I offer both one-to-one and group GP tuition. For group tuition, the optimal number of students per class is between 2 to 4. Please form your own group because this will facilitate research work and my teaching pedagogy.
Lessons will only be conducted on Sundays at my residential address, where the nearest MRT station is the Choa Chu Kang station. The available time slots, now, are: 10am-12pm and 7-9pm.
Reading materials I will issue:
1. Top JCs GP model essays (from RJC's KS Bulletin, HCI's GP Bulletin etc) (View samples in my March 09 Archive)
2. Hwa Chong Institution's Issues and Ideas; From Fact to Fiction; Time tunnel series.
3. Top JC Preliminary examination papers (based on latest H1/H2/H3 syllabus)
4. Past years' Cambridge A level examination papers with full set of solutions compiled by HCI English department.
5. Personal Grammar notes (on subjects like Subject-Verb Agreement, Tenses, Punctuations, Use of Auxillary verbs etc)
6. Essay writing and comprehension skills notes (from HCI Essay Skills handbooks and other sources)
7. Samples of excellent AQs (View a sample in my March 09 Archive)
8. SAT word lists complied by my HCI tutor
9. My personalized collection of exclusive summarized reading materials from a variety of sources such as The Straits Times, Newsweek, TIME, The Economist etc (View a sample in my March 09 Archive)
10. Thorough analysis of potential 'pet' topics that have consistently appeared in past years' GCE A level GP examinations.
My pedagogy aka mode of instruction:
1. Work on content knowledge. Why?
- Students tend to score poorly in content, especially when writing Paper 1 essays and/or when tackling the last question of Paper 2, the application question.
- Furthermore, content marks constitute a considerably large portion of the entire GP exam: 30 marks in Paper 1 and 35 marks in Paper 2.
- Gives students avenues to writing a well-enunciated piece with obvious command of ideas and illustrations.
How? Through the weekly "content building sessions".
I will spend about 30 minutes, weekly, improving students' content knowledge. I will engage, explain, and ensure my students imbibe the gamut of worthy facts and relevant examples given, through a series of classroom activities, discussions and mock tests/exams. Topics to be covered include: Science & Technology; Globalization; Feminism and roles of men and women in society; Singapore and world Politics; National Education Issues and Singapore Geopolitics; Economics; War and Terrorism; the Mass Media. (For samples of the notes I give during content building sessions, do approach me directly via email/cell phone.)
2. Develop essay writing skills
- Aim to impart critical thinking and writing skills
- Learn the arts of writing effective thesis and topic sentences
- Write a piece that incorporates the following: crisp, concise and focused introduction; mature, sophisticated and well-substantiated body paragraphs; lastly a strong conclusion.
- Apply the QTK Method of analyzing questions.
- Practise planning essays
- Internalize and use my 4-step approach to write a top grade, Band 1, Application Question answer, that fulfills the A level examiners' criteria of marking. They look out for Relevance, Elaboration, Evaluation and Coherence.
My approach: Learn from the competent writers. I will issue useful resources such as the GP Essays (annotated essay plans) from RJC and HCI; exclusive HCI materials like From Fact to Fiction, Time Tunnel and Issues and Ideas; TIME, NEWSWEEK and THE ECONOMIST magazine articles, at different interim, to facilitate teaching of these skills. Vocabulary word lists will likewise be given to expand students' word power. In addition, timed-assignments will be given, at regular interim (usually after I've finished two content topics), to ascertain the students' level competency and understanding.
3. Time management and exam skills.
- Use of sample model answers and marking schemes given by HCI tutors and actual A level Cambridge examiners; I will teach students how to be exam smart.
- Write only what the examiners are looking for. For example, in 2000 Cambridge examiners report, examiners commented "a crisp, concise style is much preferred in the opening. Over-complex phrasing of sentencing, with insecure use of vocabulary, can establish detrimental impression." As seen from the above illustration, I know what the examiners want for introduction; therefore, when I teach, I focus on teaching the art of writing crisp, concise and focused introductions.
- How to manage time effectively, especially when under exam duress.
- Disregard the misconception and erroneous thought stating that GP cannot be revised because it is an examination that focuses on language skills and there is not much students can do about that.
- I teach my students how to revise for GP examinations and convince them why revision is required.
Lastly, do note improving one's GP grade takes time. And it certainly requires copious amounts of hard work, dedication and conscious effort, to boot. Therefore, if you are not doing well now, do not give up. Redefine your learning strategies and work even harder - so you can hopefully see the fruits of your labour one day!
