Prelims 2007 - First week in review
Sunday, September 02, 2007
I was so caught up for the past month that I did not even have time to talk about how the prelims are going individually. but I shall make up for it now, continuing my usual habit dating back to the time the I started blogging.
our school chose to have prelims with the september holidays seperating the two weeks. this is quite unconventional, since most schools choose to just start it two weeks earlier. still, I thought it is a good idea since it will be less rushed and more time to prepare.
and so, prelims begun at week 10, and so far, english, geography paper 2, combined humanities, A Maths paper 1 and mother tongue is over. of course, only the first three are of relevance to me.
lets do it subject by subject as usual. dont feel like rebranding the Examnometer and Quakeometer thing. after all it is okay as long as it serves its purpose. at least for now.
Examnometer (as of today): 12 days
==
Date: 27th August 2007, Monday
Subject: English Language Paper 1 - 1127/01
Quakeometer: 6.0
no biggie. seriously. I wrote the popular "first time cooking for family" because bullying in schools is just too overdiscussed and boring to write about and I wanted to try flexing my vocabulary ability, and what better way to do that than a descriptive-narrative?
the letter was pretty simple too, about holiday part-time jobs after O Levels, and to consult your brother on an opinion. I just hope I had done what they wanted this time round and not screw up again. zz.
==
Date: 27th August 2007, Monday
Subject: English Language Paper 2 - 1127/02
Quakeometer: 8.0
this was difficult no doubt. the comprehension questions require thinking and lifting simply dont work. not to say they could not be answered, but the chance of answering them properly enough just isnt high.
good thing the summary is much simpler. though all that planning and editing really left me with no time to do any form of checking. hope I did not make foolish mistakes.
==
Date: 28th August 2007, Tuesday
Subject: Combined Humanities Paper 1 (Social Studies) - 2190/01
Quakeometer: 7.5
another rubbishy one. it is goddamned tricky I tell you. I took a direct hit with the SEQ already. I only realised that I do not have sufficient knowledge to write 3b properly, but I had already written 3a!
SHOULD HAVE JUST WRITTEN 4 LA GOD DAMN IT. I AM DARNED PISSED I AM TELLING YOU. SHEESH. NOW THIS IS GONNA COST ME MY PRELIMS L1R5.
just had to let that out.
the SBQ were pretty difficult too, despite png's promise to make it simple. but she was the one setting after all, her easy could never be too easy. oh well.
==
Date: 28th August 2007, Tuesday
Subject: Combined Humanities Paper 3 (History Elective) - 2190/03
Quakeometer: 7.0
this was not that bad compared to social studies. at least I tried my best to interpret the Japan SEQ question differently but just dont think I am wrong about it. at least if I screw this up I know I tried my best.
SBQ was easier, except the ambiguous part a, which was a song that seemed to be praising china for all the resouces. I tried to tell if it is sarcasm, but my sixth sense told me not, and so I wrote that.
=
Date: 29th August 2007, Wednesday
Subject: Pure Geography Paper 2 - 2234/02
Quakeometer: 6.5
not that bad, not that bad. but the questions are no doubt more difficult than normal. I am much cleverer this time round, I am prepared for the Natural Vegetation question, together with Weathering, Rivers and Coasts, thus changing my combi to 3-1. that means I dont need agriculture! clever me.
actually I tried to study agriculture, but the question phrasings are odd and there is so much to remember that I wanted to kill myself. so I didnt bother and worked hard on population instead.
for actual O Levels I will definitely take a look at settlements. this time I tried too hard for agriculture and wasted valuable time.
hmm, the questions are pretty different, such as the one on coasts, asking about how the spot can be developed for tourism. population questions also did not ask about population trends in a graph and DTM, quite a change.
the questions require more thinking la, but I dont think it is really a 5 grade (out of a scale of 10) increase in standard compared to the past year prelims. or maybe it really is and I underestimated the paper, giving poor answers. lets see how things go.
