001 : Revision

Assalamualaikum and good day everyone,

This is the first entry for 2021 and I do believe that learning never stops. When we are learning something, we need to have our own goals. Be it for personal reasons or a professional one. Just find at least, a reason. This is because, sometimes, we just need a reason to start something. It does not have to be that big, a small reason would do. As long as you keep that reason alive.

As for me, my main reason of starting and writing this blog is because I want to help students in learning English language. Even though, there were a few readers who were commenting on my blog saying quite negative things regarding my proficiency but I do think that due to where I am now, I am okay. I am okay with that. I am okay with the comment because in the end, even though the comments were negative, I HAVE to turn those negative comments into positive comments. It is because, I cannot live in such toxic world of being negative, right?  It is on me, not them. I have the power to change myself. I have the power to build myself up. I have the power to change my surroundings. 

As for 2021, I have decided to write more information regarding the English subject from Primary and also Secondary schools. For that reasons, I need to read a lot of reading materials published by book publishers and of course, I have to buy those books for me to gain more knowledge. I have bought a few as for my references and I will find more and I will share the information, here. InshaaAllah.

Thank you very much everyone for reading my writings. I personally hope that you would benefited from them.

See you soon as I need to do my own revision on the syllabus.

Assalamualaikum !

RE- WRITING

Hi everyone, readers, searchers, language learners, HI!

I started this blog about three years ago. I did not know what to expect, but I just kept on writing but something came and I left this blog, unintended. 

Nothing new on it. 

Too bad.

Personally, writing in English is difficult because English language is not my mother tongue. I tend to write according to my mood. Personally, I am writing here because I want to improve my English proficiency.

Some writes to perfect their writing. I write because I want to be better.

Better at English.

Difficult but I think I will get through it.

Learning is a continuous process. We cannot stop at certain point because we just gave up learning. NO! We cannot do that. Learning has no age. It has no limits. No at all.

I am sorry, I should write more.

I noticed there were many pupils searched for some novels and whatnot and they too left comments, again, unintended. I believe they are no 19-20 years old already. I am sorry for not replying your comments.

I am so sorry!

Anyway, I will try my best to look for suitable materials and keep on writing on this blog again.

InshaaAllah.

Wish me luck everyone.

And,

Thank you for reading even though there are many grammatical errors, here and there.

Thank you. 

The Jungle Book : Synopsis.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

Hi everyone, good morning. In the last entry, *well, a few back actually, I did write a little bit about The Jungle Book, the Contemporary English Literature For Primary School Year 4. CLICK HERE. As for this entry, I will write more on the same book but more to the Synopsis.

There are 5 chapters in the book.

Chapter One    :  Mowgli's Brothers

Chapter Two    :  Kaa's Hunting

Chapter Three :  The Red Flower

Chapter Four   :  Tiger, Tiger

Chapter Five   :   Red Dog

Now, we will go by chapter.

As for Chapter One : Mowgli's Brother, the author told about the characters and the author showed that how Mowgli's ended up with Akeela (Wolf). The author also showed how Mowgli was saved from Shere Khan (Tiger), who also has killed Mowgli's parents. Here the author already showed the reader about the conflict, even though it is the beginning of the story but as we all know,*after reading the book, the first conflict started when Shere Khan killed the human's cow. So, it showed that Shere Khan was no satistified with cows, he started killing human and they were Mowgli's parents.

For Chapter Two : Kaa's Hunting. Mowgli has become a teenage boy who have been equipped with many skills. He was taught by Bagheera, Baloo and also Akela. They also taught Mowgli about the laws of the jungle. In the second chapter, Mowgli was snatched by a group of bad monkeys. Then, Bagheera (Panther) and Baloo (Big Bear) asked a rock snake called Kaa. The monkeys were terrified with Kaa, maybe because the monkeys were Kaa's meals for breakfast, lunch and also dinner.

For Chapter Three : The Red Flower. As for the chapter three, it started with a sad beginning when the Father Wolf died and Akela is getting old. Mowgli is now hunting for Akela's meals. Shere Khan is still wants to kill Mowgli. He has influenced the younger wolves to follow him and also questioned the existence of Mowgli in the pack. Shere said that Mowgli is a human and not wolf. Bagheera urged Mowgli to save his life and go away from the forest, but Mowgli declined. He wanted to stay, then, Bagheera told him about the Red Flower (fire). He said that it can be used to scare off Shere Khan. Mowgli went to the border of the village and saw a young girl carrying the 'red flower'. He took the 'red flower' and scared Shere Khan off with that, then he asked the pack about Akela should lead the pack. Unfortunately, the younger wolves were too influenced by Shere Khan's ideology. Mowgli existence was declined and he with broken-hearted went a new village.

