SPM Literature In English (SPM 2008-2010)

I guess you've jumbled up the theme for the poems (the Perceptions of Self is correct though.

Although the marking scheme says that you may answer up to 2 questions from each component, practically you'll never have the time to do it. So use the exam time wisely, choose the one you have most confidence in.

More information about Kesusasteraan Inggeris SPM can be found on:
http://myschoolnet.ppk.kpm.my/sp_hsp/bi/kbsm/sp_lit_eng.pdf

I love the Lit class and the texts are all pretty interesting. The only thing I don't get is why there are no textbooks. Or a proper compilation of all the texts. Even the Bible study classes have these Awesome textbooks.

O_o I think I HAVE jumbled it up. Oh dear. Thank you for pointing it out, Boon Kheng. At least the poems themselves are correct. xD

Sam,
Literature is not about textbooks. It's a very special subject. ;) Besides, you can always get the texts seperately.

Do I need to search for the text one by one from different bookstores, I am wondering if you have the whole set of it?

To: Everyone asking me for Past Years

Sorry, I do have a few past year papers, but it won't help you because the SPM syllabus has changed as of 2008. Anyone taking Literature in English this year will be the FIRST BATCH for this syllabus. The syllabus changes every three years.

I believe you can try to get the texts from the University Bookstore. Or maybe just pre-order them at Kinokuniya. They'll order any book in existence just for you. :)

what about the stpm english literature? could any1 please show me the site to get more information about it please? please.

I want to take English Lit next year for SPM. I don't understand what you mean by saying the candidate is required to choose one question from each component. Does that mean that I answer only one poem, short story, drama and novel? Must I study all the texts?
Like must I know all the poems and novels... And what do you mean by saying each text will be tested individually? Does that mean that there will be questions about all three novels and I have to answer only one? What about the poems? Must I know all the poems in a certain theme or must I know all the poems from all three themes?
Please help me...I'm very confused

Petals,
There will be questions about all three novels and you only have to answer one. As for the poems, you'll have to know all the poems under one theme and questions will be given based on the individual themes.

Hi, I'm Shakti, I was wondering whether there are any model SPM questions available for lit in eng with suggested answers provided, and whether there is a website that has the analyses for our lit texts, especially for THE INSPECTOR CALLS. My teacher has given me the notes for everything but I would find it really helpful if I had more,that way I'll understand the text inside out.

One more thing, what makes a full-mark answer, it would be fantastic if someone gave me an example, you see I don't want to waste my time writing too long an answer, what more if it is filled with irrelevant points. Somebody help me please.

To recap
1.model spm questions with suggested answers
2.useful websites that contain analyses of lit texts
3.how to come up with an ideal answer

PS: is it easy to score full marks for a question, coz I got fullmarks for my 'landlady' question and I'm dubious on whether marks are given THAT easily.(maybe the ques was just easy)

hi there, I'm yu wei. Anybody knows are there any websites about SPM lit? coz I'm d only pupil taking it in my school and none of my teachers know anything about it.

please... i'm really confused. i don't understand what is written above. do you mean that i only have to know the poems from one theme, one short story, one novel and one drama?
please tell me. and are there any activity books for english lit? if yes, where can i get them?

Dear Shakti and Fishtail, please refer to: Literature in English - Formating, or lack therof

petals,
Yes, you are absolutely correct. :) Feel free to refer to the above link as well.

You guys are lucky to be able to study Fahrenheit 451 and poems by people like Pablo Neruda.

Lucky twits. Good luck for SPM!

Hi. I'm a form three student this year and I just finished my PMR. My school is doing the streaming now and I'm taking pure science. But, I'm really interested in English Literature and I wonder how can take that subject? Because my school only provides : (sorry for the change of language) sains tulen, sains kejuruteraan , sains IT, sains ikhtisas, Perakaunan)
I wanted to take English LIterature as an extra subject but I'm not so sure about how hard this subject is. Do I just tell my teacher that I wanted to take English Literature or do I need to find a tuition teacher first? By the way, if you are free, please visit my blog and read my works to see whether I'm 'qualified' to take up English Literature or not. Feel free to visit :
http://hanming-writer.blogspot.com
Please reply as soon as possible because I need to hand in the streaming form.

