Teachables: How to master Editing

This is the part of the Singaporean Cambridge English paper that is considered quite a throwaway, as I can tell. Students seem to just go by vibe with this one - more concerned with how many points they miss out on each time, rather than ways in which to correct the “mistakes” they make lol

I don’t blame them - this segment is quite elusive, so let me offer some perspective.

So, with any language test, the goal is to test the student for fundamentally two things:

Fluency and/or Accuracy

Fluency is the vibe, basically. You know the language, you don’t overthink when speaking, you just speak. You know how to navigate it, how to use it, how to survive and thrive with it.

Accuracy is a different monster. It’s basically how technically perfect your language is. Many fluent speakers are interestingly not accurate, and vice versa.

That’s why Korean and Japanese students, from my experience, build on accuracy, but the fluency is compromised as they never actually get the chance to speak and live with the language.

But, I digress.

Editing is a feature that focuses on accuracy. If you depend so much on what “feels right,” you will not get full grades most of the time - it’s not how language works :)

Sometimes, what feels wrong is technically the right answer.

I mean, you don’t actually get on the bus or plane, do you? However, this preposition is always connected to these nouns. It’s just how it is. Language, right?

Focus for editing should be placed on the following areas of attack:

• Prepositions

• Connectors

• Tense

• Pronouns

• Articles

• Nouns vs. Gerunds

• Adjectives vs. Adverbs

• Even Contrast words (perspective-driven)

• And the trickiest of them all - Clauses

Join me for a class to see just how they work, as they seem very scary, but don’t be afraid or even turned off when looking at these technical words. Understanding what they are will help you in later life (I’m serious)

People get very meta with those language, especially the Americans and the British - it’s fun once you know the inner workings of the very language you speak :)