In today’s post I will focus on Comprehension Open-ended. This is one of the components where students can lose a lot of marks for a number of reasons.
Main reasons why students are losing marks with the Comprehension OE
1. Lack of comprehension of the text given
In P5 and P6, texts become more complex and are based on subjects that students may not be familiar with, such as adrift at sea, world war 2 and mountain climbing. Students may miscomprehend the text and thus answer the questions inaccurately.
2. Not fully understanding the questions asked
Students may not be familiar with question types. They may also miss out on certain key words in the questions. Thus, questions are answered inaccurately.
3. Incomplete answers
This reason occurs more often than you would think. Sometimes, students may understand the text and the questions but when writing out the answer, miss out a whole part of it, even if it is a continuation of the sentence.
4. Grammatical mistakes
With the change of format for English, marks were not supposed to be subtracted for grammatical mistakes in Comprehension OE. This, however, is not always true for certain schools. Students can lose half to one mark for tenses and spelling mistakes.
So, what should students remember when tackling the Comprehension OE questions?
1. Understanding your text
Read to understand your text. At the side of each paragraph, jot down simple notes to help you understand a complex text
2. Question types
Identify your question types & remember the ways to tackle different question types:
- Factual
- Inference
- Reference
- Sequencing
- True or False
- Cause and Effect
- Vocabulary in Context
3. Highlight & circle key words in your questions
Every question has key word(s) to help you answer accurately. Highlight the key words and take note of your tenses and spelling
4. Highlight the key words/phrases or clues in your passage.
Then number according to the question number. This will allow you to re-check your answers more easily at the end. This will also allow you to be sure that you have not missed out on any parts of the answer
5. Check your answers
Have you answered your questions accurately?
Are your answers complete?
Did you make any grammar or spelling mistake?
*Remember, it is accuracy and not speed that will help you score well for your Comprehension OE component!
Check the other articles from this section
- Tips on Comprehension Cloze Passages for P5
- How to ace the Cloze passage in P5
- A number vs the number grammar rule
- Common grammar mistakes series: subject-verb-agreement
- Advice on how to prepare for the English Language Paper 2 in the Primary 5 year
- Primary 5 English Grammar Subject-verb-agreement
- Tips on Informal Situational Writing – P5
- P5 English vocabulary & editing list
- P5 CA1 Vocabulary List 2016
- P5 CA1 Editing List 2016
- P5 Top School SA1 Editing List 2015
- Primary 5 Editing (Spelling) List
- Primary 5 Vocabulary List
- P5 & P6 Commonly Misspelled Words
- How to manage tricky subject-verb-agreement questions in Primary 5?
- Three tips to help P5 students prepare for the English Paper 2 component
2023 P5 English tuition timetable
Branch | Day | Start time | End time |
---|---|---|---|
Bukit Timah | THU | 3 pm | 5 pm |
Bukit Timah | SUN | 12 pm | 2 pm |
Hougang Pelikat | WED | 5 pm | 7 pm |
Hougang Pelikat | SAT | 1.30 pm | 3.30 pm |
Hougang Pelikat | SAT | 3.30 pm | 5.30 pm |