3 Tips to Score Well in O level English Editing

The Editing section in the Secondary English examination may appear straightforward at first glance, but it is also one of the most unforgiving components of the paper. With every error carrying equal weight, careless mistakes can quickly result in unnecessary loss of marks. Without a clear and systematic approach, students may find it challenging to identify errors accurately or replace them with the correct form, even when they have a solid understanding of grammar.

When approached systematically, however, the Editing section can become a reliable scoring opportunity. Developing clear habits and applying consistent strategies allows students to work with greater confidence, accuracy, and efficiency.

Here are three effective tips to help your child ace the Editing section:

1) Read the Entire Passage

The first thing your child should do when tackling the Editing section is to read the entire passage. This helps your child to understand the content presented in the passage. Once your child understands what the writer intends to convey, it becomes much easier to identify words that disrupt the original meaning of the passage. This is an essential step that your child must follow, to speed up the accuracy and efficiency in spotting the errors.

2) Identify the Shifts in Tense within the Passage

'Tense error' is one of the most common errors found in the Editing section. In order to detect these errors accurately, your child has to first identify whether the passage is a narrative or non-narrative one.

A narrative passage is usually written in the past tense so your child can look out for verbs written in any other tenses to find a tense error. However, a shift in tense happens in sentences that convey a fact or a dialogue. These sentences are usually presented in the present tense.

On the other hand, a non-narrative passage is usually written in the present tense. A shift in tense to the 'past tense' in such passages, can be seen whenever they are references to events which occurred previously.

3) Read the Whole Sentence Before Deciding the Error

This final tip is arguably the most important of the three. It is essential that your child reads the entire sentence carefully before deciding on the error. At the O Level English standard, meaning is often developed across two or three lines, and key contextual clues may not be immediately obvious. As a result, reaching a conclusion based on a single line can be risky and may lead to avoidable mistakes.

A strong habit to cultivate is reading the sentence as a complete unit to fully understand the intended meaning. Once this context is clear, your child can then focus on the specific word or phrase where the error appears to be and check whether it truly disrupts the meaning of the sentence. This deliberate approach helps minimise careless errors and improves overall accuracy.

As a word of caution, these tips are not meant to be seen as a rigid set of “tricks” for the Editing section. Instead, they are sound reading and thinking practices that help students understand passages more deeply and identify errors more efficiently.

When applied consistently, these habits can greatly improve your child’s confidence and performance in the Editing section.

Encourage your child to put them into practice, the improvement may come as a pleasant surprise!