As for Chapter Four : Tiger, Tiger. a woman named Messua recognised Mowgli and he was her lost son. She thought that he was killed by the tiger a long with his husband. She cleaned him up and put on clean clothes. Mowgli tried to fit in with his new life but he had trouble trying to find the rhythm. One day, he was given a job which was to bring the buffalo out to graze the grass. Then, the met with his old family, the wolves. Little did they know that Shere Khan was already at the village and he wanted to kill Mowgli. But then, Mowgli and the wolves has planned to trapped Shere Khan and he was killed but the trampled of the buffaloes. Then Mowgli skinned Shere and he brought the hides to show the villagers about the news and he thought that they would be very happy to see him, little did he know that they did not want Mowgli to live with them. Then Messua asked Mowgli to run away, if not he will be killed by the villagers. He went back to the forest. 

The last chapter was the climax of the book. Chapter Five : Red Dog. Mowgli was not living with the wolves pack but then he was living alone. Sometimes, he hunted with his wolf-brothers, Bagheera, and Baloo. After a few years, Mowgli has grown into a strong young man. Then, the jungle was threatened by a pack of red dogs. Won-tola, a wounded wolf, was attacked by dholes, the red dogs. They were known as the bad dogs. They worse compared to Shere Khan. Kaa helped Mowgli with a great idea but it involved the Little People (Wasps). The Little People can easily kill anybody who came to threat them. After a few days, Mowgli lured the dholes to the little people's place. The place of death. He taunted the dholes and in one incident, he cut the leader's tail as a warning to not to come to their jungle. As planned, Mowglie brought the dholes to a place where the wolves, Bagheera, Baloo, and Akela have been waiting, then, they stroked. They fought all night long and then all of the dholes were killed. Akela, the old wolf was terribly hurt. After a few words said to Mowgli, he died. They were mourning by howling to the sky. Before the chapter ends, Mowgli had a little though about what Akela has said to him, "You will leave the jungle, You will drive yourself out". Mowgli might have thought such thought, but today was not the day. He will stay as long as his pack needs him.

So, that is all for the synopsis. It might be too long but since, the story was beautifully animated, the pictures really helped the readers to think creatively.

Happy reading guy.

I will write more, okay?

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: This was quite simple compared the animate Mowgli we saw on film.

I Will Keep On Writing.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

Hi everyone, first of all, I would love to say thank you for your comment and for one particular comment, it said that my post has a lot of grammar mistakes. Well, thank you again for the comment.

Secondly, English is my second language. Yes, some said that even though it's just second language, it does not mean that I have to commit such mistakes. I am here not trying to stand for my mistakes, no. I really want to let people know that, mistakes can be corrected but guide me please.

I am not a perfect human being, but it does not mean that I need stop writing after such comment. NO. I will continue my writing and hopefully everything is going to be a lot better. 

Thirdly, I have several posts that I need to write due to some demands. Yes, they asked me to write about several themes, and whatnot. So! Yasss...

I have tried to make it as formal as I can but it seems that formality is not just my thing, I guessed.

Lastly, yes, I will keep writing and thank you for that comment, I will keep reading and practising my grammar.

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: Love.

MUET : My Experiences.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

Last 11th March 2017, I went to SMK Bentong to sit for Malaysian University English Test (MUET) March 2017. 

The papers were Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Listening. It was my first time after 2012 format. I went to my teacher, to ask about the format and it quite enlightening moment when I found out that most of the format changes were in all of these three papers. To be honest, I was quite scared of the papers because I have not had any practices with Listening and Writing. I did a bit on Reading Comprehension but not so much of other two papers. 

For the first paper, Reading Comprehension, there were 6 passages with total of 45 questions. Question 1 to 29, the choices of answers are A,B, and C and for Question 30 to 45, the choices of answers are A,B,C, and D. We were given 90 minutes to answer all the questions. There are simple questions with simple answers and there are tricky questions with quite tricky answers. But, I managed to answer all the question and I really hope that I can get near to full marks which is 120 marks. If I can get 100 marks, that would be so amazing already.