Hi duds. I will take a small test on this subject tomorrow.

My first expectations on this subject was..... art. Since I wouldn't want to meddle with art students, I decided I would take a subject that still requires a sense of art, but needs brains as well. Out of the 200-ish studs in my school, only two of us are taking this subject, and unfortunately, we're not enjoying it well.

One problem is, there is some attitude problem with the teacher. She comes late, she postpones, she forgets about appointments, stuff. I don't hate her though. Disrespect, maybe. That's not the main problem here. Personal difficulties not to be mixed with studies.

My lessonmate wants to drop out. I don't really care, but the idea of studying alone with the lady whose attributes are described above, I don't feel confident. And the thought in the previous sentence makes me feel not sincere and dedicated to this "art" of a subject. (btw I have 4 personalities)

Main obstacle. We're not doing good in it. From short stories to poems to a play,(we're doing Holes next year, no novel in tomorrow's paper) we...... suck. It's such an informal word of description of our ability, but yes, we suck. I dunno bout the other moron (sayin' we're BOTH morons), but I know I am not enjoying the texts, when I thought I would. Ok ok ok I'll clear out my weak spots.

Short Stories :

*Naukar. Holy molotov laichikang or however I should have spelled that! It's just too crowded. I can't just remember every single point or idea the author was expressing, when there's a ton of words to read through! And frankly, I don't find this interesting.
*Others. They can be quite simple, thus the problem. Where am I getting the points required? And of all the shorts I study, only Landlady impressed me well enough. But the Neighbours, can it even be considered literature?

Poems - Conflicts, afaicr?

*Dulce et Decorum est, the Man He Killed. The former : best of all. Not really that hard. And honestly, I do hate wars. But again, 4 personalities. It's quite long to memorize though. Do I have to actually?
*Death of a Rainforest, War Against the Trees. The omg part of the poems. Why do we have two almost similar texts that require us to differentiate through almost similar points?
*Day and Night, Age and Youth. Former : simple at first glance, it's quite hard to derive eventually. Latter : Fun, I liek.

Play : AIC

*wtf is the whole point in the investigation? suicide suicide lah! Why would you bother about who led that luck-forsaken girl to her demise? This way, I probably did uncover myself about how fake *Then again, I liek this thing for one the values it emphasizes on, truthfulness, honesty, unconfidentiality, and any new words I would think of placing here. If lies don't exist in life, we would simply have peace. (remember 4P)
*I generally like this thing, the theme, and the exceptionality(if such word exists), just that the idea of revising it thrice or frice(again) makes it - not fun. Blame aspire for perfect grades, I do.(Is aspire not a noun?)


*Last but not least, I need to know : is getting all A1's that important for SPM? I am confident I will do brilliantly for Language papers and Maths(both) and Physics. My ambition will have to do with Physics, but not yet decided. I searched everywhere for anything called "law enforcement engineer" and failed. Nearest thing is civil engineer, is that the thing? I personally do not care about perfect grades. Just afraid that people around me does.
*Yet again, I tend to aspire(again) perfection. If I'm taking SPM, I'm gonna aim for the best I can get for it. It needs talent and hardwork, I know I have better of the former than my classmates, but I'm a lazybum. As a conclusion, I think I need the A1 in English Lit. Help me please :)


On a side note, I hate having to speak in English. Or write. But I love art. I love the art in languages as well. Therefore, I'd say I love English Lit. I won't leave this sub for now, but I'll depend on my own ability to look for literary products in the future. For now, I'll depend on this examination oriented education of the variation I seek through life.

Lastly, I remind ya : I have 4 personalities. I'm a pessimist for now.

