hi
as someone who usually gets average scores for mt lc, i can't really offer much advice but i'll list down what i remember from my teacher and ex-classmates :]

- when you're listening to the recording, scribble every detail down with a pencil (shortform encouraged so you have more time)

- if you're unsure of what a certain word means, infer from the context of the sentence (option)

here's "uncommon" words:
• muhibah = 'goodwill' / cultural harmony
• cahaya = brightness/light
• jiwa = soul
• dunia = life
• bidadari = angel (like a pet name)
• malaikat = angel (literal angel)
• cemas = anxious
• gementar = nervous
• derma = donation
• sukarelawan = volunteer
• talian = online

- listen to the recording UNTIL THE END! yes you may second-guess yourself into erasing the correct answer, thus keep alert!!

it's best to hear the entire recording as much as possible and see which option fits BEST

take note of the phrasing, the timing of when the speaker mentions the detail(s), the preposition and the meaning of what they say

while it's possible the answer will not be 100% exact to what the speaker says, make sure they mean the same thing

#note

hello everyone!
i accidentally stayed up doing my portfolio (to which i ran into a LOT of problems...) so i want to share with you a few precautions before diving into any websites to create your portfolio (if you haven't started yet) and pointing out some things you might want to do and some you should probably avoid

first of all, here's a list of websites that someone who seems to be quite experienced in that sector, had compiled. i didn't have the time to go into these websites and try to re-do my entire portfolio for the third time so i just briefly looked through and decided i just settle down with carrd.co!

i have to be honest though...there were many things i got annoyed with the website...

pros:
- it's pretty minimalistic and easy to use, which i really love!
- the domain they provide is short and sweet (yoursitename.carrd.co – something like that!)
- they don't have humongous watermarks everywhere

cons:
- limited to only 50 elements
- unable to fully preview unless you've published the site (which isn't too bad but is very irritating to think about!)
- there may be a few features you're unable to access because they're restricted to pro users (personally, this doesn't affect me bc i didn't need to use any)

now if you're looking into some examples in general, i was looking around frantically when i came across THIS holy grail. it's a great list of portfolio examples/samples to reference!

okay!! so. the big question is...how do i put my portfolio together?!?

well, websites and all that are super cool and all but it's really not necessary. you can stick to google slides and it'll still just be as neat and professional looking 👍🏻

HOWEVER, if you're looking to spice things up, here's 2 websites i found while browsing pinterest a few months ago – genially & slidescarnival

AND i found these + beautiful.ai while wondering where i saved the above websites LMAO (ps: goanimate is pretty meh... i've tried it years ago – it's kind of limited and has wonky animations imo)

pt. 1
tag: eae #note

what should you include in your portfolio?
• certificates, achievements, ALL OF THEM – even if you didn't win anything and all you did was participate! it goes to show that you still tried in the end – like many people say, portfolios are anything but a place for you to be humble! show everything you got!

• testimonials; this is something you would want to prepare at least a week or 2 before you start receiving emails but because we're already half way through the selection period, i believe everyone has them by now.

if not, please go ask your teachers asap!! this. is. not. the time. to be shy!! think about it, once you graduate, you'll never see them again!! and even if you do, you won't ever have to ask for the testimonial again

• via projects – these are probably very underrated but please put them inside your portfolio! not sure how to squeeze those in?

you can take photos of the via sections in your report book, scan them (clearly) and upload it onto your portfolio – easy peasy! extra credit, done.

• personal projects, volunteer work and past personal projects/work/pieces

okay listen, this information above is VERY valuable! they show that you're truly interested in the course and that you've even attempted to try something you'd be learning in the course on your own – e.g. dmad/sp, animation & games, if you've created a game before, SLAP IT INTO THE PORTFOLIO! and so on

• not sure what experiences you have for your course? reports. research. mash 2 and 2 and you get: glorious hard work.

this is mainly targeted to more of those science relevant courses because if you haven't had the chance to participate in any competitions or quizzes...

but you genuinely really want to get in, doing a report on what's relevant to the course is your next best bet!

