Here’s Why General Paper Tuition Should Never Be Overlooked (And why it might be the key to your competitive admission advantage for university)

Here’s Why General Paper Tuition Should Never Be Overlooked (And why it might be the key to your competitive admission advantage for university)

Hey students! In the blink of an eye, it’s already September and you’re more than 8 months into your JC1 / JC2 year.

This means that by now, you’d have realised: 

Even if you’ve scored good grades for English back then during your GCE ‘O’ Level exams ≠ doesn’t mean that you’ll score well for your General Paper (GP) exams. 😂

Compared to English, you face a much steeper learning curve to even score a decent grade for GP.

Here’s why GP is a different ball game…

For GP:

  1. There’s a greater emphasis on your critical thinking skills and depth of thought, and not just your command of the English Language.

(If you ‘winged’ your way through O-level English by memorising essays or practising on assessment books, you will find that these ‘methods’ won’t work anymore!)

  1. GP requires you to spend considerable time reading to expand your general knowledge and be able to present well-researched, well-supported arguments.

Problem is: We understand that JC students’ schedules are both hectic and packed.

Coupled with the steep learning curve that GP presents, it’s no wonder that you might be scoring D’s or E’s despite your best efforts. 😅

That’s a big problem – Even though GP is a H1 subject, it’s also one of your most important but often highly overlooked subjects.

Most students tend to not realise the importance of GP, but instead turn their attention to other H2 subjects, like H2 Maths which require more “urgent attention”.

Now… That’s an ill-advised strategy to adopt. ❌

Your GP grade is used in the computation of your Rank Points (RP)

That means that even if you happen to score well in other subjects, but do poorly in GP… 

Your chances of admission into your preferred university course might be in real jeopardy!

I’m sure you’ve heard many horror stories of students who score ‘A’ for their Maths and Sciences but end up scoring mediocre grades (C /  D / E) for GP or can’t even obtain a pass (S / U). 😞

These students end up in a course that isn’t really what they want… with some even ending up having to retake the whole A-Level exams as a private candidate! 

(Unlike your O-Levels, you can’t retake subjects individually at the A-Levels… You have to retake all of them in a single seating as universities only recognise a full A-Level certificate!)

So as you can see, your GP grades are vital and should never be overlooked. 

And that’s why GP Tuition is necessary in helping students achieve your ideal admission and progression into your university life. 

Considering how tough JC life is, the right GP tuition support will greatly help you shorten your learning curve to master all the skills and strategies to score well in GP.

Wouldn’t you want to work smart? 😊

This is why GP Tuition will give you the competitive edge you need.

Here at EduEdge, we’ve developed a structured method that helps students master the crucial GP concepts and skills, in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step approach that actually makes learning GP easy for any student.

We call this approach the: “Formula-Style” Learning Method!

With this method, we’ve seen students who were previously struggling in the subject (scoring D / E / S / U),

Experience a significant improvement to their GP grades and start scoring their As / Bs within a short time!

Our Junior College General Paper Results:

✅ GP: 82.7% of Our Students Achieved A / B For Their A-Level GP

✅ An Amazing 3-6 Grade Jump From Their Initial E/S/U Grades!

But of course, while EduEdge is able to accelerate any student’s learning, General Paper is still a skills-based subject.

That means that while we can’t promise you overnight success… but if you are willing to follow our proven curriculum and structures,

You’ll be able to quickly develop the key skills to tackle GP more effectively than ever and gain the edge you need in your critical exams. 

WANT TO MASTER GP AND START SEEING A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR GRADES QUICKLY?

It all starts here! EduEdge is inviting you to our Fully-Sponsored Private 1-1 Coaching Session (PCS)!

Our team of GP Specialists will dedicate 1 hour of their time to give you an exclusive 1-1 private coaching session to personally experience EduEdge’s “Formula-Style” Learning Method!

Our GP Specialists will personally analyse your most recent GP paper to identify and diagnose your key strengths and areas for improvement, 

AND delve deep into the key areas that you must know to score your best ever GP grade.

From just this one session, we’ve seen students who have that AHA moment as they now have a proper Game Plan to improve their failing GP grade to a respectable B / A!

So if you’re looking to improve your grades quickly for GP and find breakthroughs in your overall Rank Points (RP), come by and:

Ace The PSLE English Exam: Here’s How Your Child Can Add Another 5 to 10 Marks With These Proven Strategies

Ace The PSLE English Exam: Here’s How Your Child Can Add Another 5 to 10 Marks With These Proven Strategies

With a mere two weeks left, exam anxiety is at fever pitch. 

It doesn’t matter that your child has prepped all four core subjects and you’ve given all the necessary support since Day One of Primary School. 

