Learning goes on

IT is a hive of activity in schools with public examinations coming to an end. Examination students are leaving school as soon as they finish their last examinations. There is jubilation and sadness. Some students are happy to be leaving their schools for ever while there is sadness for parting friends who have been together for four or six years. Such is life and life has to go on. The rest as has been said before, learning continues. We continue giving tips of studying to those still in class.

Students continue to show lack of knowledge to basics of English Language even at high levels of learning. It is surprising to find people failing to construct simple sentences to failing to paragraph their work. These are easily identifiable weaknesses which can be easily detected by teachers. Remedial work needs to be carried out to correct these weaknesses at whatever level they are diagnosed.

People have a misconception that when students are given a lot of exercises on basics like parts of speech, sentence construction and paragraphing, they are being drilled. There is nothing wrong with drilling students to make them understand a particular concept. Making students understand sentence construction and paragraphing is a life skill which will be used forever in writing. There is nothing wrong with reminding students of these key words: A sentence is a group of words with two main parts; a subject and a predicate or a subject and a verb.

A predicate is the part of a sentence or a clause containing a verb and stating something about the subject, for example, “took a book” in Sihle took a book. A paragraph consists of a group of sentences that share a common topic and work together as a unit of expression. A new paragraph is indicated by visual clues such as an extra space between lines of the text. In a composition, paragraphs are organised around a main idea. Each paragraph supports, develops or explains the main idea of the whole work.

When you write start each paragraph with a topic sentence. Topic sentences introduce paragraphs and let the reader know what to expect. Link your paragraphs using connectives — words or phrases that show the readers how your ideas link and work together. Here are some different kinds of connectives: Time order, at first, then, later. Logical order: therefore, consequently, as a result. Contrast — on the other hand, in contrast, and inversely.

How to write effective sentences. Books written for very young readers present information in short, direct sentences. Although these short sentences make the book easy to read, they do not make the book interesting to older readers. Writing for mature readers should include sentences of varying complexity that create a flow of ideas. During coursework read widely for pleasure and examination purposes. Read both fiction and non-fiction books as these will help you extend your vocabulary. Make a list of your weaknesses — is it spelling, punctuation like apostrophe, or verb tenses?

For improved performances in your work try to understand questions. Learn the techniques of answering different types of questions. For example, how do you respond to questions like — Write a letter to your school magazine which argues for or against a certain subject or how to write a review for a film or television programme you have watched recently? How do you write an article for a local newspaper which offers advice on issues affecting the community or write an article for a magazine persuading young people to stop smoking.

Your response to a letter to the school head suggesting changes you would like to see implemented in the school. Your letter would be formal. You could start by writing — Dear Mr or Mrs . . . State briefly why you are writing to them. Explain your reasons for the suggestions or changes you offer. Explain what you would like to see and why? In conclusion, summarise your main points and thank your head teacher for reading. Think of a final sentence to push him or her into understanding why your changes are so important.

To excel and maximise marks in English Language get familiar with some language techniques like figures of speech in the form of, similes, metaphors and others. Try to practice your summaries skills with, for example, a newspaper, and extracts from magazines or journals. Read a few articles a week and see if you can highlight and summarise the main points precisely. With the same articles, attempt to write a response in different styles such as a speech, letter or magazine article so you comfortable with different forms of writing.

Students should be creative. In Literature they can make a caricature from the novels they are studying. If they can draw (or even if they cannot), they can use pieces of paper to depict their characters. If they cannot draw, they can print out a picture to label with quotes relevant to each character. This helps cement the character’s journey in the novel and their specific role. In order to have a successful journey in their studies, students need to collaborate with classmates in groups.

This approach helps them gain insight from other students by working as part of a group. If they find their coursework too much to tackle and understand alone, they should enlist the help of other students. Interacting with other students will also help improve their communication and collaborative skills. The student and his or her classmates can also test one another’s knowledge and level of progress.

All this shows that learning still goes on despite the fact that the term and year are coming to an end. A student who works hard now and make preparations like writing notes and reading set texts gets into the coming year in a better frame of mind and ready to start the new term. For views link up with, charlesdube14058@gmail.com or sms only to 0772113207.