For the second paper, it was Writing. We were given 90 minutes as well to answer all the question. In writing, there are TWO section which are Question 1 and Question 2. For Question 1, we were asked to write a REPORT with 150 to 200 words. The format for the report is simple where we just have to state the information given in the given charts and numbers. 40 marks is allocated for Question 1. For Question 2, we were asked to write a passage with AT LEAST 350 words. To me, it was quite challenging because due the fact that I haven't had any recent practice on Writing a long passage, I really need to focus more on not making mistakes in explaining my points. For this paper, the full marks is 90. If I can get up to 80 marks, I would be very happy.

For that last paper, it was Listening. We were given 30 minutes to listen to text and answer the questions. To be honest, I was quite afraid of this paper. Reason? I did not have ANY practice. I just listen to songs and talk shows WITHOUT looking at the subtitles. I think it worked. The format for Listening has simplified the paper itself to the extend of almost a free marks paper for candidates to excel in MUET. So, take advantage of that. For Listening, the full marks is 45 marks. It I were to get 40 marks or full marks, 45, it would so nice. Haha...

So, that is all for now. I will share with you more on how to answer the each paper effectively. 

That is all, thank you.

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: Get ready to register for May session 2017. Buy the Pin guys.

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Student's Edition.

Assalamualaikum wbt,

How do you do my dear readers?

Hi everyone, I would love to share with you about this book entitled The Jungle Book, Student's Edition by Rudyard Kipling. This book is the textbook for Year 4 Contemporary English Literature For Primary School. 

I just read this book and to be honest, the illustration by Gerardo Sandoval is amazing. It really helps the pupils to read and be creative. The illustration is amazing. I love it. It helps the learning process. Lovely.

Now, it is mentioned by the Ministry of Education that the pupils need to have Higher Order Thinking Skills ( HOTS ). Well, these pupils need to learn more on how to think like that. To  be honest, the expectation is quite high for rural area students. We need to have more classes to help these pupils. We need to work more on that.

As for now, I will write on Literature elements.

Characters:

Shere Khan

A matured old tiger who have killed Mowgli's parents and left Mowgli alone in the jungle. Trying to kill Mowgli but saved by Akela.

Mowgli

A boy who parents killed by Shere Khan. Saved by Akela, a wolves-pack leader and raised him to be a good man. 

Akela

A matured old wolf. A wolves-pack leader, who raised Mowgli as his own and saved him from Shere Khan the Tiger. Love Mowgli very much.

Bagheera

A black panther, friend of Akela and also helped Mowgli to be a good man.

Kaa

A grown snake who always helped Mowgli in helping other animals.

Balbo

A full grown grizzly bear, who loved Mowgli very much. 

Setting:

In a jungle in India, near to a village.

Next time, I will write more on other things such as how to explain the answers, and there are several questions that I would love to ask and explain them too. 

So, that is all for now.

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: It is a good story, though.

MUET 800/2 : SPEAKING TEST.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

How do you folks? It has been a rough week for me last week. It was tiring and I am drained to my last energy. All the hectic schedule really affecting my performance. Tiring indeed.

Now, I am going to write about the incident happened to me last week *obviously.

Here is the chronology.

12/02/2017 (SUNDAY)

In the morning of 12 February, it was great day but unfortunately, my feet were not. As you all already knew that I have gout. It stroked me for quite good hours. I really thought I would recover after taking painkillers, but it really did not. I had to suffer from it for the next day.

13/02/2017 (MONDAY)

The morning of my Speaking 800/2 MUET examination. I studied the night before the exam and I had several points remembered to make the test smooth sailing. Now, due the fact that I did not be able to walk to the school *not really walking, but I need to drive myself to the school, I was ready to move on from the exam. Meaning, I was ready to move on and take it again on May session. 

14/02/2017 (TUESDAY)

I tweeted English Jer on Twitter because he is good English moderator and he knows things too. So, I asked him and he said that I need to ring the Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia to ask about it. I rang them and got answered by the person in-charged. He said that I need to email to the MPM using, tukartarikh@mpm.edu.my along with FORMAL LETTER with concrete reason for not be able to attend the exam. Now, I wrote that I have gout and alhamdulillah, praise Allah, they accepted my email and they gave me a new date for the speaking test.

15/02/2017 (WEDNESDAY)

I studied more on Speaking with pointers given by my teacher. Thank you teacher Junaidah. You helped me a lot.

