Here’s what the English experts from Learning Journey Education Centre shares with us.
When it comes to PSLE English Paper 2, most parents naturally focus on essay writing and comprehension, but the Synthesis & Transformation (S&T) section quietly carries 10 marks that can make or break their score. This section has 5 questions, each worth 2 marks, where your child needs to combine or transform two sentences into one while keeping the original meaning exactly the same.
Many students underestimate S&T because it’s short and looks simple, assuming it’s ‘easy marks’, only to find that tiny errors quietly cost them marks. These include missing words, spelling slips, grammar errors and meaning changes. For parents, it’s stressful to see these tiny errors add up, especially when every mark counts.
To help you support your child better, we asked English specialists from Learning Journey to share their insights. With years of expertise in English tuition and writing programmes, Learning Journey has helped thousands of students achieve better results and greater confidence in the subject. In this article, they reveal the 5 most common Synthesis & Transformation mistakes and share practical tips that you can use to help your child master S&T.
Mistake 1: Spelling errors
Leaving out the letter “s” for plural nouns or leaving out double letters are the most common and careless mistakes teachers have seen.
Why students often make this mistake:
Under time pressure, many students skip the crucial step of double-checking their answers.
What your child can do to avoid it:
- DO NOT rush through the paper. Remind your child that finishing first isn’t the goal — the real win is a carefully completed paper that leaves no regrets!
- Read each word carefully and check its spelling letter by letter against the word in the question.
- Tick each word once it’s checked. With this carelessness-proof technique, your child won’t make another spelling error!
Mistake 2: Leaving out words or phrases
Students tend to leave out words or phrases from the original sentence when changing its grammar.
Why students often make this mistake:
The fact is, the brain usually works faster than the hand. It’s normal for students to think ahead of what they’re writing. But in a high-pressure exam like the PSLE, this gap becomes even bigger as their minds race to process the question and form the answer, it’s easy for words to get left out on paper.
What your child can do to avoid it:
- Teach your child how to proof-read. This is a crucial skill that can be developed.
- Practice daily short writing drills (6-8 sentences written/copied under timed conditions) to help them improve on clarity and completeness under timed-conditions.
Mistake 3: Overlooking the subject-verb agreement
While racing against the clock, students may overlook the subject-verb agreement, resulting in grammatically unsound sentences.
Why students often make this mistake:
Some words may sound plural but are actually singular, such as ‘everybody,’ ‘neither,’ or ‘the family.’ They may also focus on the wrong part of the sentence when checking their answers.
What your child can do to avoid it:
- Practice identifying the subjects in sentences and check if the verb agrees.
- Revise grammar rules. At Learning Journey Education Centre, students learn indefinite pronouns — there are 12 of them, including ‘everybody,’ which always takes a singular verb.
Mistake 4: Not keeping to the meaning of the original sentence
It is crucial to keep in mind that synthesis is about changing the sentence structure while maintaining meaning of the original sentence. Students may write a sentence which differs in meaning from the given sentence, giving incorrect answers.
For example, Let’s refer to this question:
(Question from P6 English 2024 Prelim SCGS)
Question: You cannot leave earlier than scheduled. Your parents must submit a special request.
Student A’s answer: Unless your parents submit a special request, you can leave earlier than scheduled.
This means you can leave early without a special request, which contradicts the original meaning. Hence, this is incorrect.
Student B’s answer: Unless you leave earlier than scheduled, your parents must submit a special request.
This is also incorrect as it suggests that parents must submit a request only if you are NOT leaving early, which is not logical. The special request is be needed only if you WANT to leave earlier.
Correct answer: Unless your parents submit a special request, you cannot leave earlier than scheduled.
Why students often make this mistake:
Sometimes students focus so much on changing the verb forms that they assume the meaning stays the same. Other times, the issue runs deeper – they may simply be unaware of the correct way to transform the sentence.
What your child can do to avoid it:
- Learn the logic behind transforming sentences. At Learning Journey, students are taught the logic behind using the correct conjunctions.
- Practice slowly and frequently before building up speed for exams. Always build accuracy before speed.
Mistake 5: Wrong use of punctuation
Using punctuation correctly is a key sign of strong language skills. Without the right punctuation, a sentence can lose its meaning entirely. In the PSLE, students are often tested on the basics, such as using commas correctly or ending questions with a question mark.
This student lost 4 marks due to missing out his punctuation!
Why students often make this mistake:
We don’t speak the same way we write. In everyday conversation, we rarely pay attention to punctuation.
Similarly, your child may ‘write the way they speak,’ often leaving out commas and question marks out of habit or for convenience.
What your child can do to avoid it:
- Positive reinforcement to use punctuation correctly helps them internalize the rules and recall them more effectively.
- Your child can create a punctuation checklist and adhere to it to promote good checking habit during PSLE. For example: did I start with capital letter? did I add a comma for the conjunction?
For example: This student misspelt the word “bee” and missed out the word “contest” in their answer.
In most cases, students’ mistakes in Synthesis & Transformation are a mix of the five common errors highlighted above. The good news is that these mistakes are highly preventable. With the right practice, habits, and guidance, your child can sharpen both accuracy and confidence, even under the time pressure.
With an award-winning curriculum, Learning Journey Education Centre equips students with proven techniques across all components of English Paper 1, 2, and 3. Their signature Super Writers English Tuition classes are trusted by parents not only for delivering consistently strong results, but also for nurturing children to write, think, and express themselves with confidence. With small class sizes of just 6–8 students, teachers can tailor lessons to each child’s unique learning needs, giving them the guidance and space to grow into confident, independent learners.
Let your child try 4 classes first and see if Learning Journey is the right support for them. No pressure — no registration or deposit fees required. Enrol now.
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