Know this:
Doing the Shinglee Ten Years Series (a.k.a. TYS) or MCQ
questions is a must.
Just like you wouldn’t go on stage without rehearsing, you
shouldn't sit for your O Level or A Level without doing touching
TYS.
Fondly known to many students as TYS, the Ten Years Series is
the best resource you can make full use of.
"A" students understand this:
Questions and style can be repeated over the years.
The wise Sun Zi said it best in his classic Art of War
(seriously!) - know yourself, know your enemies.
Don't be misled by the difference in
standards between your school examinations or prelims against the
actul A/O Level.
When Do Ten Years Series?
When:
You should be doing your TYS whenever you complete revising for
a topic.
You do not have to wait until you are taking the O Level and A
Level.
And you shouldn't be doing it once only.
By doing the TYS early, you already know what are the common
questions being asked, and what you should look out for when you
are revising.
Remember the Comprehension test technique where your English
teachers would advise you to read up on the questions before
reading the passage?
Same analog?
Exactly.
And remember to get the Ten Years Series answers as well.
Difference in Standards between TYS and
Prelims
Look:
School tests and examinations are never the same as the actual
TYS.
Teachers may try to set the same standard, but they will never
be fully replicate the experience.
Generally speaking, I don't believe in doing plenty of "hard" or
"tough" questions if the difficulty of the actual examinations is
simpler than that.
Want to know the best part?
Tons of questions are actually out of syllabus.
Want examples?
Join my class
and I'll show you plenty.
So if you fare badly occasionally, don't be too disheartened by
the setback.
The keyword here is occasionally ;)
Topical or Yearly?
My personal preference:
For my students, I normally encourage them to purchase the
topical TYS over the yearly ones.
By drilling the topical TYS topic-by-topic, you can be exposed
to all the questions that ever appeared for the O Level or A Level
examinations for that particular topic.
In this way, you will immediately know your familiarity and
weaknesses with that topic.
Then, you should revise your notes and textbooks on the parts
where you find it challenging.
If you were to do your ten-years-series year by year, you tend
to forget which topics you are weak in.
1-2-3 Star Method
To re-emphasis:
You are not supposed to do the TYS once and dump the book.
Do it earlier, maybe 2 months before your ‘O’ Level so that you
have time to go through the questions again.
The first time you do your TYS, attempt ALL questions. Only then
you have a feel how the ‘O’ Level standard feels like.
As you do the questions, put a star beside the questions you got it
wrong, or you got it correct but it is a tough question.
The reason you are doing every single question is to filter out
the really hard questions.
I call this:
The "1-2-3 Star Method" (1 star, 2 stars or 3 stars ... you get
the point).
You have no time to redo the entire book before the O or A
Level.
The questions that you have starred tell you exactly what
questions to focus on, without the need to redo everything.
Remember, these are the questions you have gotten wrong
previously.
If you have time, do the TYS at least twice before the
exams.
For questions that you have gotten correct and is confident of
the concepts, you can remove the stars.
On the 2nd attempt (just redoing the starred questions), put
another star beside the questions you got wrong for the 2nd
time.
Now, you have a list of questions, some with 2 stars, others
with 1 star.
During your revision where time is not on your side, do those
with 2 stars (hardest) first, before the 1 star.
There you go, a smart and efficient way of using your Ten Years
Series and ensuring all questions are fully covered; the tougher
questions more so.
Extending this concept further, perform the 1-2-3 Star Method
for your school homework, tutorials and assignments.
Remember, school examinations and prelims questions are likely
to be based on what has been taught before.