16/02/2017 (THURSDAY)

The day of exam. Before that, I went to my Uncle's house in Bentong *because the exam was in Bentong, SMK Sulaiman. I had a sleepover. In that morning, after (LAST NIGHT) I went to do hijama aka cupping (bekam) at Janda Baik, my gout got a lot better. At 10.00 am, I went to SMK Sulaiman and waited at the Quarantine Room. There were two more people who had trouble like me. They too had trouble attending the examination. One was from Rawang and another was from Shah Alam, originally from Perak. YES! PERAK and SELANGOR. And I am just an English tuition teacher from Raub. WOW. 

Now, at first, we were asked to put our signature on a three-piece of paper. Then, my name was not there. My number was 3028 and line up started at 3030. How 's that? Later, I asked the head of examiner and he took the letter that we have to bring along to the examination room. They accepted the letter and we were able to take the exam. *fuh! thanked God for that opportunity.

The two late comers and I were placed at the last session. Meaning, we had to wait for the non late comers to finish their session then us. Now, did I mention that it was like 5 years ago, I practiced my English language? YES. Fully. Fullstop. Haha... 

This is analysis of the 800/2 SPEAKING TEST.

The question was to explain about THE MOST INTERESTING job.

CANDIDATE :

A: a career in music

B: a career in sports and recreational

C: a career in art and design

D: a career in Multimedia

For the task A, I was the Candidate B, so, I was assigned to give my opinion on a career in sports and recreational. It was quite tough to talk about something that you know nothing about. But, anyhow, the two minutes given used by me quite well. 

Then, the task B, where we need to interact with each other and give our opinions on the given topic. I let candidate A and C first because obviously, they agreed on my points which, I did not interested in agreeing.  Now, after they talk about agreeing with my points, well, I refused to agree with my point and I change my stance by agreeing with having a career in art and design. Art and Design to me have vast paths. Everything with art nowadays sells. Yes. So, I talk about quite a good amount of time and I really hope that I could score good marks for it.

So, that is all for last incident.

Moral of the story :

1. Do not give up.

2. Study hard.

3. Be natural.

4. Speak with ease (good choice of words)

5. Study hard to score for the next 3 other papers. *Listening, Reading Comprehension, and Writing *nervouse!!!)

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: Waaahhhh

Terrified of WRITING!!

Assalamualaikum WBT,

Hi everyone!

As you all know that I will be sitting for my MUET exam *Speaking Paper on 14th of February 2017 and it is more or less, a week from now ( or 7 days? ). I literally not that worry to speak up but I am a bit *NO! A LOT!, I am terrified with the fact that I have to write A LOT for WRITING PAPER.

I am terrified.

It has been a while since I write with my hands. *OVERNESS. All these days, I am using laptop to actually write things and to write BACK using my hands, it would be so awkward. TRUST ME!

So, solution?

I have been practising writing using my hand *I am a lefthander and it is not good. My writing is like small, little, tiny, tape worm which should not be seen by human. PERIOD! Ok?

I do not know what to do, and I am afraid I have to write more than everyone could have imagine I could. Haha.. IDK.

Daaaa...


Assalamualaikum WBT

p/S: Need to work on my sentences too. Its too laymen. Haha...

MUET MAC 2017

Assalamualaikum WBT,

Goood evening to all readers.

I am so sorry for these past four months for not posting any post. I am so sorry.

Now, InsyaaAllah, I will try one more time to write as many as I possibly can. Things really got to me. I even did not have time to write my other blog.

Anyway, I have registered for Malaysian University English Test (MUET) exam last first week of January and I will be taking the first exam which is speaking on 13 February 2017 at SMK Sulaiman, Bentong. InsyaaAllah, I will do my very best to get better marks. My last MUET exam was in 2012 and I took it with my bestfriend, Fauzan and Angah and some other friends too. Fauzan got Band 5, Angah and I got Band 4. So, we have improved ourselves actually.

Now, since it was 5 years already, I want to retake MUET exam and try my hardest to make improvements. I really do want that Band 6. As far as I am concerned, the one person I know managed to get Band 6 was Dean Yeo and he is now is Lecturer in UNIMAS. Great person he is.

I will be going to my old school to get pointers from my F6 teacher, I really hope she can help with the new format. 2012 was long ago my friends, and now is 2017. It is a 5-year distance. Things changed for the better, I guessed. Haha..

My friends asked about why do I want to retake MUET, for what, they asked me. Well, actually, I really want to grab that Band 6! I really do. I REALLY DO! I want that and I will get that, if not Band 6, I will settle for Band 5. Hehe... I will work hard for that, I even bought a new MUET text book. hihuuu...

