Provincial Exam Tips EN10

Poetry tips Reread the poem Examine the multiple choice questions Read the poem out loud – whisper read Annotate the poem; think with your pen Focus on the beginning and end of the poem Examine the title of the poem Focus on what you do know Consider doing poetry section last

Poetry Writing Tips “title of poem” “speaker” not narrator Don’t confuse author/poet with speaker “~~~~~~” (l. 14). “~~~~~[changed text]~~~~” (l.14). “~~~~~/~~~~~~/~~~~~” (l. 14-16). Avoid lengthy quotes – try to embed into your sentence as much as possible.

Synthesis Writing Tips Titles, authors, and prompt in introduction Answer the prompt early in intro and repeatedly go back to it throughout your essay. “Title” Narrator for prose and speaker for poetry “~~~~~~~” (para. 2). “~~~~~ [changed text]~~~” (para, 2). “~~~~~…~~~~” (para. 2). Vary quote integration; limit full sentence quotes Avoid “this quote proves that” statements

Original Composition - Avoid “In this paper I will…” “It is very interesting / important / unique because…” “As you can see…”; “So you can see I have proven…” “It was a dark and stormy night…” “And then I woke up…” happy, mad, sad, glad, bad and other bad diction Dialogue punctuated incorrectly or over done Vulgar language or content “And then…” structure that ends in too much plot Long boring narratives Clichés Poorly done parodies

Original Composition - Do Have an interesting opening line – maybe a title too Answer the prompt fully Try to illicit an emotional response Focus on something small and do it well Go over 300 words Show off. It about content AND style. Remember your audience. The marker will not be impressed that you wrote from a male perspective if they have no idea you are female. And, they can usually spot fabrications.

The difference between a 5 & 6 IS STYLE… most students write persuasively – maybe try something different or a combination of styles. Narratives work well. sentence variety sentence starters: noun, -ly ending, -ing ending, subordinate conj., try using similes, metaphors, irony, foreshadowing, flashbacks, personification