How to answer PMR Paper 2 - Section C (Literature)

PMR 2011 candidates, you are encouraged to use the following framework in order to answer Paper 2 - Section C (Literature):

PARAGRAPH 1

1. State the novel that you choose (ONE novel only). 
2. State the author of the novel.
3. State briefly what the novel is about.
4. Write one statement that answers the question.

You may start Paragraph 1 using one of the following phrase:

• The novel I have chosen is…
• I like to choose….
• The novel I have studied is…..

Example on how to start Paragraph 1:

               The novel I have chosen is The Phantom of The Opera written by …… The story is about a love triangle involving Erik, Christine Daae and Raoul. ………………………………………………

PARAGRAPH 2

Evidence 1 + Detail

PARAGRAPH 3

Evidence 2 + Detail

PARAGRAPH 4

Evidence 3 + Detail

PARAGRAPH 5

• Conclusion (compulsory)
• One sentence only

*Minimum two(2) evidences + details

Tips to answer literature questions
Identify key phrases from the question. During examination, it is advisable to use a highlighter or a red pen to highlight the key phrases

Example 1:

Based on one novel, describe a good quality that you admire in a character in the novel. [PMR 2010]

From the above question, the key phrases are:

• one novel - Students should choose ONE novel only.
• a good quality in a character - Choose ONE good quality for ONE character.

Here is the sample answer with explanation:

SAMPLE ANSWER	EXPLANATION
The novel that I choose to answer is Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Briefly, the story is about Dr Jekyll and his alter ego, Mr Hyde. It is a tale of good versus evil amidst a society that practices high moral values. I admire the character of Mr Utterson who is very trustworthy.	Introduction State the novel that you choose and state the author of the novel State briefly what the novel is about Write one statement that answers the question
The positive quality of him can be seen when Mr Utterson declined from giving too much information about the affair of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to Richard Enfield. They were having their usual walk together when this matter was brought up. Mr Utterson realized that it was better to not let anybody know about Dr. Jekyll’s relationship with Mr Hyde.	Evidence 1 + detail Write the first evidence in detail on where Mr Utterson shows that he is trustworthy.
Dr. Jekyll trusted Mr Utterson to keep his will in Mr Utterson’s safe. Although Mr Utterson was quite troubled by the request, he did it anyway and guarded it. When he knew about the evilness of Mr Hyde, he did not mention about Dr. Jekyll’s will that contains the monster’s name to a single soul.	Evidence 2 + detail Write the second evidence in detail on where Mr Utterson shows that he is trustworthy.
At the end of the story, Mr Utterson kept his promise to read Dr. Lanyon’s letter after Dr. Jekyll’s tragic death.  He is a trustworthy fellow and did not to tell anyone about what had happened to Dr. Jekyll. He decided to let the events that had happened to be forgotten for the sake of his friend’s good name.	Evidence 3 + detail Write the third evidence in detail on where Mr Utterson shows that he is trustworthy.
Mr Utterson is one of the characters that give colours to this story. He is so trustworthy that he became the character that I admire.	Conclusion Write on why you admire the character. You can briefly give your own opinion

Here is the sample answer without explanation:

          The novel that I choose to answer is Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Briefly, the story is about Dr Jekyll and his alter ego, Mr Hyde. It is a tale of good versus evil amidst a society that practices high moral values. I admire the character of Mr Utterson who is very trustworthy.

          The positive quality of him can be seen when Mr Utterson declined from giving too much information about the affair of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to Richard Enfield. They were having their usual walk together when this matter was brought up. Mr Utterson realized that it was better to not let anybody know about Dr. Jekyll’s relationship with Mr Hyde.

          Dr. Jekyll trusted Mr Utterson to keep his will in Mr Utterson’s safe. Although Mr Utterson was quite troubled by the request, he did it anyway and guarded it. When he knew about the evilness of Mr Hyde, he did not mention about Dr. Jekyll’s will that contains the monster’s name to a single soul. 

          At the end of the story, Mr Utterson kept his promise to read Dr. Lanyon’s letter after Dr. Jekyll’s tragic death.  He is a trustworthy fellow and did not to tell anyone about what had happened to Dr. Jekyll. He decided to let the events that had happened to be forgotten for the sake of his friend’s good name.

          Mr Utterson is one of the characters that give colours to this story. He is so trustworthy that he became the character that I admire.