Anyway, I will be writing a few pointers too about MUET and to those who have other information about MUET, please, email me at akmallralzan@gmail.com , I would love to hear it from you too.

Assalamualaikum WBT and good evening.

p/s: I think, I have lost my speaking skills. hahaha.. I mean, English speaking skills.

Good Luck UPSR Candidates

Assalamualaikum wbt,

Hi everyone, I would love to wish all the best to all UPSR candidates and today was the English papers.

They made two Papers now. Paper 1 for Reading Comprehension and Paper 2 is for Structured Questions.

My nephew was among those candidates, actually. With given tips and points by me, it was very last minutes, I hope he can do well.

Tips :

1. Read the questions carefully
2. Skip questions that give you troubles
3. Answer ALL the questions
4. Do not leave blank answer space
5. Broaden your mind

I really do not expect him to do well, even if he got C or B, I would be much grateful to Allah. I know his ability in English language.

InsyaaAllah.

Oxford Comma.

Assalamualaikum and hi everyone..

I am writing again and I want to wish my teachers, a good Happy Teacher's Day.

I too, am a teacher.

Once a teacher, forever one, indeed.

So, I want put this one picture explaining about Oxford Comma. It is very simple and very easy to understand.

See yaaaa..

p/s: I too, am a sewist, so, workload is alway there. *excuses. haha

MUET My Way. Thanks Madam Audrey.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

Good afternoon everyone,

Today, since this morning the SPM candidates were facing the English papers. *see, I used FACING, why? Because its a war. Hahaha.. but the real war is after you got your SPM result. Where you want to go and what path you choose to walk. Whatever it is, you have to walk your path, you cannot walk others because they too have to walk theirs

Now, you might read this blog or the other might read this blog too, know this, all the knowledge that I have written here, you may use it to your own good. I really do not mind.

Now, I have been reading this one blog, which to me is very helpful indeed.

MUET MY WAY

This blog really has done a lot good deed to its reader, Including ME!

Madam Audrey Wiles is the author and she is a MUET teacher is Sabah. I do not need to know her because I know she is on amazing person. By looking at her blog and her relationships she had/has with her students, well, her students are very luck to have her as their MUET teacher, I could say that. Amazingness.

Keep it up Madam Audrey, you have done a lot and I know, your students are actually all around Malaysia and the world. Keep on writing teacher.

That is all from me and to SPM candidates, good luck for your remaining subjects and go nuts over the answers. Haha, go nut to me means, you have to write smart, just do not waste your time thinking too much about the answers, ok?

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: Best of luck dears.

TIPS : Writing in English.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

A reader emailed me and asked me about writing in English.

Well, as far as I am concerned, if you are a good reader, you will remember the sentence structures of the piece that you have read. Imagine that you've read several books already and that would be amazing, because, you will be familiarised with the sentence structure. 

But then, in the email, it said that he wanted to know about how I get the ideas to write in English.

Now, writing in English is just the same as writing in other languages. You need to have the knowledge because having enough is not enough nowadays. You need to have more knowledge to become a knowledgeable person.

Let say the question in SPM is about pollution in general. Now, what you need to do is, first, define what pollution is, since pollution has three elements which are air, water and sound, you can write about these three in three different paragraphs. So, plus introduction, you now have four paragraphs. Then, put another paragraph for Hope or Recommendation and now you have five paragraph and add another for the conclusion. Voila, you have a passage worth marking. Haha... seriously. 

See, writing is all about planning. You need to spend at least 5 - 10 minutes for each question to find the points you need to write your passage. How to get solid and strong points? Through reading. Yes, it does not have to be textbooks, but any kind of writing materials. It could be a newspapers, a simple passage or even through you own rational thinking. Who knows right? Even television would be a helping hand in triggering the ideas for you writing but make sure that you watch something that really helpful and informative, not Keeping Up With The Kardashians, okay?

Good luck dear readers for your exam on Monday, right?

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: I will write more tips for your sake. Ok?

SPM Literature Component : Short Story : Tanjung Rhu by MinFong Ho.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

In the previous post, I did write about another short story written by Minfong Ho. Now, I will write more on the other elements that you as students need to analyse and also write during the exam.