There remains this nagging doubt as to whether your P6 child is indeed ready for the PSLE.

But then your fears are not unfounded. As a loving parent, you constantly worry

Particularly at this critical juncture, you are beside yourself wondering if you’ve done enough to fully prepare your child. 

(Did I miss anything or can anything else be done to further boost my child’s PSLE grade?) 

Time is inching ever closer and nobody can blame you for wanting your child to do much better in the PSLE (compared to the recent Prelims) and hopefully, settle in their first choice Secondary school… 

Well, you know what? It is possible, especially for the English Language Paper!

While it’s a tall order to expect your child to sky-rocket several grades, adding another 5 to 10 marks to your child’s PSLE English exams is really realistic and achievable! 

(Once your child has the right revision strategies, of course!)

And the faster your child starts applying these powerful strategies, the greater are the chances of securing even more marks. 

Some Sure-fire Revision Strategies for your child to blaze ahead of the competition are:

Paper 1

  • By now, your child will have amassed a treasure trove of marked English assignment essays. These compositions are actually a gold mine for learning and contain knowledge nuggets waiting to be uncovered!
  • Guide your child to perform an ERROR ANALYSIS on their P6 and Prelim essays. For each essay:
    • Draw a table with three columns on foolscap paper. 
    • Column 1 heading: How it was written
    • Column 2 heading: How it should have been written
    • Column 3 heading: What I have learnt
  • Guide your child to:
    • Write down the sentences containing errors from his essay in column 1
    • Rewrite the sentences correctly in column 2
    • Write down the learning point in column 3  

Here’s an example:

How it was written How it should have been written What I have learnt
I was wondering who was this guy and if I know him. I was wondering who this guy was and if I knew him.

Statement: Who this guy was.

Question: Who was this guy?

Tense consistency: “know” should be “knew”

 

Have a go! You will be surprised that this simple task can reveal new insights for your child and they’ll learn to spot patterns of common language errors. 

Paper 2

A Distinction (AL1-3) is within reach if your child does well in the Comprehension component, which is a whopping 43 Comprehension marks out of a total of 95 or close to 45% (half) of Paper 2 marks. 

Just like Paper 1, the secret lies in learning from their previous mistakes. 

Guide your child to go through their marked P6 and Prelim Comprehensions and pay careful attention to the errors they’ve committed. 

Your child must then ask “Why did I lose the mark?” and remind themselves to avoid repeating similar errors.  

Common Comprehension mistakes include:

  • Careless Mistake 1: Failing to understand what the question wants. When reading the questions, students have a tendency to jump to their own conclusions or think they know what the question requirements are. 

  • Careless Mistake 2: Giving Vague Answers. Many students often give unclear or non-specific answers.

  • Careless Mistake 3: Thinking that all comprehension question answers can be found in the text. There are, in fact, two distinct types of questions: 
  1. Literal Level Questions: answers are found in the passage.
  2. Inferential Level Questions: clues are found in the passage but not the actual answer itself. The answer has to be inferred from contextual clues. In other words, the answer will come from the students’ inferential thinking. 

Cultivate a Growth Mindset

No one should resort to labelling children such as: “She’s a B student” or “He’s a C student”. Such labels are injurious to their self-esteem and serve little but to perpetuate a fixed mindset. Children end up feeling that their self-worth is tagged to their academic grades. 

Instead, a growth mindset will envision every assessment as a new opportunity for children to improve by working on their past failures and building upon their past successes.

Students who sit for the PSLE with a defeatist mindset (telling themselves that they are only capable of a certain grade) would have already surrendered and lost the academic battle. 

It’s ever so crucial, even though it’s the eleventh hour, for parents to show their love and support by: 

  • Positively affirming your child
  • Reminding your child on their key strengths and be mindful of their areas for improvement
  • Complimenting them for their effort
  • Reassuring them that it is fine to make mistakes so long as they learn from it

Your encouragement for your child works wonders in boosting your child’s confidence levels so that they can give their very best for the demanding PSLE.

      

About the Author

Teacher Edwin

During his time as a student, Edwin struggled with the English Language, and was often told by his teachers that he had to “feel the language” or “practise more”… even though he was already ploughing through tons of English Assessment books!

Which is why, more than anybody else, he understands the uphill challenges and frustrations your child feels when trying to master English!

This is what motivated him to develop the <Formula-Style> method of learning English to help students learn English in an easier and more effective way, just like solving Math or Science questions!

Together with the EduEdge Team of Language Specialists, this unique and proven method has successfully transformed the grades of more than 2,500+ students from over 150 schools across Singapore to date, with a 94.5% improvement rate and 72.1% achieving Bs and As for the Primary, Secondary and Junior College Levels!