SPM PAPER 2: GUIDED WRITING PART 2

Paper 2
1119/2
Writing

Part 2: Guided Writing

General Tips

 Word limit: 125 – 150 words (Do not write more than 155 words!!)
 Marks : 20 marks
 Text type : Essay
 Audience :Stated in the stimulus (Stimulus given with a few points)
 Use all the points given
 Language : Formal

Writing Tips

Tip 1 – Read, understand and underline the key information
Tip 2 – Underline/ Highlight the 3 points required in the prompts
Tip 3 – Plan the essay by brainstorming ideas for all the 3 prompts
Tip 4 – Give the essay an (Introduction, Body, Conclusion)
Tip 5 – Variety of sentence structures
Tip 6 – Use cohesive devices
Tip 7 – Identify the tenses (Present/Past/Future/Mixture)

Word Count

Introduction – 30 words Body – 100 words Conclusion – 20 words

When writing the response, candidates may be asked to:

 Explain advantages and/or disadvantages of
i) ideas
ii) plans
iii) arrangements

 Explain the main points for and against an idea or argument
 Express and respond to real or imagined opinions and feelings
 Organise, sequence and develop ideas within a text of several

paragraphs on familiar and some unfamiliar topics.

Writing an Introduction

The English Club of your school is organising a writing competition.
Your teacher has asked you to write an essay on ways to improve one’s
English.

1. General Statement

Nowadays, many films, television shows, books and music are published
and produced in English. If you do not understand English, then you will
have problems listening and communicating with others. Here are some
ways to improve the language.  (thesis statement)

(38 words)

2. Definition

English is an international language widely used around the world and a
popular language. Students need to learn this language because it is
important to them. Below are three suggestions to improve your English
Language.  (thesis statement)

(35 words)

3. Questions

Why is English Language important to students? What should they do to
improve their English? Here are a few ways that you can do. (thesis
statement)

(24 words)

4. Statistical Report/ Data

According to the Ministry of Education, 25.34% of the SPM students failed
in their English Language paper. Students need to work hard so that they
are good in the language. Below are some suggestions to improve the
English Language.

(39 words)

Activity 1 – Introduction (30 words)

Your friends and you have been discussing online gaming. The principal
of your school has asked you to write an essay on the advantages and
disadvantages of playing online games.

In your essay, you should write about:
 some benefits of online games
 some problems faced and give some advice

Write your essay in 125 – 150 words in an appropriate style using all the
notes and giving reasons for your point of view.

1. GENERAL STATEMENT + QUESTION + THESIS STATEMENT

Examples:

Online gaming is a nationwide activity for teens nowadays. The
question is, is it good or bad for them? Here are a few of the
advantages and disadvantages of it.

(30 words)

Nowadays, playing online games have become a part of our lives.
What are the benefits of online games? I will show you some
advantages and disadvantages of online games.

(29 words)

Online gaming is becoming increasing prevalent, to the point where
competitions offer huge monetary rewards.What are the benefits of
gaming especially among teenagers? This topic will be discussed.

(29 words)

Recently, many teenagers have been staying up late at night playing
online games. What is online gaming? Below are some advantages
and disadvantages of it.

(25 words)

Online games are commonly played by teens nowadays. However,
do you know the effects of online gaming? Below, the benefits and
drawbacks will be discussed.

(25 words)

Your introduction:
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2. GENERAL STATEMENT + DEFINITION + THESIS STATEMENT

Examples:

Online gaming is one of the major trends today. Online games are
played together with friends or strangers all around the world using the
Internet. Below are the advantages and disadvantages of it.

(33 words)

In this era, online gaming is part of the younger generation’s habit. Any
games that require Internet connection can be classified as online
games. Here are some of the benefits and problems of online gaming.

(35 words)

Your introduction:
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Activity 2 – Body (100 words)

 some benefits of online games
 some problems faced and give some advice

1st paragraph
 2-3 benefits of playing online games
 Sentence starter’ cohesive device
 Elaborate

2nd paragraph
 2-3 problems faced when playing online games
 Sentence starter/ cohesive device
 Elaborate

3rd paragraph
 1-2 advice when playing online games
 Elaborate

Benefits of playing online games:

 Release tension/stress
 Can enhance your memory
 Can make new friends online
 Cure boredom
 Strengthen memory
 Good at strategizing
 Can sharpen your mind
 Earn money
 Improve your hand and eye coordination
 Allows communication to take place between players from

different regions
 Keeps you energetic
 Increase telepathy skills
 Improve a person’s social skills
 Be able to stay away from doing useless things
 Can plan a strategy to solve problems
 Develop early learning skills for younger children
 Brain booster

Problems faced when playing online games:

 Can be very addictive to some people
 Stress levels can be really high
 Become victims of hypertension
 Affect your eye sight
 Cyberbullying
 Behavioural and mental changes
 Waste of time
 Interfering with free time with family
 Many scammers
 Cannot manage time properly
 Waste money
 Lazy to join online classes
 Forget about daily responsibilities
 Take a toll on our mental health
 Can cause headache (if play excessively)
 Sleep deprivation
 Develop anger issues

Advice when playing online games:

 Reduce the time we use to play online games
 Manage your time when playing online games
 Set a timetable

.