Setting

As for setting, we divided it into three parts, Physical Setting, Social Setting and Time. For the physical setting, as you read this short story, the physical setting was in Tanjung Rhu, Singapore. Mr.Li had big house and he had big office because he was the owner of a shipyard company. When he was younger, he was living in a hut at Tanjung Rhu with his parents.

Social Setting.

As for the social setting, after read this piece, we can easily say that Mr. Li was living in a rich neighbourhood. The reason why I said that is because Mrs. Li was shown as a woman who happened to have lots of activities including tea parties. Another character mentioned in the story was Mr.Li's son who were studying in Cambrige and his daughter, Ying, who are going to New York soon. And yet, his mum's altar , the big house and their lifestyle reflects their wealth and position in the society.

Time

The time set in the recent past and could be applied to the present times too.

Characters :

As for the characters, they were four people in this story and one was mentioned by the characters but did not appear in this short story. Let us see one by one.

1. Mr. Li

63 years old man who is very rich and owned a shipyard and he just lost his mother. Loves to count the ships at the shipyard. A caring man because he bought  binoculars to his lat mother just because he wanted her mother to see as far as she can. He loved his mother very dearly and she even scolded her daughter Ying for being rough with her. He was torn between traditions and modern ways. Even tough he was a successful man, he still believed in the parents' blessings in finding comfort and strength.

2. Li's mother

A very gentle lady, who has lived so many years and had gone through so many things in her life and now is old and frail. She loved her son very dearly and she did not need anything but loves and cares. She too loved her granddaughter, who is very proud that she can do lots of things. Li's mother was a very well-mannered woman and she hold to the traditions very strong. She strongly believed that custom and traditions need to be hold carefully and respectfully.

3. Helen

Mr.Li's wife and she really enjoys tea parties with her friends which it was very displeasure to Mr. Li.

4. Ying

The daughter of Mr.Li and Helen. A young and modern girl but very kind and understanding. She was very sensitive and she too was trying to build a bridge between her father and mother. 

Themes

1.Traditions and rituals count in life.

2. Love is a wonderful element in live.

3. Material things do not really count.

Moral Values

1.Respect

2. Traditions should be maintained

3. Kindness and consideration matter

Point of View

This story was written in the third person point of view. The whole story was from Mr.Li's eyes.

That is all for now, I will be back with Tone and Mood, Language and Style.

Thank you for reading my writings.

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: Keep on reading.

SPM Literature Component : Short Story : Tanjung Rhu by MinFong Ho.

Assalmualaikum WBT,

Have you read about Tanjung Rhu by MinFong Ho?

If you haven't, please do. Why? It was one of the short stories in the Literature Component for SPM and one most important thing is, that short story was amazing. I read it and I admit that it took me quite a few readings to understand it, but I managed, so, please, you still have time to read it before the SPM. Hihu...

But then, since I have read the story, I will write about it here, through my understanding of the short story. Tanjung Rhu was written by MinFong Ho and the version that we are using is the retold version by Clare West. Tanjung Rhu is about a family lived in Tanjung Rhu, Singapore. The main character is Mr. Li, who own a big shipyard and he was very rich man. Mr. Li had a mother and his mother died at the beginning of the story. Helen was Mr.Li's wife and Ying is Mr.Li and Helen's daughter. There were on four characters in the short story. 

If you read the story, it was quite intense but you really need to understand what is the gist of the short story. You have to read to understand the story, do not just read the synopsis, no. You have to read all the way. 

I will write more on the about all the things that you need to know about elaborating a short story. Okay?

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: I am so sorry, I was too busy with things. 

SPM Literature Component : Leaving by M.G. Vassanji. Read more.

Assalamualaikum WBT and hello everyone.

I noticed that my writings were read by many people who came from various backgrounds. Thank you very much. 

Now, as promised, I will write on Moral Values, Point of View, Tone and Mood, Language and Style and last but not least, Literary Devices.

As you all know that Leaving by M.G. Vassanji is from the book Changing their Skies. Stories from Africa. We are going to jump straight at the topic.

Moral Values : 

1. Thinking rationally.

Rational thinking is important because in this story, Aloo's mother needs to stop being emotional because she needs to put her emotions aside, just to let her mind do all the thinking. Remember when Aloo said that he wanted to go abroad because he wanted to study differently from what his mum has planned for him? Medicine instead of agriculture. But then, after have a deep thought of it, his mother decided to talk to the school officer, Mr. Velji before making the decision. She is shown as a very humble, balanced and yet emotional mother. Well, who does not want the best for their children, right?

