Mugalomaniac.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Everyday study guide for GP!

Right guys, this came too late for the Muglanders, but could still prove useful to those in other colleges.

GP is a very standard paper: fixed formats, defined steps, you simply cannot go wrong unless you decide not to follow this guide.

How to mug for the supposedly-un-mug-able GP:

1. Write in English:

This is the utmost basic rule of General Paper. Don't try writing in Malay or Mandarin or Tamil, that's just plain suicide. And no tWiitx either. Or l33t.

2. Follow the GOLDEN FORMAT *shimmers*:

For your Paper 1 essays, just follow the following sequence:

Introduction + background information + stand,
Support View (SV) 1 + example + link,
SV2 + example + link,
SV3 + example + link,
Opposing View (OV) 1 + example +rebuttal + link,
OV2 + example +rebuttal + link,
Conclusion + review of points + link + stand.

Looks complicated, but simply recite it over and over and over and over and over again until you can rap it to your GP teacher. Or write it down, fill your GP exercise book with this format until your exercise book becomes that kamasutra-equilavent of GP.

You've just made your GP teacher so proud, he could go fishing in peace. (:

But don't try to be funny and write them on seperate pages. Ain't really a good way to show your intelligence.

3. Paraphrase!

Always paraphrase in your Paper 2. No matter what word it is, always do it. If you have to paraphrase "one", then replace it with "single" or "1" or something of equilivalent meaning.

4. Choose the RIGHT Paper 1 question:

How do you choose the RIGHT Paper 1 question? It is always refered to as "The One". Read through every question, if you chance upon that question that bends away from you like Neo from The Matrix, you know you have The One. Don't expect to find Agent Smith, The Oracle, Morpheus, Trinity, The Architect and the other Matrix cast in your question list though, it's GP you're sitting for, not GV.

Finally. Read a whole load of books:

Reading books help in both Paper 1 and Paper 2. When you read book, you are supposedly exposed to millions of words, and thus increasing your vocabulary capacity. That helps, really, but why stop there when you horne your GP skills as well. For Paper 1, start with identifying each paragraph whether they are an SV, OV, Introduction or Conclusion. Use a pencil and scribble at the sides if you must. Do this for the whole book and at the end of it, your written essay will definitely follow the GOLDEN FORMAT *shimmers*.

For Paper 2, paraphrase every single word in the book into another word with the same meaning. If you can, rewrite the whole book while retaining the same storyline.

At the end of it, you'll find that you'll never look at things the same way again. Well, a book would now mean an album or atlas or bestseller or bible or booklet or brochure or codex or compendium or copy or dictionary or dissertation or edition or encyclopedia or essay or fiction or folio or handbook or hardcover or leaflet or lexicon or magazine or manual or monograph or nonfiction or novel or octavo or offprint or omnibus or opus or opuscule or pamphlet or paperback or periodical or portfolio or preprint or primer or publication or quarto or reader or reprint or scroll or softcover or speller or text or textbook or thesaurus or tome or tract or treatise or volume or work or writing to you too!

You get what I mean.

P.S. Those in my class will find this a little bit familar. Okay, maybe more that a bit. X).

Labels: Everyday Guide To, GP

Lecture delivered at 2:38 PM by bengx