• not sure if this one is helpful or not but you might want to add a little bit more info as to why you're interested, how you get interested and what not!

i actually don't know if this is a good suggestion so if you feel like you want to skip this bit, totally understandable :D

what you want to AVOID putting:
- anything relevant to academics UNLESS the e-mail you received SPECIFICALLY asks for them

however, there's a teeny tiny misconception and thin line drawn between whether or not this is encouraged

if you're trying to get into a business course, you'd most likely want a person who's good at mathematics, right? so you could probably drop some of your best grades for maths, maybe you've gone to math competitions, etc.

i suppose that's ok!! otherwise, do not put academics into your portfolio

- don't limit yourself to JUST a few pieces of work! you're given the chance to showcase your best ones so if you're using a website, you may have the upper hand in this because in what world would anyone want to read a 30 page slides presentation... right?

but if you've decided to stick to slides or something like that, include your best works to your least proudest works and take out unnecessary pieces towards the end!

JIAYOUS EVERYONE!! not sure if i missed anything...because i typed this around 4:00am in the morning HAHAHA i hope this helps!
pt. 2
tag: eae #note

oral tips — by me(mo) / pt 2

[ spoken interaction ]
you get about 8 minutes to read the text and watch the video before being tested by the examiners, utilise this! every single second counts so remember to keep your cool by then

nervousness really does affect performance, and i get it! i'm a fluent english speaker but that suddenly changes when i'm super anxious — do a few breathing exercises before it's even your turn to practise! calm yourself down, it's not the end of the world and you'll never ever see those examiners ever again

when teachers ask you to predict questions based on the video, they mean to really infer from what you see! they probably won't ask you what's going on the video, they're more likely to ask you how the people in the video feel and why they're doing what they're doing then move forward from there

so, when you see a girl riding her tricycle with her family at a park, what immediately comes to mind?
is it nature? is it spending time with our loved ones? or is it about getting enough exercise? the next thing you know, it's about youth — crazy, right?
keep all of these possibilities in mind as you continue watching the video
if i'm not wrong, there's a short narration in the video towards the end, try your bestest to listen in for any hints for the topic!

predicting questions is one thing, planning your answers is a different thing
you can't exactly pinpoint what they're gonna ask (unless you're that lucky) so it's better off just recalling your past experiences based off the topics and questions you're predicting

when you're being questioned, at least you won't be caught off guard too much! and that you get to prepare yourself a bit :D

keep to the topic as much as possible; these examiners might've come a long way, and they're just as tired as we are (i'm not gonna dismiss how rude or mean some are, but you get what i mean) so let's do everyone a favour and be straight to the point

if you're going to talk for a solid 6-10 minutes per question, save yourself the trouble and keep it short and sweet! it's good to talk a lot, but too much..also costs you marks.. #note

oral tips ★
- tips by neko's abode
- notes by pih
- tips by bbang's bakery
- pdf by studywshan
- tips by avri's diary
- tips by gwenchana/khad
- vowels by studywshan
- oral rubrics from gwenchana/khad
- reading aloud notes by studywshan
- commonly mispronounced words by studydump
- 2022 tested oral topics by pih
- eng vocab list by studyrui
- try not to lie!! (about experience) by chloe

interesting topics
- compilation of oral topics
- skinny shaming vs fat shaming

tips by me(mo) hehe
- reading aloud
- spoking interaction
- si: predicting qn pt. 1
- si: predicting qn pt. 2
- si: predicting qn pt. 3
- si: answering

fake oral practices
- environment (1)
- the capability of elderly (2)
- consumerism (3)
- effects of digitization (4)
- how the world treats the rich and poor (5)

#note

elective history vs elective geography | #note
i've asked a few friends who took elective history, and i take elective geography so i'll put together what i know about these two subjects!

i personally like geography better because it's easier to visualise, to understand and ultimately to memorise (because they're scientific facts and i felt that was easier to remember over historical facts — this is also why i have a very bad memory HAHA)

🌍 elective geography
🗸 easier to visualise
🗸 similar to memorising science concepts (like chemistry or biology)
🗸 you can apply your own examples when there's LORMS questions (Level Of Response Mark Scheme) as long as they're credible (doesn't have to be from textbook/notes, can be from personal experience/news)
🗸 somewhat logic orientated
(e.g. the higher the altitude, the lower the temperature — the sun's solar energy enters the atmosphere and reaches the earth's surface in the form of shortwave radiation > heat up surface in the form of longwave radiation > the further away you are from the ground, the colder it gets!)
🗸 there's a lot of memorisation but there's either 2 or the other 2 themes in geography (weather & climate, tectonic plates, food resources, tourism)