2. Paying attention to important things is what bring success to Aloo.

As told in the story, Aloo is a very hard-working and smart student. He passed all the exams with flying colours. Why? It is because he is talented, gifted and yet very hard-working student. He listened to his teachers. He too read all the brochures about the university that he wanted to go, in America. The land where dream comes true.

3. Be a responsible person

The moral values of responsibility can be found anywhere in the short story IF you read it carefully understood the story and you can relate it to your lives. Trust me, it would make a lot better. Let say, you take the example of Aloo's mother of being responsible to her children or Aloo being responsible of being a student at school. You can elaborate simple based on that. Connect the dots, okay?

Point of View :

Leaving was told by Aloo's sister, remember that right? It was in first person point of view. It is the family relationships through her eyes.

Tone and Mood :

Heartwarming is the tone for this story and it generally reflects the love and care the family members have for each other. The mood is positive and optimistic. The main character also hopes to have better future and one day he will comeback to his hometown and take care of his mother. Now, usually in the SPM question, it needs you to put some examples and do not hesitate to put some example from you point of view, okay?

Language and Style :

After you read Leaving by M.G. Vassanji, you will find that the author was using basically simple and direct language. Easy to understand.

Literary Devices :

The famous Literary Devices used by authors are Imagery, Simile and also Symbolism, but you can choose any from many Literary Devices that you know but you have to put the example. Find it for yourself but here I will write a few for your reference.

1. Imagery

Descriptive words create interesting and vivid images in the reader's mind.

E.G.

"Wild land, with tall trees and at night it felt lonely, frightening place." (Page 32)

"An exciting new world was waiting or him." (Page 33)

Simile

A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind.

E.G.

"He had a large head, which looked like an egg". (Page 36)

"He walked in like a soldier...". (Page 36)

IronyThe expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect or in other words, sarcasm.

E.G.

Aloo's mother refers to Aloo's uncles in America who will pay for the university fees. (Page 32,34)

Now, Aloo's mother was being sarcastic and Aloo did not have uncles or relatives in the USA and the reason why she said that because, she was trying to cover her sadness because she does not have money to pay for the college.

Tips for SPM in answering the questions.

1. You need to read and understand the story and also the gist of the story. Do not neglect that.

2. You need to understand the pages, well, at least a few of it.

3. You CANNOT LEAVE blank answer sheet. PLEASE, write anything that related to the questions. Anything.

4. Be prepared.

5. Read.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

Good luck for your SPM dear readers.

p/s: Keep reading and understand the concept then you will be able to answer the questions.

1st Year BEN UniSZA 2008/2009

Assalamualaikum WBT,

How do you my dear readers?

Now, while I was driving later this afternoon, I was thinking about my first year in UniSZA. It was in 2008. 7 years ago. Time really flew. Huhuhu... I can not catch it. Ever.

But, I still remember the people who I first met during my first day. I was alone. In a land where things were so different. They were. Very different. I still remember how awkward the situation was when I was given the wrong key to the temporary room. They gave me the female dorm's key. Stupid they were indeed, but I cannot blame them for being confused with me. Hahaha... No, I was not even confusing to others, no.

Then, we were moved from the temporary rooms to the real ones. NOW, I was thinking, what it they were just trying to make us bring out baggage just to see us suffer from carrying all those bags. Hahaha... 

Then, I entered the class and in the class, we came from every sort of lives, trust me but the majority of the students were the ex-TESL students from the same faculty. Well, now you know. To be honest, the class was divided to several groups, the Ex-Tesl students, the STPM students, the 2nd intake, the 3rd intake and the pulled-in students. No bad people or terms and I will explain later.

1. Ex-TESL students

These students were the ex-TESL from the same faculty, Faculty of Languages and Communication but before UniSZA became UniSZA, it was Pusat Bahasa during KUSZA time. Diploma in TESL was offered for the students and that was where ex-TESL students came from. They were nice, yes. Some of them were good.

2. The STPM students

This was my group. Haha, I was too a STPM student who came just because I managed to get Band 2 (Upper) and my SPM was A2. Haha, my STPM result was not that good but I managed to get to university, talking about rezeki. I am grateful. Grateful indeed. We were the STPM students who happened to have potential but most of us not really know what English was. Haha, awkward. To be honest, I was not a good student before and I did not know how to speak using English language, but I learned. Now, alhamdulillah, we at least after 4 years, I am able to know some rules and grammar in English language, well, at least the simple ones. 

