Analysing Form5/SPM novel questions from 2001-2011

After many years diving in the sea with my students ,in search of the PEARLS  in “The Pearl” by John Steinback, a novel that reveals the power of hope, love and determination… we have now taken the STEPS to leave the pearls which have taught us many valuable lessons and making us feel the waves of emotions in the sea of family love and unity. Since 2011, we have to change to “Step by wicked step” by Ann Fine…do I have a choice? Very well…life needs changes, so have faith that the changes are positive ones….as we go thru it, we learn new values in life especially about appreciating the power of family love which creates joy, peace, tolerance, understanding, gratefulness, forgiveness and beauty….blooming seeds of happiness, tranquility and attachment…as this novel managed to prove that strong family relationship sustains family bond and heals all the hurting moments through sense of love, devotion and loyalty. The power of family love leads to reunion and healing in a family. Therefore, we should appreciate and love our family unconditionally and be prepared to make sacrifices  as when there is strong sense of love, there is forgiveness , patience, loyalty and devotion growing without force under the shade of genuine family love. 

As the SPM examination is getting nearer, I’ve started to analyse the step by wicked steps novel, and created some sample answers in framework form so that you can understand better/ faster/ and make great effort to answer during your SPM English paper. Please share this literature notes with anyone in need as the more we share, the more we get…..Thank you God for Your Endless Blessings….

This is part of my literature notes prepared for SPM English Seminar (for my tuition students and those who are interested to join) which I will be presenting  on the 14^th and 21^st  October, 2012 at Kajang.

Analysing Novel Questions (2001-2011):

2001   A character you like/admire (character)

2002   What important lesson did you learn? (moral value)

2003   A character you sympathies. (character)

2004   Choose an event which you find to be the most memorable. (Plot)

2005   Love is important in a family. How is this shown in the novel you have studied? (Theme)

2006   The writer describes the main character as a very determined person. (character)

        Write about:

         ~some instances that show the character’s determination

         ~how the determination affects his/her family

2007   Write about a character that you look up to. (character)

2008   Describe what happens at the end of the novel.  (Plot)

           Explain why you find the ending either   happy or sad

2009   Write about a difficult decision made by one of the characters,

           with close reference to the text, do think this was the right decision. (character)

2010   Write about an important incident in the novel. (Plot)

2011   Write about a part of the story that you like the most. (Plot)

2012   ?

Sample answers/framework for Step by Wicked Step:

1.      Compare two characters.

Introduction:

State your novel (Step by wicked step)

Brief synopsis

The characters~ Richard & Colin

Content paragraphs:

1.      Their love for their dad

E1 Similarity: Both missed their fathers

E1 Contrast: 
Richard- His father died
Colin-mother moved away with father’s knowledge

E1 Contrast: 
Richard-lost his father forever
Colin- still searching for his stepfather

2.      Ignored by their mothers

E2  Similarity: Both did not get any attention from their mothers

E2  Contrast: 
Richard- His mother did not defend him when Reverend Coldstone treated him badly
Colin-his mother is not aware of how much he missed  his dad because she is too busy working  at the canteen and doing household chores

E2  Similarity: Both of them did not feel their mothers’ love.

3.      Running away

E3  Similarity: Both of them decided to ran away to make things work

E3  Contrast: 
Richard- ran away from home with the hope that he would make life more pleasant for everyone
Colin-plans to run away to find his stepfather

E3  Contrast: 
Richard- realize that running away does not solve any problems

Colin-he does three paper rounds to save money to search for his stepfather

Conclusion:

~the two characters suffered much pain and sorrow- no one cares about them/how they felt/ no one advise them

~running away does not solve problems, in fact it can affect the people around

~ we need to think wisely before making a serious decision in life.

2. How a character has changed due to certain events that have taken place in his/her life.

Introduction:

State your novel (Step by wicked step)

Brief synopsis

The character: Colin

1.      Colin changed into a very unhappy and lonely boy

E1 He had to join a new school when his mother moved out of their home with him

E1 He has to go thru unpleasant experiences, got ignored, the students had their own set of friends.

E1 His mother busy with her job (at the canteen) and with her household chores, had no time to listen to his problems.

2.      Colin becomes a dreamy boy which causes him to have less focus in class/did badly in school.

E2  he missed his dad very much

E2  every –he would night he would take the tobacco tin out of the toe of his boot and put it under his pillow

E2  he would hum their (colin & dad) favourite song & stay awake for hours talking to his dad. He pretended that his dad was there.

3.      Colin becomes resourceful

E3  It has been 5 years, 8 months & 7 days  since he was separated from his dad

E3   He secretly writes his dad’s name & his old address on the forms at school

E3  he tries to save money- he does three paper rounds to earn money to search for his dad when he is older.

Conclusion:

~At first Colin responded negatively to the changes in his life-sad, dreamy, moody,

~finally he decided to do something worthy to search for his dad.

~His love and longing for his dad motivated him to become optimistic, resourceful and patient in his mission: search for his dad.