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PSLE English Composition: Do's & Don'ts
15 Mar 2025·6 min read·The Tutor's Table
Paper 1 Composition is worth 40 marks and marked on Content (20), Language & Organisation (20). A good PSLE composition is not a long composition — it is a controlled, clearly-paragraphed, sharply-chosen one. Use this checklist before, during, and after you write.
Do's
- DO spend the first 5 minutes planning. Jot down a simple 4-paragraph arc: Setting → Rising action → Climax → Resolution with a reflection.
- DO pick the picture that gives you the most mileage, not the one that 'looks easiest'. Familiar vocabulary beats ambitious vocabulary every time.
- DO vary sentence openings. Mix 'I …' starters with participle openings ('Heart pounding, I …'), adverb openings, and short punchy sentences.
- DO show emotions through action and sensory detail. Instead of 'I was scared', try 'My knees turned to jelly and I could hear every heartbeat.'
- DO build to one clear climax. Every paragraph should move the story forward.
- DO leave 3–5 minutes at the end to proofread for tense slips, plurals, capitalisation, and spelling. These are the cheapest marks in the entire paper.
Don'ts
- DON'T write a 5-page essay. Examiners reward quality, not quantity. 300–400 words with strong control > 600 rambling words.
- DON'T memorise a full composition and force-fit it to the theme. It almost always shows, and off-topic pieces are penalised heavily.
- DON'T overuse 'bombastic' words you don't fully understand. A misused ambitious word loses marks; a simple accurate word earns them.
- DON'T switch between past and present tense mid-paragraph. Decide your tense on the plan line and stick to it.
- DON'T end abruptly or with 'And then I woke up.' Land the story with a short, reflective final line.
- DON'T ignore the pictures and the theme. Your composition must clearly connect to at least one picture.
One habit beats everything else: read your own work out loud once after writing. If a sentence sounds odd to your ear, it is odd on paper too.
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