A-Z and freezing earthling,
My apologies, I'd sent my computer to be fixed and my Internet connection is temperamental, as usual.
I suggest a reading of this post to quell some of those fears.
Literature in English - Formating, or lack therof

Dear A-Z,
You have a perfect right to take English Literature for SPM as long as it doesn't clash with the examination times for your other subject (and of course, if you're not taking waaay too many subjects already). You should first consult your teacher.
It is not that difficult a subject, and your writings show promise. Anyway, there is no such thing as being "qualified" or not - again, please refer to the above link. All that is needed is an eye that perceives the images hidden behind the text. :)

Dear freezing earthling,
Much as you might choose to disbelieve it, art and science are technically indivisible, they are merely placed into two different categories for convenience based on a presumption - a Perfect Model of the World that doesn't actually exist. "The Science of Words", "The Science of Speech", "The Science of Self-Expression"... Do they not all refer to Art?
Consider then, genetic engineering, if you will. Does not the act of removing genes and replacing them, toying around with them, twitching around till they fit your idea of perfection remind you of Art? Is not a scientist as such really an artist in his own way, as he painstakingly forms a masterpiece?

Everything around us is literature. They are only divided into two - good and bad literature. Those categories even, are rather subjective. Generally speaking, the public think classics like "Oliver Twist" and "Persuasion" are good literature and obscene graffiti upon the walls are bad literature. Verse from music - even our daily speech, EVERYTHING is literature.

Do forgive me for my rant, but that is what I believe in - you are perfectly entitled to your own opinion. It is merely a suggestion of mine and I might be wrong.
You seem to detest your teacher and consequently, the subject. I do not blame you of course. I repeat, I do not blame you. I would be furious myself and probably do something drastic. xD

Well, it's very unfortunate, but there are many inept teachers of English Literature. It's the same even at tertiary level - I had a lecturer who told the class that a "buttonhole" was "eatable" (No, not edible... EATABLE.) The lecturer looked the word up in the dictionary he carries around with him (as he does with many other words) and pronounced his surprise that a "buttonhole" wasn't a dish after all. Said lecturer later discriminated the less...linguistically inclined students by saying "Eh, simple words also dunno. You must study yourrrr Eeeenglish"
Seriously. I squeeze my pencil-box to prevent myself from slamming my heavy books against the lecturer's ignorant, self-presumptious... I shall end my rant here.

Anyway, perhaps you might want to take a step back and look at the big picture? (I know it's easy to say, but difficult to do.)If you do not like the subject (Ignore the teacher, I do. I took the subject as a private candidate with no teachers except a two-month workshop by NSTP in Form Four and I got an A for SPM anyway.) If you dislike the subject matter, it would be quite difficult for you to get A though, wouldn't it? Don't let your dislike of the teacher get you down.

Is it important to get straight As? It seems to me as if you're placing too much importance on what people think of you. It's you that matters - what you want. That is a question you have to answer yourself. :) What do you want from life?

Thanks Snow. I see a clearer view of the meanings of art, literature and life and universe and everything and 42.


I somehow read it as if I don't just want the subject, but that I need it! And after going through the texts at light speed, I somehow managed to a better perception of em. They are quite helping me in my desire for art whatsoever mentioned myself previously.


About the teacher, she doesn't suck at teaching. Just the procedures before and after her lessons that matters. I have somehow trained myself not to hate anybody best possible way, and to not let emotions and prejudice rule my life, but somehow this Lit thing got away with it.


What I want from life :
Big thing. Absolute peace ftw. For that, I want to research for new stuff that can prohibit any acts that lead to .... non-peace. (sometimes I can't find any words)
Or probably, change people's mindset so that we help each other and produce that harmony I naively desire. After that, we use art to liven everything up and I dunno how longer I'm gonna blabber aimlessly.
Simply, the A1 part was for I thought my future depends a lot on the perfect result slip which almost every simple-minded but still brainy guys strive for. But then again, I think I now have no choice. A1 is the best way to prove that I love this subject....

