PMR Writing Tips - Brainstorming for ideas For PMR Paper 2 - Section A, students are required to write an essay

based on a series of pictures or notes.

An example of PMR-type question based on a series of notes. (Click on the picture to enlarge)

A PMR 2006 question based on a series of pictures & notes. (Click on the picture to enlarge) The basic steps to answer this type of question are: 1. Read & understand the question. 2. Brainstorm ideas. 3. Write the essay in an organised paragraphs. Write at least 5 sentences for each paragraph. 4. Re-read the essay to check on your grammar and spelling. Although the pictures/notes are given, a lot of students still have difficulties of finding ideas on what to write in their essay. How to find ideas? The answer is BRAINSTORMING! In this post, I'll show you how brainstorming can be a great help in elaborating the points/information given to write an essay. Ways to brainstorm ideas are discussed as follows: 1. Find the words related to the given words.

Let's say the word given is "holiday". So, think of other words which could be related to the word "holiday". For example:

(Click on the picture to enlarge) Use the new words to write sentences for your essay. For example: School holidays came again. That means, there were no school and there will be a lot of free time. Students and teachers used this precious time to relaxtheir mind. This was the time where most families planned some family activities such as going for a vacation or camping at any place of interest. 2. Use "Mr. How & his 5 wives" technique. This technique refers to the "wh questions" such as: Where? When? Who? Why? What? How? By using the following picture, form as many questions as you can using the "wh questions".

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

Where

did they travel to? When did they go?

were in the car? Why did they go there? What were the children/mother/father doing in the car? How was the weather? How was the road condition? The answer to each question will be the sentences that you can write for your essay. Sample answer to each of the above question: Where did they travel to? They travelled to Melaka. When did they go? They went to Melaka during the school holidays. Who were in the car? In the car, there were his father, Encik Jamil, his mother, Puan Sara, Johan and his younger sister, Lily. Why did they go there? They went to Melaka to attend a wedding. What were the children/mother/father doing in the car? Encik Jamil was driving while Puan Sara listening to the radio. Johan and Lily was chatting happily with each other. How was the weather? The weather was sunny and the sky was blue. How was the road condition? The road was quite bumpy. The paragraph will look like this: During the holidays, Johan and his family travelled to Melaka. They went to Melaka to attend a wedding. In the car, there were his father, Encik Jamil, his mother, Puan Sara, Johan and his younger sister, Lily. Encik Jamil was driving while Puan Sara was listening to the radio. Johan and Lily was chatting happily with each other. The weather was sunny and the sky was blue. The road was quite bumpy. 3. Observe the picture and list what you see. By using the same picture, list what you can see.

Who

car a boy a girl a family Use the words to write sentences for your essay. 4. Utilise all the words and information given in the picture. Write sentences by using all the notes given to write your essay.

Form sentences from the notes given to write your essay. I hope you'll find that it's not that difficult to find ideas to write an essay for PMR. You are advised to combine all the techniques which have discussed earlier when writing your essay. Nevertheless, it takes a lot of practice to write a good essay.

In exam, spend about 10 minutes to brainstorm ideas for your essay. Don't forget to use your imagination and experience to write a well-elaborated composition. I wish you all the best for the coming PMR :) [Credits to Pn Z.Z of SMKD, Sepang] Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook