with a quote.



Lastly, when commenting about irony, we must show the contradiction clearly by stating both sides of the situation, which is the expected and what really had happened.


In conclusion, i think that 'The Unseen' booklet is very beneficial and easy to understand as it provides many examples. I had also discovered that our feelings and emotions on reading a poem is very important as it will help us to better understand and answer the questions !

From this Macbeth Performance , i learned some precious values such as teamwork and leadership . These two values are very important factors needed in a group work . We have to cooperate with one another and each member must have the initiative to lead the group in order to get the task done . I am really glad that my group had demonstrated these two values . I also believe that my group members , Melisa , Li Ling , and me could get things done on time was due to our good time management . Although , the three of us were busy with our SYF practices , we still tried our very best to cope with our work . Most importantly , the reason why my group and other groups could make through this period of time and overcome all the problems faced was because of our teamwork and encouragements from each other .


Although that was not my first time acting in front of the class , i still felt really nervous as my group's turn to perform was getting nearer . My group members and i were very panic before our performance . We got really confused and things did not go according to plan ! Some of the props were left in the classroom and we had no choice but to perform without them .


During our performance , there was an awkward silence while we waited for the sound of the Paddock to be played . Again , we had no choice but to continue our act without the "callings" of the Paddock . Finally , our performance ended . I was really sad and disappointed about the performance as i thought that i had acted poorly . However , i felt better after the comforting from my friends .


In my opinion , i felt that Jia Yi's group performed the best and they were the most outstanding group in our class . It was really entertaining and funny ! Their body language and delivery of lines were very good too ! The performance by Jia Yi"s group was also the part i enjoyed the most for the overall Macbeth Performance and there is nothing needed to improve on .


Last but not least , no natter how many marks we get , we should be satisfied and contented as our class really put in all our efforts into this Macbeth Performance and our efforts had finally paid off ! I look forward to upcoming Romeo and Juliet performance by 2 Commitment !

Predictions . Well , should we believe it or not ? Initially , i thought this lesson would help clear my doubts and i would get an answer . However , my class was split into two with differing opinions - some proved that it is worth believing in predictions while some not . Personally , i have a higher percentage of believing in predictions . Perhaps there are people around us who can really predict the future ? People who learn dark magic ? I guess there is no definite answer to it .


Back to the lesson , i think that the lesson was very fun and interesting as we got to know some of our classmates' real life experiences . I also found out that most of them are negative predictions . Among all the presented predictions , two of them left a deep impression on me . One from Steffi's group and one from Yuet Yan's group .


Steffi's group presented the experience that befell on Steffi . It was about Steffi's mother who predicted that the Oral Examination's topic will involve a market scene as she dreamt it the day before . To Steffi's surprise , the market scene was really tested for the Oral Examination .


Well , her incident lead me to another question . Was it a coincidence ? I have been thinking and i guess it could only be so .From what i had thought through , a market scene for a Oral Examination is quite popular , therefore it is likely to be just a coincidence .


As for Yuet Yan's group , their "experience" really frightened me . The story was so scary and shocking ! It was about an old lady from an old folks home which Yuet Yan visited told her that she had the ability to predict the future and she told her something bad will happen to her family on that day . The old lady was right ! Yuet Yan's father met an accident that night . Yuet Yan decided to return to the old folks home , in search of the old lady , but unfortunately , one of the nurses told her that the old lady had passed away long ago ...


Luckily , to my relief , it was just their "wonderful" made up story . Their story reminded me of a show , it was about people's true weird real life experiences . If i am not wrong , one of the stories was quite similar to Yuet Yan's story ! So is it true that people can predict the future ? In any case , i sincerely hope that i had remembered the scenario of the show wrongly .


All and for all , i think that there are no improvements needed for the lesson and i hope to have more of this activities in the future !

The things i mentioned are just the obvious , every lesson conducted in school will always have precious values hidden it , such as respect . Perhaps , we may find some of the superstitions that other culture believes in are ridiculous and not logical but we need to respect one another's beliefs and not make nasty comments about them . If we respect our classmates' beliefs , they will surely respect ours . So we have to accept and respect our classmates for who they are .

While at the last part of the Literature lesson , some classmates were chosen to act out the first scene from Macbeth , where the three witches gathered in a bleak , remote place and agreed to meet Macbeth . From here , Mrs. Woo explained the significance of having the three witches at the beginning of the story . It is actually to hint that something bad might happen in the story as witches bring bad luck . She also demonstrated how witches probably sounded like to guide us and it amused the entire class . We cheered and clapped for her loudly .

Mrs. Woo had chosen two groups to act out . The second group had performed better . However , in my opinion , i think that both groups have performed equally well . I admire their courage and acting skills . They did their best to imitate Mrs. Woo , and managed to entertain the class . The performers probably felt awkward for the performance when we laughed . So Mrs. Woo explained that "people usually laugh because of your fantastic performance , not because you acted badly ." I had finally understood this precious meaning and also learnt to be braver and aspired to improve on my acting skills .

In my opinion , I think that the Literature lesson is perfect as there are no improvements needed . Plus , i am really glad that Mrs Woo had changed the group for the group discussion so that we can interact more with different classmates and know more about them .

In conclusion , I have learnt quite a lot from this Literature lesson and wish that there are more group discussions in the future .

In addition , i learnt a few important and precious values during group work in class , such as being respectful and the importance teamwork . We learnt to respect each other's decision and listen attentively to the speaker during discussion on the Cinquain poem that should be done together .

Secondly , i learnt that teamwork plays a critical role in getting any task done . We assigned each person a role to play in the group such as the writer and the presenter . We will get things done more efficiently when we work as a team and be united as we each contribute to the task .

In my opinion , i feel that this Literature lesson is very useful and enjoyable as we get to know more about our classmates when we interact with each other during the group work . We can also help to work on each other's weakness and amplify their strengths through discussions . It was really fun when we composed the Cinquain poem together as some groups came out with creative topics such as "ice cream" or even "toilets" . It can also train us to be braver and more confident when we present our poems . The whole class will be increasingly bonded as we work together often .

Last but not least , i hope that the duration for us to complete the task will be extended so that we have more time to brainstorm and hopefully hand up better work . Also , i wish that the groupings can be changed for each different group work so that we can interact with more classmates and know each other better .

In a nutshell , i sincerely enjoyed the Literature lesson and look forward to more group work in the future .