(btw is my self-forced vocabulary considered art as well? :P)

if you want to know where to find the materials, go to www.patrickosi.blogspot. there are some leads on where to get the materials.

hi snow,
my name is kristin,i'm currently staying in mersing,i'm in form 4,and i'm in a pure science class.Just like u i'm no good in mathematics,but i'm goog in language...i like english very much.I have a problem,only this year i made my mind to take english literature so that i could be an english literature teacher...i'm all set to learn...but the problem is...i'm the only student who is taking english literature for spm next year,and i'm so scared.My mum is willing to learn with me and teach me.But i still don't know what book 2 study and where to buy them as i'm the only one i'm the only one in mersing district to take this subject for SPM next year...so please please help me...
here is my email add...kristinanne07.gmail.com

You can check out the link in the post above yours, it helps you to find out the syllabus. Btw you don't need to look for everything listed there. And I remember my friend buying my Inspector Calls book from something-Universiti Bookshop or Kedai Buku, but I hope they don't use bahasa rojak so Kedai Buku Universiti I hope. About the other short materials, I guess you have to use old faithful Google. The short stories would be a pain if you don't have a printer I estimate.

Oh well it's mentioned in the blog. It's University Book Stores and it's in English so that kinda sucks but oh well it sells English books anyway.

Good luck in your future regarding studies and btw thanks Snow. I got 70% (an A!! 2) and that is actually a 112.1212*% increase in my marks when compared to my mid-year score.
Sadly the other guy got only 68% and he has himself to blame I guess :P
I win by gambling on 4 written lines for poem section b (War against Trees, I really hoped I wouldn't see this thing in my paper). 4 marks for that, anyone?

Jawapan sejarah kertas1 SPM2008:
1)B
2)B
3)B
4)A
5)C
6)C
7)A
8)B
9)B
10)D
11)C
12)A
13)C
14)C
15)A
16)A
17)D
18)D
19)B
20)A
21)D
22)B
23)D
24)A
25)B
26)D
27)D
28)A
29)D
30)B
31)C
32)A
33)C
34)A
35)C
36)D
37)C
38)C
39)A
40)D

i have completed my PMR this year and will be moving on to Form 4 next year. I am very interested in taking Literature in English as my main stream. Unfortunately this particular subject is unavailable in my school. I am wondering if anyone can help me answer a few questions as to help me shed some light on this matter.

1)Is there any school in Shah Alam that provide Eng. Lit. classes?

2)Where can I get the texts as mentioned above?

3)Where can I go for tuition classes?

4)Are there any revision books or literary components that I can use like in Kesusasteraan Melayu?

As the teachers at my school are not trained to teach literature, it is quite difficult for me to obtain information concercing this class. Any help would be much appreciated!

To Anonymous,
I'm in the same situation as you too. I had completed my PMR this year and I'm yearning to take English Literature as an extra subject next year. Can I know what stream are you applying for? Although I'm in Science stream, my love for writing couldn't stop me from taking this subject. The only thing I'm worried about this subject is the poems and plays. Some were very complex... As I now too are searching for teachers that can guide me throughout the year... What I get to know from a retired English Literature teacher is that some of the plays we going to learn in form four are like Julius Caeser and An Inspector Calls...

No problem, Freezing Earthling. =) I'm glad to hear it.
Dear anonymous,
I do not have a specific list of schools in Shah Alam that offer the subject, but there is absolutely no idea why you can't take the subject as a private candidate. However, I might want to warn you that you are not allowed to take Kesusasteraan Melayu and Literature in English at the same - I wanted to do that myself till I found out that the times clashed. DD=

Dear anonymous and H. M. Hon,
Please feel free to e-mail me at Snow-firefly@hotmail.com. Although I'm taking a break from teaching this year (and half of next), I can perhaps provide the contacts of several decent Lit teachers. =)

Thank you very much for all the advice that you have given. H.M. Han, I'm glad that someone out there is facing the same problem! It makes me feel like there is a kindred spirit out there... At least you had some advice. My old teacher (bless her, we had her for less than a year, but I've learned so much from her in two years) had no idea what texts we nedd to learn for Lit. Don't worry much, though. If you are passionate for writing, surely you must love the beauty of words. Isn't that the essance of English Literature?

