The English Paper 1, has a high weightage towards the total English marks.  Parents and pupils know this fact yet they dread the paper because most find writing (or at least fluent writing) difficult.

A common conundrum that often puzzles parents – “My child reads a lot.  He has lots of books… but he still has trouble writing a good composition.” 

Let’s put it this way, can I be a great chef – by watching all episodes of MasterChef, or having shelves of recipe books?  Can I be an F1 driver, by catching all Grand Prix races, play all car-racing games on the market and own that lovely collection of die-cast F1 car miniatures?  Even the pursuit of being a responsible road user forces us to take lessons from a driving instructor.

We have to be honest here and admit that Writing, like any other skills – needs practice. 

Then, there’s the inertia in most students when it comes to writing practice. They may find it such a bore or as an unpleasant activity because they aren’t good at it.  They are not good at it (yet!) possibly because they have not had the benefit of good guidance or at least tasted the sweet success of a well-written piece in the past that deserved commendation.  I’m sure we can agree that ‘success’ is like a positive drug that can motivate you to want more of it.

However, practicing to write must also be done under reliable and capable supervision from one who already possesses the required set of skills.  Although it would mean the world if Lewis Hamilton teaches you how to drive but reality bites hard knowing that such experts come too few and far in between to actually help you.  And if they do, they’ll probably cost an arm, a leg and possibly your left kidney! 

One of the best tips I got from a friend, “Find a willing mentor and learn as much as you can from him to reach his level.  Then, find another who is better to keep moving up.  There’s always somebody better to learn from – but don’t dream to scale Mt Everest before hiking up Bukit Timah with ease.”

Hence, after all that’s has been said, the road to becoming a confident and fluent writer, is realizing that the path has always been there for you to choose.  To choose the best mentor for you, at that moment, who will guide you in the right direction with the right set of necessary skills.  Who will, in his creative and crafty little way, distract you from the old mindset that going through the writing processes could be such a bore – into a pleasurable journey of self-discovery that the good writer, has always been in you!