3.  The 2nd, 3rd and so one intakes

Even though they were 2nd or 3rd intakes, now, they ware scattered around Malaysia doing amazingly. For example, Dean, he is now a full time lecturer in UNIMAS and he has finished studying for his Master's Degree. Another is Fauzan, he is now in Terengganu and he was doing amazingly. I could not be proud with them. Amazing.

4.  The pulled-in students

As far as I am concerned, there were three pulled-ins, they were the late Shirazi, Nadhirah and also Fauzan. Why the heck, I called them the pulled-in, right? Now, the Dean at time was Madam Azizah Endut, I really heard rumours that she pulled some guns to get my friends in and to be honest, she really made a great choice because now, Nadhirah was not only the best student in the Batch, she is now a Master's Degree holder and a businesswoman. Beat that peaches. Haha, and Fauzan. I cannot be proud of him anymore. He is one of my bestfriends, he is amazingly great. Great human being, great person. Enuff said.

During my first year, I did quite okay, I managed to get 3.00 and 2.99 respectively for the two terms. At first, to be honest, my English structure was like, "What the heck" level, then I managed to get it fixed by learning more from friends and my own initiative. Love it. Haha.... 

My first was great and I managed to get along with great friends. Love it.

My innocence year.

1st year BEN UniSZA 2008/2009.

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: I will write on my years more later on.

Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia 2015.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

Hi SPM students, how do you do? Are you ready for SPM 2015?

Now, for English subject, the papers will be on 3rd November 2015, both 1 and 2 Papers.

And, ARE YOU READY? WITH ALL THE EXERCISES AND PREPARATION?

I really hope you are because, it is less that 10 days, and it is 8 days to be exact.

Now, for the last tips, how can you be more prepared for both Papers?

I really hope you can focus more on the Literature Components because it is not that difficult to be mastered and to be answered. All you need to do is read, understand the items in the particular things and apply it to your own sense.

If I were the examiners, I will look at this qualities because apply things that you understand is better than copy things but we are in the world where answers on paper is more like photocopy. We need to perfectly copied things to get A., right? haha, better that way , I guessed.

So, remember your answers.

Good luck and I will try giving you more last minute tips.

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: Good luck guys.

Writing in English Language.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

I actually have one question to asked to all my readers,

"When you started writing, what did you do first?"

Well, now, when I started writing, I will think about the ending of my writing. Why? It is because, the ending is the best part. That is why you need to think about the ending first. But, the first thing ever, you need to jot down all of the possibilities of your passage.

You need to think about the points that you want to put in your passage. Let say, you passage is about Your Dream. Therefore, you need to write about your dream and also you need to think what inspires your dream. Let say, you want to be a soldier, then, you have to identify the person/situation/spirit that inspires you in becoming a soldier. You need think about all the points and in the end, the ending must be amazing.

But if it is quite different when you write something formal. You need to at least draft the format. Let say, you were given a task on writing a formal letter to your classroom teacher because you need to take a day off. Now, what you need to think about the appropriate reasons that would support your writing. Then you need to think about the date, days and explanation on the reason that you wrote. 

So, it is the same with Bahasa, you need to think about the format that suitable for your writing. 

Now, is that all clear? I think yes for now, I do not want to put your mind into something that too far for your thoughts. Later on in my next entries, I will write more on this okay?

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: hope you get something from my writings.

Dreams are made to be embraced.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

I, once heard people said,

"Dreams are made to be crushed".

"Dreams are made to followed"

and

"Dreams are made to be wasted".

Hahaha, from three sources. I am like, hahaha, I laughed. 

Now, what does it mean with these three? The first one, I think, it was uttered by a person who have their own dreams but they want others to not follow their dreams and obviously, their dreams are crush peoples' dreams.

The second one, these people believe in their dreams and they ought to follow their dreams. They will work hard for their dreams and they will consider what might come in their ways are challenges to challenged themselves in the road of pursuing their dreams. Got that?

And the last but not least, "Dreams are made to be wasted". I think, this uttered by a person who happened to have a dream/dreams but determination is not in their heart. They might have half-hearted in pursuing their dreams.

But, you have to remember, dreaming is as important as working. If you choose not to make it work, then, you will end up like the third quote, so, I have my own quote,

"Dreams are made to embraced; embrace your dreams and help others".

Assalamualaikum WBT,

p/s: Keep sleeping. hehe...