Snow, I think you will be hearing from me soon.. I am still wondering where I can get all the texts, though... I apprieciate your advice (I am not planning to take Kesusateraan Melayu, my teacher despaires of my essays!).

I want to take this subject too but I can't seem to find anyone who teaches it. do u know anyone from ipoh,perak who teaches Eng Lit? If so please email me their names and ways of contacting them. Thankyou.

wow!u guys give me a lot of attention about English literature.
thank!
im defenatly gonna take that subject this year.
hey guys if i have a question who could i ask?
-amin-

btw, about the novel, do i need to read all of them?
or just one of them?

1. fehrenheit.
2.fasting,feasting
3. holes

tq,dude..
i post to my myspace about your blog.
so a lot of people can check it out.

Anonymous(es),
You only need to read one novel out of the three provided. Feel free to ask if you have any questions. =)

Hey I'ma lookin' for teh Holes, but..... couldn't teh freakin' find it!!!

My teacher says Universiti but don't know just when do I have the chance to get there. Or do they offer home deliveries?

I believe you can try to get the texts from the University Bookstore. Or maybe just pre-order them at Kinokuniya. They'll order any book in existence just for you. :)

Dear Snow,

I just started Lit in Eng this year and I would like to know it there is a textbook for this particular subject. If there is , could you let me know where I could fing it and what it the book title? If you can plese e-mail it to me as row1212@hotmail.com

guys u can check this site.
it is free notes about any novel,poem,short story notes..

www.sparknotes.com

btw,how do i get a sample test for english in literature spm paper? any clues?

hey snow,

about the DramaShort,Story
PoetryTheme,Perceptions of SelfTheme and Relationships..
do i need to read all of them?

btw, people u can read the novel in internet just google them!
type "holes by louis sachar pdf" or by using limewire and utorent.
www.sparknotes.com is good for revision notes for any novel,and short story!.

Im going to resit my spm this year and planning to take english lit. I haven't been in touch for 3 years plus. Im happy i found this. anyone here can tell me where i can get more info about this??

Fahrenheit 451 ... not 45. Thanks for posting this, now the hard part is to actually find the text ._.

hola!!!this site is really useful 4 malaysians students....keep it up!!!

For those schools who are involved in the Scholastic Books Club thing,
You can order Holes and Cliff's Complete William Shakespeare's Julius Ceaser.
Holes is around RM10 and the other one is RM13.
Very, very cheap.
Not sure about the version or the cover of it,
But I ordered it anyway.

My friend told me he had a special Scholastic catalog with a list of books to select from.

hola snow!

snow i need your help now.
i am now in form 4.
i really interested by taking literature in english 4 my
extra subject in SPM 2010.
well.
i want to ask u
where can i get the notes for the new syllabus?

Sorry for the belated replies, people. The study of all the poems in one theme will be sufficient for the Poetry section. Textbooks and past year questions will be difficult to obtain as a set because the texts change every three years. It would therefore be easier to obtain the texts separately as books. Thank y'all for your comments. Please feel free to drop me an e-mail at Snow-firefly(at)hotmail(dot)com if you have any questions. =)

Hi,I am currently a form 5 eng lit student and i will be facing my spm eng lit this year. I am wondering if anyone of you could post a link on ways to answer poems n drama?

May i ask a question my eng lit teacher always ask us to give quotation i cant seems to understand his meaning when he ask us to give quotation to answer our poems is there no extract of the poems given when questions are given and do we need to remember the whole poems line by line?

hi, i'm Jia Jing.

i wanted to ask whether anyone could provide the complete answer scheme for the 2008 spm literature in english. i attend classes in school. my teacher seldom gives us exercises. there was an exercise where i scored o/12. i am quite shocked as all my teacher wrote there was irelevant. i would really appreacite it if i could get the complete answer to answering the spm 2008 literature in english questions. i have managed to find the questions but it does not come with answers.

i am rather worried about the way i answer as my teacher says that it is so easy t score.
is that true?

thank you in advance. hope to hear good news soon.
=)