Thanks! I would appreciate if you can provide me with some S&T eg and I wil compile it for my son.

Many thanks!

Hi parents,

We will be providing some Synthesis and Transformation (S&T)
examples with explanations and the common mistakes that
children make. S&T is one section in the English Paper that
is easy to lose marks as one grammar mistake results
in the full 2 marks being deducted for the qn.

S&T example 1

- UNLESS

Things to note:

1) The condition in the sentence should be after 'unless'.

2) There should be one positive part in the sentence and one
negative.

QN: If she does her work, she can go out.

Mistake: Unless she does her work(positive), she can
go out (positive)

Correct Ans: Unless she does her work(positive), she cannot
go out. (negative)

3) When the 'must' is taken out of the sentence, remember
to change the verb if necessary.

QN: She must finish up her food before she can go and play.

Mistake: She cannot go and play unless she finish her food.

Correct Ans: She cannot go and play unless she finishes her food.

4) Sentence should be easy to understand.

QN: She should not take her medicine if she is in pain.

Mistake: She should take her medicine unless she is not in pain.
(the reader must think through for a while before understanding what
the sentence means)

Thanks for the S&T exampe. It is possible for you to also provide example for close passages? Can?

Many thanks!

Hi Herbie,

Sure for cloze passages, there are some key linking words
that are used especially for factual texts. It is thus important
to know the correct usage.

There are some linking words that children do get confused by.
These are 2 especially confusing ones that are listed below:

- However

VS

- Although

However - it can be used to mean 'in spite of that'(other words/phrases that might replacehowever: nevertheless, yet)

Eg: He was given a the choice to go free however he choseto remain a prisoner.

Although - it also means 'in spite of that'.

So then, what is the difference when 'although' and 'however'are both used to mean 'in spite of that'?

'Although' is used before the clause that happens first in the
sentence.

'However' is used before the clause that usually happens second.

Eg:

Although he was hungry(happened first), he did not eat.

He was hungry, however, he did not eat (second part that happened in the sentence)

- This might be an overly simple way to explain the rules,but this helps the children to have a better idea when to use whichword.

Example from a school paper:

According to the Chinese zodiac, we will usher in the year
of the Rat very soon. But I like to think of 2008 as the year
of the Frog. The frog will not be replacing the rat during Chinese
New Year celebrations (1)___________ it has been singled out by
conservationist groups to represent 2008.

Answer: although

The answer is 'although' as the frog should have replaced the rat
since it has been singled out. And 'it has been singled out' can be
said to be the part that happens first 'will not be replacing' is the part
that happens after that. Hence, 'although' and not 'however' is used.

Here are some tips on helping your child with the comprehension
cloze passage. This section is known as a 'killer' section as many
children lose many marks here. There are many ways to tackle
this section but one way is to look for clues.

Cloze passage tip: Contextual clues

(taken from Nayang 2007 Pri 6 paper)

And just like you cannot (1)_________ the information on every website out there, you cannot rely on what strangers you 'meet' on the websites (2)_________ you either.

The clues for (1) are just like and rely on. 'Just like'
tells you that the answer for (1) is similar to the second
part of the sentence and the second part of the sentence
has the words 'cannot rely on'. So what verb comes to
your mind when you cannot reply on someone? You can also
say you cannot trust someone.

Hence answer for (1) is 'trust'

The clues for (2) is on what strangers you meet so you cannot
rely on what strangers you meet _______ you. The blank is an
action word. It is a verb. So when you meet people on internet, what
do you do? You chat, you get information, so in a sense they are
'telling' you things.

Hence the answer for (2) is tell

Sometimes the clues in the passage gives you the direct answer.Below is one example:

(taken from Red Swastika 2008 paper)

The forensic scientists were deployed to (1) ____________ whatever evidence they could find at the scene of the (2) _________.

The investigators worked long and hard to study the evidence they had gathered that day. As the evidence was insufficient, they went around the vicinity of the crime to question people.

The clues for (1) and (2) are found in the next paragraph.
Clue for (1) is found in 'study the evidence they
had gathered' So since you gather evidence, the
answer for (1) is gather. And your child needs to take note
when it is a verb, the correct tense must be used.
Here it is the root form of the verb because of the 'to'.

Answer for (1) is gather

The clue for (2) is found in 'went around the vicinity of
the crime' We know a crime has been committed
hence the forensic scientist would need to gather evidence
at the scene of the crime

'Because of' links result to the reason. It is used in the same
way 'because' would be used. However, the main
difficulty for children would be the need to change
the clause after 'because of' to a noun phrase.

Qn1: She was scolded because she was rude (adjective) to her teacher.

Ans1: She was scolded because of her rudeness (noun) to her teacher.

Qn2: He kept perspiring because it was warm (adjective) in the room.

Ans2: Because of the warmth (noun) in the room, he kept perspiring.

Hence, children need to know what are the common abstract nouns.
(Abstract nouns are nouns that a person cannot use their 5 senses
to interact with. Concrete nouns - eg: dog- are nouns that one
can interact with by using their 5 senses)

You can list them out for your child by grouping them under common
headings.

Eg:

- NESS (ending with 'ness')

Kindness
Sadness
Fondness
Happiness
Madness

- TY (ending with 'ty')

Cruelty
Gaiety
Ability
Anxiety

- ment (ending with 'ment')

Enjoyment
Agreement
Achievement

- ion (ending with 'ion')

Competition
Exhaustion
Communication

- er (words ending with 'er')

Hunger
Anger

- th (words ending with 'th')

Warmth
Strength

- x (we call them x because they do not fall into any particular category)

Grandeur
Belief
Relief
Hatred

Once children are very familiar with abstract nouns, this question would
not be a problem for them.