The Editing section in the Secondary English examination may seem like an easy section to score. However, this also means that any mistakes made in this section is more unforgiving. If the right techniques are not used, your child might find it difficult to identify the errors in the passage and replace them correctly.
Here are three tips to help your child Ace the Editing section:
#1 - Read the Entire Passage
The first thing your child should do when tackling the Editing section is to read the entire passage. This helps your child to understand the content presented in the passage. Once your child understands what the writer intends to convey, it becomes much easier to identify words that disrupt the original meaning of the passage. This is an essential step that your child must follow, to speed up the accuracy and efficiency in spotting the errors.
#2 - Identify the Shifts in Tense within the Passage
'Tense error' is one of the most common errors found in the Editing section. In order to detect these errors accurately, your child has to first identify whether the passage is a narrative or non-narrative one. A narrative passage is usually written in the past tense so your child can look out for verbs written in any other tenses to find a tense error. However, a shift in tense happens in sentences that convey a fact or a dialogue. These sentences are usually presented in the present tense.
On the other hand, a non-narrative passage is usually written in the present tense. A shift in tense to the 'past tense' in such passages, can be seen whenever they are references to events which occurred previously.
#3 - Read the Whole Sentence Before Deciding the Error
This last tip is probably the most important of the three. It is critical that your child reads the entire sentence before deciding the error in it. At the O level English standard, the context of topic discussed might be hidden across 2 or 3 lines within the passage. As such, it is risky to reach a conclusion on your answer based solely on reading a single line.
A good habit is to read information as a whole across the full sentence to understand the information conveyed within. Following that, your child can zoom in to the particular line where the error allegedly lies and double check that it sticks out from the intended meaning. This prevents unnecessary mistakes from being made.
As a word of caution, these tips are by no means "Techniques to tackle the Editing Section". Nonetheless, they are good practices to adopt if your child wishes to perform well consistently. They are also guidelines to help your child understand the passage and pick up errors swiftly and accurately.
Do give them a try when attempting the Editing Section in future. Your child will be in for a pleasant surprise!