With regards
Mr Lee
Lessons will only be conducted on Sundays at my residential address, where the nearest MRT station is the Choa Chu Kang station. The available time slots, now, are: 10am-12pm and 7-9pm.
Reading materials I will issue:
1. Top JCs GP model essays (from RJC's KS Bulletin, HCI's GP Bulletin etc) (View samples in my March 09 Archive)
2. Hwa Chong Institution's Issues and Ideas; From Fact to Fiction; Time tunnel series.
3. Top JC Preliminary examination papers (based on latest H1/H2/H3 syllabus)
4. Past years' Cambridge A level examination papers with full set of solutions compiled by HCI English department.
5. Personal Grammar notes (on subjects like Subject-Verb Agreement, Tenses, Punctuations, Use of Auxillary verbs etc)
6. Essay writing and comprehension skills notes (from HCI Essay Skills handbooks and other sources)
7. Samples of excellent AQs (View a sample in my March 09 Archive)
8. SAT word lists complied by my HCI tutor
9. My personalized collection of exclusive summarized reading materials from a variety of sources such as The Straits Times, Newsweek, TIME, The Economist etc (View a sample in my March 09 Archive)
10. Thorough analysis of potential 'pet' topics that have consistently appeared in past years' GCE A level GP examinations.
My pedagogy aka mode of instruction:
1. Work on content knowledge. Why?
- Students tend to score poorly in content, especially when writing Paper 1 essays and/or when tackling the last question of Paper 2, the application question.
- Furthermore, content marks constitute a considerably large portion of the entire GP exam: 30 marks in Paper 1 and 35 marks in Paper 2.
- Gives students avenues to writing a well-enunciated piece with obvious command of ideas and illustrations.
How? Through the weekly "content building sessions".
I will spend about 30 minutes, weekly, improving students' content knowledge. I will engage, explain, and ensure my students imbibe the gamut of worthy facts and relevant examples given, through a series of classroom activities, discussions and mock tests/exams. Topics to be covered include: Science & Technology; Globalization; Feminism and roles of men and women in society; Singapore and world Politics; National Education Issues and Singapore Geopolitics; Economics; War and Terrorism; the Mass Media. (For samples of the notes I give during content building sessions, do approach me directly via email/cell phone.)
2. Develop essay writing skills
- Aim to impart critical thinking and writing skills
- Learn the arts of writing effective thesis and topic sentences
- Write a piece that incorporates the following: crisp, concise and focused introduction; mature, sophisticated and well-substantiated body paragraphs; lastly a strong conclusion.
- Apply the QTK Method of analyzing questions.
- Practise planning essays
- Internalize and use my 4-step approach to write a top grade, Band 1, Application Question answer, that fulfills the A level examiners' criteria of marking. They look out for Relevance, Elaboration, Evaluation and Coherence.
My approach: Learn from the competent writers. I will issue useful resources such as the GP Essays (annotated essay plans) from RJC and HCI; exclusive HCI materials like From Fact to Fiction, Time Tunnel and Issues and Ideas; TIME, NEWSWEEK and THE ECONOMIST magazine articles, at different interim, to facilitate teaching of these skills. Vocabulary word lists will likewise be given to expand students' word power. In addition, timed-assignments will be given, at regular interim (usually after I've finished two content topics), to ascertain the students' level competency and understanding.
3. Time management and exam skills.
- Use of sample model answers and marking schemes given by HCI tutors and actual A level Cambridge examiners; I will teach students how to be exam smart.
- Write only what the examiners are looking for. For example, in 2000 Cambridge examiners report, examiners commented "a crisp, concise style is much preferred in the opening. Over-complex phrasing of sentencing, with insecure use of vocabulary, can establish detrimental impression." As seen from the above illustration, I know what the examiners want for introduction; therefore, when I teach, I focus on teaching the art of writing crisp, concise and focused introductions.
- How to manage time effectively, especially when under exam duress.
- Disregard the misconception and erroneous thought stating that GP cannot be revised because it is an examination that focuses on language skills and there is not much students can do about that.
- I teach my students how to revise for GP examinations and convince them why revision is required.
Lastly, do note improving one's GP grade takes time. And it certainly requires copious amounts of hard work, dedication and conscious effort, to boot. Therefore, if you are not doing well now, do not give up. Redefine your learning strategies and work even harder - so you can hopefully see the fruits of your labour one day!
With regards
Mr Lee
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