January 27, 2014

English Composition- Understanding the Rubrics (Part 2)

Dominique Education, Parenting and Kids, Parenting Views English Composition, Series

In the last post I covered how important Content is in English Composition. It takes the bulk of the marks awarded in an essay. If you do not have strong content it is not possible to score a good mark in English Composition.

This post I will be covering the other two components- Language and Organization.

The other two components

The components Language and Organization are commonly grouped together. They make up 40% of the mark awards in an essay.

What is Language?

There are a few different definitions of this but in this context it refers to the use of suitable grammar and vocabulary to explain your thoughts and feelings in words. One has to use the correct tenses and features of speech( if applicable).

How to score under Language?

One will need to have the most one or two mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar. There should be appropriate, varied and outstanding usage of vocabulary within the essay. Sentences have to be well structured and differentiated expressions depending on the scenarios given.

What is Organization?

It is the arrangement of your story from the start to the end. The logical aspect of the essay is focused on in this area. How your thoughts are organized and linked from one point to another matters. Your reader needs to be able to follow your train of thought and not get lost in the process.

How to score under Organization?

In this section it is important that one understands the “flow” of the essay. You need to be able to arrange your ideas and facts in a coherent order. The paragraphs that you write should be able to link one idea to another. You need to have an introduction, main body and conclusion to the story that you are writing about.

In the next post I will be focusing on common mistakes which students make in English composition.

Post in this series

1)Learning with Dominique- English Composition(An Introduction)

2)English Composition – Understanding the Rubrics(Part 1)

3) English composition- Understanding the Rubrics(Part 2)

4) English Composition- Common Mistakes

5) English Composition- The changes to PSLE come 2015

January 24, 2014

Bank on Yourself Revolution by Pamela Yellen

Dominique Book Review, Parenting Views

Book Cover

The Bank On Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Futureby Pamela Yellen can’t come at a better time for me to review. R and I are reviewing our financial situation and seeing how we can reduce our debt.

In the 12 chapters of this book Pamela explains how we have been caught in the veil and lies that the financial institutions have been feeding us all these years. Investing based on what was recommended by the banks

Which is the best place to invest your money then? 401(k) or Wall Street? Bonds, Stocks or shares?

Pamela looks at the history of the stock exchange and how the financial bubble has affected many in the past. The bursting of the bubble have seen many people have their retirement funds wiped out and having to slog way into their twilight years. Inflation have also robbed many people of their profits and also left them little cash to survive on in their old age.

How then can it be possible to build a solid financial foundation and a secure future instead of chasing returns?

Pamela shares in her book what she feels is the best way. She advocates investing in whole life policies. Stay away from term life policies and ( Equity Index Universal Life) EIUL policies as the payout are significantly lesser then what they preach. The policies lose value each year instead of gaining and you may end up being worst off.

Through many different case studies in the book one is shown how the Bank on Yourself method has worked for many people who are in different stages of their lives.

My thoughts

It was interesting to learn that it is possible to maximize the growth of your cash value without increasing your premium. You just have to search for the most suitable life policy and carefully scrutinize the details to see i it is suitable for me. I am wondering if such a method could work here in Singapore as the book is written based on America’s financial history. It certainly was food for though and made me think much more on how I want to grow my nest egg and be financially prudent so that I can maintain my current lifestyle way into my twilight years.

Get your own copy of The Bank On Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Future and change your life.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own. This post has a compensation level of 3. Please visit Dominique’s Disclosure page for more information.