✗ there's a LITTLE math (but the formulas are PROVIDED and they're straight to the point)
✗ if you're weak in english, you MIGHT struggle (i think... this applies to both history and geography)
✗ there's a lot of memorisation
✗ MUST memorise continents, oceans to be able to link between topics (huge deal in tectonic plates)
✗ if sciences aren't your best subjects, you might not want to choose geography — i think that geography is quite similar to sciences! you must understand the concepts in order to memorise in the first place

📚 elective history
🗸 sbq formats are the same as social studies
🗸 may be very fun (for those who like to hear about cool facts) and interesting learning about the various wars
🗸 it's really just memorisation, there's nothing much to be confused about
🗸 FLASHCARDS ALL THE WAY

✗ must read thoroughly and ask questions if you're unsure (same goes to any subject, really, but some questions may not even be in the textbook)
✗ memorise the whole book for contextual knowledge for sbq and essays
✗ there's...just a lot to memorise
✗ unless you create a timeline of all the events, you will probably get lost.. (cr: kenz!)

📌 final takeaway
if you're given the opportunity to choose between humanities, sciences and other modules like art, music, or literature, PLEASE ask around before you end up regretting! you MIGHT be able to drop subjects in sec 3/4 but.. you could also ultimately regret the combination ^^

i hope this helps! :D

how to choose subject combination 📚 #note

- elect geog vs elect hist / memo
- art / melody
- art / kenz
- art / lite
- elective literature / melody
- general tip / memo
- art & dnt / memo
- drama / kenz
- drama & music / kenz
- music / lite
- nfs / venise
- drama & music / kenz

so this is something my bio teacher taught my class once, when you get confused between veins and arteries (like which one transports to the heart and which one transports away from the heart):

arteries: Away from the heart
veins: Venture into the heart (i made this one up because i can't actually remember what she said but! i guess once you remember the arteries one, veins automatically refer to the ones transporting to the heart)

#note | tag: biology, circulatory system, transport in humans

inspire vs aspire

inspire
- fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative

e.g. the movie was inspired by a true story

i was inspired by other study channel admins to share english tips and common errors

- create (a feeling, especially a positive one) in a person

e.g. all these childhood songs really inspired nostalgia

their past record does not inspire confidence

- animate someone with (a feeling)

he inspired his students with a vision of freedom

ms tan's strong faith in her students inspired me to keep on going

- give rise to

e.g. the film was successful enough to inspire a sequel

- breathe in (air); inhale

e.g. they can expand their lungs and inspire enough gas to satisfy oxygen requirements

mostly used in science, if i'm not wrong

aspire
- direct one's hopes or ambitions towards achieving something

e.g. we never thought that we might aspire to those heights

i aspire to achieve 10 points for o levels

- rise high; tower

e.g. above the domes of loftiest mosques these pinnacles aspire

aspire and inspire are not synonyms but i think people may still confuse the two due to their similar spellings!

#note | tag: english

also i accidentally found a d&t student's youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/justvisiblesilence/videos

not sure if it's helpful but just in case it is, i'll share it!
(i don't take d&t) #memoshares #note

okay i messily jotted this down somewhere so i won't forget but i also know that i'm likely to prolong this for way too long...thus, here's some quick tips on time management (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

this is mainly directed to juniors or those who do not have their finals this year because this serves as a warning / do-not-do-this-too-late kind of advice!

📓 remember to account for the time you might take to:
- figure out which study method works best
- experiment w/ what ēnvm works best
- fully understanding just 1 chapter/topic (& trying the same/similar method to achieve an average study session duration)
e.g. i take roughly 3h± to cover notes on 1 chapter alone
- actually understand the material (as in, memorise, clarify, and that you're confident to explain this to someone else!)
- do papers (topical, yearly, school papers, etc)

📓 all of this take time, even if those cost you just 1 hour or less (of course some papers don't, but ygwim)

remind yourself no matter how lazy/unmotivated you might be at the moment, that your actions now will have you face their respective consequences

if you put off doing notes for.. maybe, kinetic particle theory, you'll have to do them another day

the more you do this with every other task in life, the more time you waste (obviously)

but what i'm trying to get at is

time is expensive
it flies really quickly

it's september now
many of our exams are coming up really soon!

planning takes time, yes
don't take too long to plan because we're bound to go off track at some point

#note | messy tips (⁠*⁠﹏⁠*⁠;⁠)