==
these are all the papers I took so far, some geog paper 1 and the maths and sciences await me when term 4 starts. I hope I can manage my time well and use this time to practice (since it is essential for maths an chem) and not end up slacking.
our school chose to have prelims with the september holidays seperating the two weeks. this is quite unconventional, since most schools choose to just start it two weeks earlier. still, I thought it is a good idea since it will be less rushed and more time to prepare.
and so, prelims begun at week 10, and so far, english, geography paper 2, combined humanities, A Maths paper 1 and mother tongue is over. of course, only the first three are of relevance to me.
lets do it subject by subject as usual. dont feel like rebranding the Examnometer and Quakeometer thing. after all it is okay as long as it serves its purpose. at least for now.
Examnometer (as of today): 12 days
==
Date: 27th August 2007, Monday
Subject: English Language Paper 1 - 1127/01
Quakeometer: 6.0
no biggie. seriously. I wrote the popular "first time cooking for family" because bullying in schools is just too overdiscussed and boring to write about and I wanted to try flexing my vocabulary ability, and what better way to do that than a descriptive-narrative?
the letter was pretty simple too, about holiday part-time jobs after O Levels, and to consult your brother on an opinion. I just hope I had done what they wanted this time round and not screw up again. zz.
==
Date: 27th August 2007, Monday
Subject: English Language Paper 2 - 1127/02
Quakeometer: 8.0
this was difficult no doubt. the comprehension questions require thinking and lifting simply dont work. not to say they could not be answered, but the chance of answering them properly enough just isnt high.
good thing the summary is much simpler. though all that planning and editing really left me with no time to do any form of checking. hope I did not make foolish mistakes.
==
Date: 28th August 2007, Tuesday
Subject: Combined Humanities Paper 1 (Social Studies) - 2190/01
Quakeometer: 7.5
another rubbishy one. it is goddamned tricky I tell you. I took a direct hit with the SEQ already. I only realised that I do not have sufficient knowledge to write 3b properly, but I had already written 3a!
SHOULD HAVE JUST WRITTEN 4 LA GOD DAMN IT. I AM DARNED PISSED I AM TELLING YOU. SHEESH. NOW THIS IS GONNA COST ME MY PRELIMS L1R5.
just had to let that out.
the SBQ were pretty difficult too, despite png's promise to make it simple. but she was the one setting after all, her easy could never be too easy. oh well.
==
Date: 28th August 2007, Tuesday
Subject: Combined Humanities Paper 3 (History Elective) - 2190/03
Quakeometer: 7.0
this was not that bad compared to social studies. at least I tried my best to interpret the Japan SEQ question differently but just dont think I am wrong about it. at least if I screw this up I know I tried my best.
SBQ was easier, except the ambiguous part a, which was a song that seemed to be praising china for all the resouces. I tried to tell if it is sarcasm, but my sixth sense told me not, and so I wrote that.
=
Date: 29th August 2007, Wednesday
Subject: Pure Geography Paper 2 - 2234/02
Quakeometer: 6.5
not that bad, not that bad. but the questions are no doubt more difficult than normal. I am much cleverer this time round, I am prepared for the Natural Vegetation question, together with Weathering, Rivers and Coasts, thus changing my combi to 3-1. that means I dont need agriculture! clever me.
actually I tried to study agriculture, but the question phrasings are odd and there is so much to remember that I wanted to kill myself. so I didnt bother and worked hard on population instead.
for actual O Levels I will definitely take a look at settlements. this time I tried too hard for agriculture and wasted valuable time.
hmm, the questions are pretty different, such as the one on coasts, asking about how the spot can be developed for tourism. population questions also did not ask about population trends in a graph and DTM, quite a change.
the questions require more thinking la, but I dont think it is really a 5 grade (out of a scale of 10) increase in standard compared to the past year prelims. or maybe it really is and I underestimated the paper, giving poor answers. lets see how things go.
==
these are all the papers I took so far, some geog paper 1 and the maths and sciences await me when term 4 starts. I hope I can manage my time well and use this time to practice (since it is essential for maths an chem) and not end up slacking.