Examples of benefits of playing online games:

1st point

Online gaming is advantageous as it can occupy the mind and prevent
youths from getting involved in life threatening behaviours such as drug
taking and joining gangs.

The first advantage that we can get from playing online games is that we
can relieve ourselves from stress. Nowadays, because of studies, family
problems, personal problems and money related problems, teenagers
tend to lead a stressful life.

Firstly, gaming is a great tool to socialize with others. Socialization is the
key for modern development. Online games give a glimpse of real life
skills to youngsters.

First of all, we can improve our multi- tasking skills. Games that require
players to find items while fighting off other opponents call for attention
to details and quick reactions.

Generally speaking, we can improve our cognitive abilities, such as
mental rotation and help overcome cognitive limitations. Moreover,
online games can also prime natural positive aggression.

First and foremost, online gaming carries benefits for us as it helps us
to relieve stress. During our free time, playing online games can help
us to forget our stress and studies for a short time.

Examples of benefits of playing online games:

2nd point

Secondly, online gaming can improve our communication skills when
we play online games, we must communicate with our teammates and
automatically, we will be more fluent in speaking English.

Besides that, online games can help to improve the hand and eye
coordination of an individual as you need speed and alertness to play
these games.

In addition, you can improve your muscle memory while playing an
online game. For instance, games like PUBG Mobile or a typical first
person shooter requires fast reflexes to align the crosshair.

Secondly, it provides a way to develop compassion. There are a number
of games and apps that have been developed to help children manage
their emotions and encourage kind behaviour and compassion.

Moreover, online games relieve stress experienced by the young
generation. In this fast – paced modern era, teenagers face pressure
due to academics, and usually turn to online games for reassurance.

Other than that, gaming helps us tackle some real life problems. For
example, we could train ourselves to face problems in games before
facing it in real life.

And on top of that, online games can be the easy way for someone to
make some money. Streaming has been a trend among gamers to make
easy money on many platforms such as Twitch, YouTube and so on.

Examples of problems faced when playing online games:

1st & 2nd point

Apart from the benefits, there are also some disadvantages caused by
gaming such as sleep deprivation. Youngsters nowadays tend to play
games without any time limit and they do not care whether they have
enough sleep or not.

Playing online games for an extended period of time can also lead to
addiction. Some gamers are addicted to the extent that they have
forgotten their daily responsibilities.

One of the most common dangers that students face during online
gaming is cyberbullying. Some people vent their frustration on weak
kids by using online gaming as a medium.

As playing online games requires one to sit in front on the screen for
an extended period of time, it may damage our eyes and in the long
run, cause us to wear spectacles if we do not practice self-constraint..

Online gaming can affect a child’s academic performance if they miss
out on their homework. They can also face attention problems such as
focusing on a particular task other than gaming.

One of the disadvantages of online gaming includes developing anger
issues. Some online games involve irritating or infuriating gameplays
which will cause an individual to become easily ragequit often.

Sometimes, the Internet connection can be very slow. This ruins the
experience of online gaming as it increases latency.

Besides that, online games can be addictive to some people and these
habits are never good to begin with. Once, a player was found dead
after playing online games for the whole day.

Stress levels can be really high and quite unnecessary. Some people
can become victims of hypertension, which is never a good thing.

The problem about gaming is that it can be addictive to some people.
They’ll say, “one more” over and over but I’ll start to become a habit to
some people if they keep saying that.

.

Example of advice:

Therefore, every student must learn how to manage their time while
playing online games

Example of conclusion:

In a nutshell, there are loads of disadvantages of online gaming. So make
sure you allocate only sometime for playing online game. Remember that
anything done excessively will be detrimental to our mental health.

Activity 3 – Conclusion (20 words)

In a nutshell,
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Introduction
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Body
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Conclusion
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Practice 1

Your class has been discussing how they show appreciation to their loved
ones. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay about what you would
like to buy for your mother.

In your essay, you should write about:
 what you would like to buy
 reasons for your choice
 the importance of showing appreciation to your loved ones

Write your essay in 125 – 150 words in an appropriate style using all the
notes and giving reasons for your point of view.