Example 2:

Choose one of the novels above. Then, write about an incident that you think is important. [PMR 2008]

Key phrases:

• one novel - choose ONE novel only. 
• an incident - Choose ONE incident that you think is important.

Sample answer with explanation:

SAMPLE ANSWER	EXPLANATION
The novel which I have read is The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. The story is about a love triangle involving Erik, Christine Daae and Raoul. I found that the disappearance of Christine Daae was very important in the story.	Introduction State the novel that you choose and state the author of the novel State briefly what the novel is about Write one statement that answers the question
On the night that Raoul planned to run off with Christine, Erik kidnapped her and took her to his house on the lake. Driven by strong determination, Raoul and the Persian ventured into the underground of the Opera House in the quest of rescuing Christine. Nevertheless, they fell into Erik’s trap. They were tortured to death in the room of mirrors and suffered from thirst from the intense heat in the room. They were unable to help Christine.	Evidence 1 + detail Write the sequence of the incident in detail. Who were involved? Where the incident took place? What happened? Why & when it happened?
In order to save Raoul and the Persian’s lives, Christine made a sacrifice by telling Erik that she was willing to marry him. Despite Erik’s hideous face, she agreed to be Erik’s wife. She kissed Erik lovingly on his ugly mouth. Her kindness touched Erik’s heart. Then, Erik set Christine, Raoul and the Persian free.	Evidence 2 + detail Write the sequence of the incident in detail. Who were involved? Where the incident took place? What happened? Why & when it happened?
This incident is very important because we learnt that Erik was not at all evil and that he too, was a human with a heart. We also learnt that the Persian was a helpful person and he knew Erik quite well. Apart from that, we learnt that Christine was a very nice young lady and she had a kind soul. Besides that, Raoul was very much in love with Christine and he was willing to look for her even though she was captured by the Phantom of the Opera, Erik.	Evidence 3 + detail Write on why you think this incident is important What are the moral values from this incident
I think the disappearance of Christine Daae was very important in the story because there are lots of lessons that can be learnt from the characters’ involved.	Conclusion Briefly state why the incident mentioned is important

Sample answer without explanation:

          The novel which I have read is The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. The story is about a love triangle involving Erik, Christine Daae and Raoul. I found that the disappearance of Christine Daae was very important in the story.

          On the night that Raoul planned to run off with Christine, Erik kidnapped her and took her to his house on the lake. Driven by strong determination, Raoul and the Persian ventured into the underground of the Opera House in the quest of rescuing Christine. Nevertheless, they fell into Erik’s trap. They were tortured to death in the room of mirrors and suffered from thirst from the intense heat in the room. They were unable to help Christine.

          In order to save Raoul and the Persian’s lives, Christine made a sacrifice by telling Erik that she was willing to marry him. Despite Erik’s hideous face, she agreed to be Erik’s wife. She kissed Erik lovingly on his ugly mouth. Her kindness touched Erik’s heart. Then, Erik set Christine, Raoul and the Persian free.

          This incident is very important because we learnt that Erik was not at all evil and that he too, was a human with a heart. We also learnt that the Persian was a helpful person and he knew Erik quite well. Apart from that, we learnt that Christine was a very nice young lady and she had a kind soul. Besides that, Raoul was very much in love with Christine and he was willing to look for her even though she was captured by the Phantom of the Opera, Erik.

          I think the disappearance of Christine Daae was very important in the story because there are lots of lessons that can be learnt from the characters’ involved.

More important tips!

1. Answer what the question wants. If the question asks you to write about "an incident that you think is important", just write three(3) or minimum two(2) evidences about "ONE INCIDENT that you think is important" in a novel. Don't write about more than one incident. If you write more, you'll definitely not going to get full 10 marks because your answer shows that you don't understand the question! 
2. Make sure your answer is organized. Use the suggested framework.
3. Learn the qualities of one character by heart. Actually, it's important to learn every element in a novel by heart. But, if you have difficulties remembering all those elements (plot, characters, themes, moral values), it's advisable to understand and memorize at least one character's qualities and their respective textual evidence. If you can understand the plot and the characters in a novel, you should be able to answer just any question. Trust me!
4. Read and check your answer. Does your answer satisfy the question? Have you given enough evidence to support your answer? Do you give any irrelevant points?

Teachers, 

• You may view the slides for this topic by clicking on the given link: Techniques to answer PMR Paper 2 - Section C
• You can also download and print the handout from this link: Handout - How to answer PMR Paper 2 - Section C