How to excel at IP English

By: Teacher Hexuan, MACRO Secondary English HOD

Hey parents! First and foremost, congratulations on your child making it into the Integrated Programme (IP), I am glad that their hard work for PSLE has paid off! Now, you might be wondering how IP English differs from PSLE , and most importantly, how your child can excel in IP English. Don’t worry, this guide is here to help you answer all your questions about IP English.

1. How is IP English different from PSLE?

IP English has far fewer components than PSLE. It only comprises a composition and a comprehension. However, the difficulty of the comprehension in IP English is much higher than that of PSLE. In PSLE, the answers for most comprehension questions can be copied directly from the passage. This is not the case for IP English, where many questions require students to make logical inferences or use their own words to answer the question, testing their thinking skills and language ability. Furthermore, for the composition, students will transition from writing narratives to constructing argumentative essays as they move up the levels. Thus, students will eventually require knowledge of pertinent local and global issues along with language mastery to excel in IP English. Last but not least, IP English also introduces something new to students: Literature, which I will explain about in greater detail in the following section.

2. How is Literature taught in IP English?

In IP English, over a 2 year span, students will be exposed to the three main genres of Literature: prose, poetry, and drama. Each school will teach a particular text during English classes (for example, William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”) and students will be expected to write essays about the text during their exam. Students will have to memorise key quotes from their texts and use them to effectively analyse the text and answer the question. For example, for “Julius Caesar”, a student might use the quote “Beware the ides of March” to explain how it foreshadows Caesar’s death on that very date. 

3. How can students excel in Literature?

Literature usually makes up roughly one-third of students’ grade for IP English, so it is important that they do well for it. The most important thing students have to do to excel in Literature is to understand the text that they are studying. They must know all the important themes of the text and memorise a handful of quotes for each theme. Also, they must be familiar with and be able to identify common literary devices, in order to effectively analyse quotes. Some must-know literary devices include metaphors, similes, imagery, symbolism, juxtaposition, and personification etc. Lastly, they must be able to analyse the effect created by these literary devices, and connect this analysis to the themes of the text. If they are able to master these skills, they will easily excel in Literature. 

4. How can students excel for IP English in general?

The most important skill for IP English is critical thinking. Students can no longer rely on memorising model compositions or grammar rules for IP English, as IP English is far more demanding than PSLE. Having a good grasp of grammar and vocabulary is no longer the key to success like it used to be in PSLE, it is a basic expectation for all IP English students. Instead, they have to develop their critical thinking skills in order to solve unpredictable and challenging problems that IP English will throw at them. In classes and exams, students will be pushed out of their comfort zone and they will have to learn to thrive when unfamiliar questions are posed to them. Other than critical thinking, having a strong language ability will also help students in expressing their ideas clearly and effectively. To boost their language ability, especially in the long run, students should read voraciously.