Introduction

GENERAL STATEMENT + QUESTION + THESIS STATEMENT

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GENERAL STATEMENT + DEFINITION + THESIS STATEMENT

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Body

 what you would like to buy
 reasons for your choice
 the importance of showing appreciation to your loved ones

1st paragraph
 2-3 items that you would like to buy
 Sentence starter’ cohesive device
 Elaborate

2nd paragraph
 2-3 reasons for your choice
 Sentence starter/ cohesive device
 Elaborate

3rd paragraph
 1-2 importance of showing appreciation for your loved ones
 Elaborate

Items that you would like to buy:

 ________________________
 ________________________
 ________________________

Reasons for your choice:

 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________

Importance of showing appreciation for your loved ones:

 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________

Introduction
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Body
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Conclusion
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Sample Essay

Appreciation is a key to any relationship. It’s amazing to see
how much of a difference it makes. As for me, giving gifts to my loved
ones show that I care about them.

In my opinion, a personalized collage would be a perfect gift
for my mother. This is because my mother is the type of person who
appreciates things with sentimental value.

Additionally, I would like to get her a potted live plant since she
has a green thumb and loves gardening. A low maintenance potted plant
like the aloe vera would definitely suit her.

It is important to show appreciation to our loved ones because it
can strengthen our relationship with them. Moreover, it also shows that we
are grateful for them and value the role they play in our lives.

Lastly, I believe there is no more powerful way to acknowledge
our loved ones than to be thankful for them just as they are.

(157 words)

Practice 2
Your class has been discussing how they spend their money and your
teacher has asked you to write an essay about what you would spend
your money on.

In your essay, you should write about:
 what you would like to buy
 reasons for your choice
 where do you usually buy these things

Write your essay in 125 – 150 words in an appropriate style using all the
notes and giving reasons for your point of view.

Introduction

GENERAL STATEMENT + QUESTION + THESIS STATEMENT

____________________________________________________________
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GENERAL STATEMENT + DEFINITION + THESIS STATEMENT

____________________________________________________________
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Body

 what you would like to buy
 reasons for your choice
 where do you usually buy these things

1st paragraph
 2-3 items that you would like to buy
 Sentence starter’ cohesive device
 Elaborate

2nd paragraph
 2-3 reasons for your choice
 Sentence starter/ cohesive device
 Elaborate

3rd paragraph
 1-2 places where you usually buy these items
 Elaborate

Items that you would like to buy:

 ________________________
 ________________________
 ________________________

Reasons for your choice:

 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________

Where you usually buy these items:

 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________

Introduction
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Body
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Conclusion
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Practice 3

Your family has been planning where to go for a family trip and your father
has asked you to write an essay about the best vacation place for a family
trip.

In your essay, you should write about:
 where you would like to go
 reasons for your choice
 what you usually learn from your family trip

Write your essay in 125 – 150 words in an appropriate style using all the
notes and giving reasons for your point of view.

Introduction

GENERAL STATEMENT + QUESTION + THESIS STATEMENT

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GENERAL STATEMENT + DEFINITION + THESIS STATEMENT

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Body

 where you would like to go
 reasons for your choice
 what you usually learn from your family trip

1st paragraph
 2-3 places of where you would like to go
 Sentence starter’ cohesive device
 Elaborate

2nd paragraph
 2-3 reasons for your choice
 Sentence starter/ cohesive device
 Elaborate

3rd paragraph
 1-2 points on what you usually learn from your family trip
 Elaborate

Places of where you would like to go:

 ________________________
 ________________________
 ________________________

Reasons for your choice:

 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________

What you usually learn from your family trip:

 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________

Introduction
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Body
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Conclusion
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Practice 4

Your class has been discussing what they use the Internet for and your
teacher has asked you to write an essay about the importance of the
Internet to students.

In your essay, you should write about:
 what you use the Internet for
 reasons for your choice
 how the Internet is important to students

Write your essay in 125 – 150 words in an appropriate style using all the
notes and giving reasons for your point of view.

Introduction

GENERAL STATEMENT + QUESTION + THESIS STATEMENT

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GENERAL STATEMENT + DEFINITION + THESIS STATEMENT

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Body

 what you use the Internet for
 reasons for your choice
 how the Internet is important to students

1st paragraph
 2-3 points on what you use the Internet for
 Sentence starter’ cohesive device
 Elaborate

2nd paragraph
 2-3 reasons for your choice
 Sentence starter/ cohesive device
 Elaborate

3rd paragraph
 1-2 points on how the Internet is important to students
 Elaborate

Places of where you would like to go:

 ________________________
 ________________________
 ________________________

Reasons for your choice:

 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________

What you usually learn from your family trip:

 _________________________________________
 _________________________________________

Introduction
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Body
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Conclusion
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